Mon Valley pediatric therapy center celebrates 10 years
For more than a decade, children and young adults in the Mon Valley and surrounding areas have been aided by therapy and rehabilitation programs thanks to Monongahela Valley Hospital’s Center for Children’s Rehabilitation Services.
CCR celebrated its 10-year anniversary in August. In that time, their business has grown exponentially.
“They started with 17 patients in 2007. And now we’re at about 120 patients,” said Christine Gorby, a speech language pathologist with the center, who began her career with CCR six years ago.
The center, located on Country Club Road in Monongahela, treats an array of patients ranging anywhere from five- and six-month-old infants to young adults under 21.
Gorby noted that patients typically come to the center on a weekly basis, though some come two to three times a week. They specialize in all types of occupation, speech and physical therapies.
According to a press release from the hospital, some of the conditions they treat are “apraxia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, developmental delays, Down syndrome, fine and gross motor skill delays, neuromuscular and neurological conditions, orthopedic disorders, pervasive developmental disabilities, sensory integration disorders, speech/language delays and disorders, as well as swallowing disorders.”
“We treat infants all the way to developmental issues when they need physical therapy and then kids as old as 18 for fluency or speech issues or those with autism,” Gorby said. “I can’t imagine the amount of kids we’ve seen in those years.”
To accommodate an increase in patients, their staff has also grown. Though the center started with only three therapists — one in each discipline — they now have eight.
Though CCR has grown in the last decade, it’s still a surprise to many that they are there. Gorby noted that parents would often take their children to Greensburg, Washington or McMurry for therapy, unaware of CCR being right in their backyards.
“We’re a small town hospital that doesn’t really see pediatrics, so to find out that we have a pediatric therapy rehabilitation center — it surprised a lot of people,” Gorby said.
In her time, one of the key things Gorby has learned is that there is no cookie cutter approach to patients.
“Every kid is different. What works for one child might not work for the next one,” Gorby said. “We find what they need and what we can do to get them to reach their goals.”
Change is constant in their field, she added. While trying to keep up with the needs of their patients, they also wade through insurance challenges.
But for as long as insurance will allow them to work with patients, they will, Gorby said.