Month: October 2013

Medical Home Meeting: September 11, 2013

sncwma Work Group Meetings

Our first meeting of the fall began with a presentation by AmeriCare, a part of Epic Health Services, specifically their “At Home” portion of their services. Their contacts are Jill Chaban and Martha Rankins. AmeriCare can be reached through 1-800-601-3562. AmeriCare At Home offers medical home care with a specialty in clients that have a mental health component. Their current target population is ages sixteen and over, but there is a pediatric division opening in the next few months that will expand the age range. They offer home visits, medication management, and reinforcement of behavioral plans, but do not have prescribing capabilitites.

Our next speaker was Dr. Matthew Sadof, who is developing a care plan project this fall. He would like to form a family and community based focus group to help develop universal care plans that can be cloud based, paper based, and tied in the health information exchange and possibly patient portals. The group discussed the importance of a flagging system for frequent flyers in the pediatric system. A possible link to cell phone applications was also emphasized.

Next, Community Resources for People with Autism’s Carla Doyle-Florence spoke. She can be contacted at (413)529-2428 ext. 119. Their office is located in Easthampton and multilingual services are available. CRPA serves individuals ages zero to twenty-two in the four counties of Western Massachusetts.

She shared the following: The Department of Developmental Services Autism Waiver Program is accepting application for children under nine years of age for three-year intensive care plans between October 7th and October 18th. There are only two-hundred slots available statewide. The application is available here in eleven languages or by phone at 1-888-367-4435.

To continue, Karen Cassidy from Thom Western Regional Consultation Program, spoke in regards to the Thom Holiday Party coming up at Shriners this December. If interested in sponsoring or volunteering, contact Karen Cassidy at (413) 783-5500 ext. 25 or Dr. Jane O’Brien of the Franciscan Hospital for Children.

Nancy Bazanchuk of the CHD announced new classes starting for both adults and children including dance and sled hockey. Their activities calendar can be found here.

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Medical Home Meeting: June 12, 2013

sncwma Work Group Meetings , ,

Our last meeting before the summer break began with Baystate Health’s Child Behavior Health therapists. This out-patient service is located at 3300 Main Street. The group can be contacted for general inquiries at (413)794-1038. Full interpreter services are available.

Sarah Detenber, Vicki Weld, and Sara Wiener spoke at the meeting. The staff includes psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical prescribers, and licensed independent clinical social workers. A strong part of their mission is to provide care for children and families with special health care needs. This care includes the child, parent, couple, family, and siblings. They accept referrals from specialists and primary care providers.

The group works with neurology, rheumatology, and the pediatric pain clinic. In addition, the group works with a hyperacusis group when indicated. They offer an eight-week cognitive-behavioral therapy program with rheumatology and occupational therapy, a multidisciplinary eating disorder clinic, and a medical coping clinic that sees children with new diagnoses. They have also referred families to Brain Balance Achievement Centers, The May Institute, and Autism Intervention Specialists.

Diagnoses they have worked with:

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Anxiety disorders

Patient types they have worked with:

Young children

Non-verbal and augmented communication capable

Autistic children

Children with cerebral palsy

Overweight children in the Mighty Program

 

The second presenter was Tina Champagne from the CHD Institute for Dynamic Living located at 342 Bernie Ave, Springfield. The program covers behavioral health and occupational health for ages three and up, but their focus is three to five years of age. Common diagnoses include learning disabilities, trauma, autism, and a need for applied behavioral analysis services. Many of the children in the program have needs that complicate their occupational therapy treatment plans. This program deals with these issues to provide customized treatment for the children. The program is expanding and now they offer a large sensory gym and have an onsite psychiatrist that is available for consultations. They do not have an accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, but are working on it to help expand insurance coverage. They currently accept most insurance.

To schedule an appointment ask for Tina’s program at (413)737-1426.