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Woods Services Awarded $100,000 Grant to Expand Access to Primary Care for People with Intellectual Disabilities

Woods, a New Jersey- and Pennsylvania-based life cycle care management organization, received one of the first Inclusive Health Communities Grants from the N.J. Department of Human Services’ Division of Disability Services

 

LANGHORNE, P.A. (April 5, 2021) –Woods Services, a Pennsylvania and New Jersey-based nonprofit organization, was recently awarded a $100,000 capacity building grant to increase access to primary care for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and mental health challenges who experience significant disparities in access to care and health outcomes. With the funding, Woods will establish an integrated and inclusive primary care practice within or adjacent to Salem Medical Center, a hospital destination of choice for those living in or around Salem County, N.J. The initiative is funded by an Inclusive Healthy Communities Grant from the Division of Disability Services, New Jersey Department of Human Services, and administered by Rutgers University Bloustein School of Public Policy and Planning. Woods is one of the first recipients of an Inclusive Health Communities Grant, a program that launched in January. This national initiative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focuses on policy, systems and environmental change to create inclusive healthy communities.

 

Woods’ project, titled “Expanding Access to Primary Care for People with Intellectual Disabilities,” will be implemented over the next nearly 18 months. Other program partners include Woods’ affiliates Allies, Inc., located in Hamilton Township, N.J., and Legacy Treatment Services in Mount Holly, N.J., that along with three other human services nonprofits, comprise Woods’ life-cycle management and advocacy organization serving 22,000 people with disabilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

 

Woods will conduct a needs assessment of health care access and experience among people with disabilities, their families and provider organizations to further inform project planning. In addition, an inclusive primary care practice will be established over the 18-month timeline, serving community members with and without disabilities in Salem County and surrounding areas. Outcomes will be documented and shared. The health care model proposed will be replicable throughout New Jersey where there are documented shortages of primary care providers and gaps in services.

 

The grant builds on the successful patient-centered medical home model employed by the Medical Center at Woods located at the Langhorne campus. Woods utilizes quality care coordination as well as the deployment of nurse practitioners as primary care providers. Woods’ model places an emphasis on prevention and management of chronic conditions thereby reducing unnecessary and costly emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations.

 

Children and adults with IDD and mental health challenges experience multiple barriers to healthcare access, including finding providers who are willing to take the time often needed for longer patient visits and are trained to overcome communication, behavioral or other challenges. Additionally, children and adults with IDD and behavioral challenges tend to have more complex medical issues than those without. When their intellectual disability is linked to a variety of genetic disorders, the medical challenges may significantly exceed those of persons without such genetic conditions.

 

The proposed primary care settings are adapted to mobility, communication and sensory needs, delivered by providers who are well-versed in the care of people with disabilities and complex needs, and who are able to accommodate and overcome barriers to care resulting from those complex challenges. The project will focus primarily on Salem County and adjacent counties which have gaps in access to care, and where project partners have a strong presence serving individuals with IDD and mental health challenges and their families.

 

“As a life-cycle care management organization, we are grateful for this grant that will enable people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and challenges to receive first-rate healthcare in a setting that meets their needs, provided by people with expertise in treating their complex conditions,” said Tine Hansen-Turton, president and CEO, Woods Services. “For many people with IDD and mental health challenges, who often have complicated medical needs, the ability to reduce environmental disruptions while providing them with exceptional healthcare is truly a game changer.”

 

“We were truly excited to support Woods in their grant-seeking efforts to bring integrated and primary care services for people with intellectual disabilities,” said Dr. Tammy Torres, CEO, Salem Medical Center. “Bringing these behavioral health services to our community is part of our strategic vision building on the opening of our adult Psychiatric Unit by bringing in complementary and integrated mental health programming.”

 

This initiative was funded (or funded in part) by an Inclusive Healthy Communities Grant from the Division of Disability Services, New Jersey Department of Human Services.

 

About Woods Services

Woods Services is a nonprofit, life cycle care management and advocacy organization that, along with five affiliate organizations located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey – Allies, Inc., Archway Programs, Legacy Treatment Services, Tabor Services, and Woods Community at Brian’s House – provides innovative, comprehensive, and integrated health, education, housing, workforce, behavioral health, and case management services to more than 20,000 children and adults in the intellectual and developmental disability, behavioral, child welfare, and brain trauma public health sectors who have complex and intensive medical and behavioral healthcare needs. Founded in 1913 by Philadelphia schoolteacher Mollie Woods with two simple goals – to advance quality of life and standard of care for individuals with disabilities – Woods Services continues its mission today by helping children and adults with disabilities or challenges to achieve their highest potential.  Among the ways Woods does this is through its population health management strategy, which includes the integration of primary and specialty medical care with behavioral health in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  For more information, visit woods.org.

 

About Salem Medical Center

With a mission of delivering high quality, compassionate healthcare to Greater Salem County, SMC returned to not-for-profit status in 2019. Salem Medical Center is licensed for 126 beds, inclusive of medical-surgical, intensive care and behavioral health. SMC provides critical access to the community through its Emergency Department (nearly 20,000 patients annually), Surgery (outpatient/inpatient, about 2,500 cases annually) and Inpatient Acute Care (about 2,500 admissions annually). SMC has more than 200 physicians on staff. Salem Medical Center is dedicated to growing new services and recruiting physicians relevant to our community—making SMC a destination of choice for Salem County and surrounding areas.

New Industry Leading Medical Center Opens at Woods Services

Today leadership from Keystone First and Woods Services officially marked the opening of the newly expanded Medical Center at Woods and the launch of a Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program. This innovative PCMH serving individuals with significant intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and complex medical challenges, is a national model for providing more comprehensive, coordinated care for these vulnerable populations.

 

“Through this collaboration with Keystone First, the new Patient Centered Medical Home program and expanded Medical Center at Woods will allow us to improve care coordination, provide extended service hours to reduce disruptive ER visits, and increase access to more advanced medical services right here on our campus,” said Tine Hansen-Turton, President and CEO of Woods Services. “For many of our residents with complex medical needs, the ability to reduce environmental disruptions while providing them with first-rate medical care is truly a gamechanger.”

 

The new Medical Center and PCMH program will empower Woods to provide the Keystone First members in its care, as well as 500 other individuals Woods serves, with superior continuity of care to improve health outcomes. The launch is part of an overall population health management approach at Woods Services that is reliant on industry best practices, moving the industry forward with new solutions, and providing the Woods community with superior care and support.

 

In addition to those served by Woods, the Medical Center will also offer free, on-site primary medical care as a benefit to all 2,000 Woods employees and will serve as a community medical hub for qualifying neighbors with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

 

“We are proud to work with providers like Woods Services which share our commitment to making high quality, coordinated care accessible to those most in need,” said Keystone First Market President Joanne McFall. “The PCMH program will provide our members served by Woods with a medical home that will help them manage their health. We look forward to joinin

g Woods in this expansion of our respective missions.”

 

Providing medical care for the Woods community on its Bucks County campus is not new.  However, in the past, Woods has relied on external resources such as the emergency room for service during evening and weekend hours, as well as for specialized services such as radiology. For people with developmental and intellectual disabilities, these abrupt environmental changes and exposure to medical professionals not familiar with their cases can be disruptive. In addition, regular reliance on emergency services for ongoing medical issues generates significant costs to the system. This new Woods PCMH program creates a team-based health care delivery model. It provides comprehensive and continuous medical care with extended hours and increased access to more specialized medical services for patients with complex health needs, with a goal of achieving maximal health outcomes and reducing unnecessary costs to the healthcare system.

 

Children and adults with I/DD experience multiple barriers to healthcare access that include finding providers who accept Medicaid and Medicare, are willing to take the time often needed for longer patient visits, and are trained to overcome communication, behavioral or other challenges.  Additionally, children and adults with I/DD and behavioral challenges tend to have more complex medical issues than those without. When their intellectual disability is linked to a variety of genetic disorders, the medical challenges may significantly exceed those of persons without such genetic conditions.   Because of these complexities, people with I/DD account for a significant portion of the Medicaid and Medicare spending.

As a first-of-its-kind program, this PCMH at Woods serves as a national model and is expected to be replicated by Woods in other similar communities across the country in coming years.

 

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About Woods Services

Woods Services is a nonprofit, multi-service population health management and advocacy organization that along with four affiliate organizations provides innovative, comprehensive and integrated health, education, housing, workforce, behavioral health and case management services to more than 4,000 children and adults in the intellectual and developmental disability, child welfare, behavioral and brain trauma public health sectors who have complex and intensive medical and behavioral healthcare needs. Founded in 1913 by Philadelphia schoolteacher Mollie Woods with two simple goals – to advance quality of life and standard of care for individuals with disabilities – Woods Services continues its mission today by helping children and adults with disabilities or challenges to achieve their highest potential.  For more information, visit woods.org.

 

About Keystone First

Keystone First is a Medical Assistance (Medicaid) managed care health product offered by Vista Health Plan, Inc., an affiliate of Independence Blue Cross, in five southeastern Pennsylvania counties.  Here at Keystone First, we are mission-driven and dedicated to helping members get care, stay well and build healthy communities. For more information, visit www.keystonefirstpa.com.

 

Independence Blue Cross and Vista Health Plan, Inc. are independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

 

 

 

Cerebral Palsy – From My Point Of View

A Guest Blog by Lauren McGowan

 

Some people might underestimate the true beauty that Cerebral Palsy has to offer. Cerebral Palsy may be the result of a birth injury happening before, during or after the birthing process; a matter of oxygen not arriving at the brain quickly enough until it was too late, causing damage that can never be repaired.

 

Victims will have to compensate and learn basic things that most people master without trying. The extensive learning process will follow them throughout their whole lives resulting in some ongoing frustrations. A person will have to develop a great deal of patience and tolerance to live a normal life style  Cerebral Palsy is a condition in which messages simply are not getting to the brain quickly enough.

 

Cerebral Palsy is a condition, not a disease. A condition that doesn’t worsen over time, only improves with hard work and determination. Determination goes a long way with this condition. For individuals with this condition, physical therapy helps tremendously.

 

Physical therapy involves strengthening muscles and providing room for growth and development. Growth and development is powerful. It will take the individual a long way. Some people will argue that physical therapy is not a long term solution for people who suffer from Cerebral Palsy. Well, if you had a condition that never went away, you would want something that reduces the tension in the muscles.

 

People with Cerebral Palsy will sometimes feel discouraged because the world around them doesn’t fully understand at times, but that feeling can truly inspire them. In the long run, inspiration is all someone really needs. Inspiration will lead a person with this condition to many different places. Places that they never even dreamed of going if the oxygen flowed though the brain on the first day of life. Yes, people that come into the world through unlucky circumstances are in fact very lucky in a hidden way.

 

Lauren McGowan

About the Author

 

Lauren McGowan is a resident at Beechwood Neurorehab. She enjoys writing, Facebook, going to the mall, spending time with her family and friends and living life to the fullest. Lauren recently self-published the book In Kayla’s World, She’s Never Afraid To Afraid To Have Big Dreams, a tribute to her late best friend Kayla Jo Young.

A Time for Lyme

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 300,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year, and the prevalence is rising.

 

Since national surveillance began in 1982, the number of Lyme disease cases has increased nearly 25-fold.  Lyme disease is also spreading geographically; once thought to only occur in the northeastern part of the United States, Lyme disease cases are found throughout the country.

 

What is Lyme disease?

Lyme disease is an illness caused by the bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, that is transmitted by a tick, most often referred to as a “deer tick.”  Per the CDC, in 2013 (most recent report) Pennsylvania reported 4,981 confirmed and another 777 probable cases of Lyme disease making our state a “hot spot” for the disease http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/stats/chartstables/reportedcases_statelocality.html .

 

Who gets Lyme disease?

Individuals of all ages can get Lyme disease.  People who spend time outdoors in tick infested environments are at an increased risk of exposure.  Most individuals have reported an exposure to ticks or woodland/brush habitat during the months of May through August, but exposure can occur whenever the temperature at ground level is warm enough for ticks to be active.

 

What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?

Lyme disease often presents with a bulls-eye rash (AKA, erythema migrans), accompanied by nonspecific symptoms such as fever, malaise, fatigue, headache, muscle aches, and joint pain.  The incubation period, the time from the infection to the onset of symptoms, is typically 7 – 14 days, but may be as short as 3 days and as long as 30 days.  The bulls-eye rash is observed in 85% or more of patients; however, some infected individuals have no recognized symptoms of the illness, or have only non-specific symptoms suggesting a viral illness.

 

Does past infection with Lyme disease make a person immune?

Past infection does provide some immunity, but that protection is short-lived.  It is possible for a person to get infected more than once.

 

What should one do if they think they have Lyme disease?

Once should see their medical provider as quickly as possible especially if they have a bulls-eye rash or other symptoms of Lyme disease.  It may be helpful to snap a photo of the rash you are seeing (use your cell phone), just in case you can’t see your doctor right away.  If you feel you need to see a doctor urgently and your doctor is not available, you may want to be seen at a 24-hour clinic in your area or the ER of your local hospital.

 

How is Lyme disease treated?

Your healthcare provider will determine the best course of treatment.  Generally if you recognize the symptoms early, the doctor will prescribe an oral antibiotic, but as the disease progresses the antibiotic may be given intravenously or other treatment may be needed.

 

How is Lyme disease diagnosed?

Lyme disease is diagnosed by clinical symptoms or blood test panel.  The doctor or medical professional may also ask you questions about exposure to wooded areas, outdoor activities, etc.

 

What can one do to help prevent Lyme disease?

To help prevent Lyme disease everyone should be “AWARE”:

A – Avoid tick areas when possible (wooded areas, tall grass, shrubs, etc.).  If you are walking near or in wooded areas, try to stick to the center of the path and not directly next to brush or trees.
W – Wear protective clothing when going outdoors (cover skin areas as much as possible)
A – Always do body checks once you have come in from the outdoors to check for ticks.
R – Repellents may be helpful, but consult your healthcare professional first as they may discourage the use of the products if you have certain allergies, medical conditions or skin problems.
E – Easy and careful removal of Ticks.

 

How do I remove a tick?

Per the CDC, if you find a tick attached to your skin, there’s no need to panic. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but a plain set of fine-tipped tweezers will remove a tick quite effectively.

Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to remove the mouth easily with clean tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water.
Dispose of a live tick by submersing it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet. Never crush a tick with your fingers.

Avoid folklore remedies such as “painting” the tick with nail polish or petroleum jelly, or using heat to make the tick detach from the skin. Your goal is to remove the tick as quickly as possible–not waiting for it to detach.

 

Follow-up

If you develop a rash or fever within several weeks of removing a tick, see your doctor. Be sure to tell the doctor about your recent tick bite, when the bite occurred, and where you most likely acquired the tick.

 

 

 

 

Ms. Barnes has been employed at Woods for over 30 years and has over 25 years of experience in Infection Prevention and Control.  She received her Master’s in School Nursing and Health Education from St. Joseph University in Philadelphia and her B.S. in Nursing from the Penn State University.  She has great compassion for working with those diagnosed with Developmental Disabilities.

 

 

 

Resources:

Lyme disease Organization

https://www.lymedisease.org/lyme-basics/lyme-disease/early-lyme/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Lyme disease

http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Emerging Infectious Disease, Dispatch, Aug. 2015

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/21/8/14-1878_article

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Tick Removal

http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html

How to Take Time for Yourself: A Guide for Parents

Did you ever wonder why flight attendants instruct parents to put their oxygen masks on before assisting children? How could this be the right thing to do?  Isn’t putting yourself first both selfish and bad parenting?  Actually it makes perfect sense.  If you place the mask on your child first, no one would be around to help him/her after you pass out. Taking the time to place the mask on first, ensures that you will have the energy to assist. The same is true of parenting your child on a daily basis.

 

Taking care of ourselves, as parents, prevents us from getting burnt out. It allows us time to re-group, rest and most importantly, have a little me time, but for parents of special needs children, the idea of self-care, might be somewhat foreign. In the easiest form, self-care can be those stolen moments like sitting and having a cup of coffee, relaxing with a good book, or taking a bath.  Other times it can be something a bit more active like exercising, meeting up with friends, a long drive or even a weekend away. Moments like these are tough for any parent, but for parents whose children have extra special needs, it can be nearly impossible to get even a minute to yourself.

 

How to make it happen

 

Take advantage of the time you’re alone

Instead of running to the grocery store, post office and car wash while the kids are in school, use that time to get a haircut or meet a friend for lunch. Save the not-so-fun-stuff for later! In the summer, enroll your son or daughter in a camp or activities program for special needs. This list reflects many here in PA, but these types of camps are all over the US. Time apart can be good for both you and your child.

 

Think it

Practicing relaxation, visualization, journaling, yoga, or meditation may help quiet those negative, self-defeating thoughts that make us feel guilty about taking time for ourselves. Positive thinking helps too! Research has found that you can reduce stress by repeating a positive word to yourself for 20 minutes a day. What will your word be?

Whatever activity you do for yourself, it should serve to re-energize and re-focus you, leaving you better able to care for your child and deal with the challenges that the family may encounter.

 

 

STRESS is a choice.  RESISTANCE is a choice.  JOY is a choice.  Choose wisely!

 

 

 

Carolyn Appleton, PhD obtained her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Drexel University in 2011.  She is the Clinical Director of START, Woods’ Short Term Autism Residential Treatment program.  START is a behaviorally-based program for children/adolescents (ages 6-20) with a diagnosis of autism and co-occurring behavioral and emotional difficulties. Learn more about START.