A grant from Foundations Community Partnership will help Woods Services, a leading provider of lifecycle care for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (ID/D) and autism, broaden the scope of its highly successful positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS) program. PBIS focuses on identifying, teaching, and reinforcing positive behaviors and using proactive strategies to reduce problematic behaviors.

Woods’ special-education schools began using PBIS seven years ago to help students with severe behavioral challenges reach their academic, personal, and vocational goals. Many students come to Woods’ schools after having been unsuccessful in other school settings, and this evidence-based model has helped them reach new heights of success. Nationwide, studies show that PBIS in the school setting improves student outcomes, educator practices, and school systems.

Woods will now expand the program beyond the classroom and into the residential setting to provide consistency and continuity for students. The program, led by Sailaja Musunuri, MD, EVP of Integrative Medicine and Chief of Psychiatry at Woods, will be piloted in four homes that serve children and youth with ID/D and autism from July 2024 to June 2025.

“As a result of expanding the program, we expect to see fewer problematic behaviors at home; enhanced social, communication, and behavioral skills; better treatment outcomes; and improved family relationships, which could increase family reunification,” Dr. Musunuri says.

Upon successful completion of the pilot, the program will be expanded to additional residential group homes.

“As part of its strategic directions plan, Woods has developed new delivery models targeted to address the needs of students with autism, intellectual disabilities, behavioral challenges, mental health disorders, and medical conditions,” says Dawn Diamond, CEO of Woods Services. “This project is integral to this initiative.”

Woods System of Care Names Oluwafunmike Ojewoye, MD, as Medical Director of The Medical Center at Woods  

Dr. Ojewoye will maximize effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity in the provision of primary care for individuals with disabilities. 

LANGHORNE, Pa. (June 4, 2024) – Woods System of Care, part of the Woods System of Care, has brought on board a key new medical leader, Oluwafunmike Ojewoye, MD, to serve as medical director of The Medical Center at Woods. Dr. Ojewoye oversees the daily clinical operations and coordination of primary health care services at the NCQA-certified medical center, which provides specialized care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism, brain injury, and behavioral health challenges who may also have complex medical and genetic conditions. 

Dr. Ojewoye will work with Sailaja Musunuri, MD, Woods’ executive vice president of integrative medicine and chief of psychiatry, and Stephen Kolesk, MD, Woods’ vice president for medical affairs and managed care/chief medical officer, to support Woods’ integrated care model.  

The model is part of an overall population health management approach that focuses on whole-person care and recognizes the importance of addressing all of a person’s needs to attain the best possible health and behavioral outcomes. That includes acknowledging the social determinants of health (socioeconomic factors, education, geographic location, membership in an under-represented group, access to transportation, etc.), which play deep and meaningful roles in a person’s health and well-being. In the integrated care model, healthcare and other service providers work together seamlessly to eliminate gaps in care. 

“Individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism face enormous barriers to care and, as a result, experience poorer health outcomes, lower quality of life, and higher healthcare costs than the general population,” said Tine Hansen-Turton, President and CEO of Woods System of Care. “Dr. Ojewoye will play an integral role in helping expand our evidence-based integrated care model to break down the barriers to quality care.” 

“I am excited to work with the patient population we work with and excited about all the different possibilities that are ahead to grow the programs and services,” Dr. Ojewoye added. 

The Medical Center at Woods serves as a national model for providing comprehensive, coordinated personalized care for people with complex diagnoses and medical conditions. In April 2023, the Medical Center at Woods was awarded recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance Patient-Centered Medical Home Program (www.ncqa.org). 

The medical center’s successful integrated care model is being replicated in New Jersey. RWJ Barnabas Health, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, and Woods are joining forces to establish the first integrated healthcare center for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Robert Woods Johnson University Hospital Hamilton. The center is the first of many more of its kind to come. 

Dr. Ojewoye is a board-certified family medicine physician and an active member of the American Academy of Family Medicine. She earned her medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine and completed her residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in affiliation with BronxCare Health System in New York. Dr. Ojewoye has a strong leadership background, having most recently served as chief medical officer for one of Philadelphia’s largest federally qualified health centers.  

As medical director of The Medical Center at Woods, she is committed to equipping and empowering her colleagues and patients to achieve the best possible health outcomes and improve their lives.  

Dear Editors,

In October 2023, Langhorne Borough established a Human Relations Commission to “ensure that all persons, regardless of actual or perceived race, color, … age, mental or physical disability, enjoy the full benefits of citizenship and are afforded equal opportunities for employment, housing, and the use of public accommodations.”

It is, therefore, heartbreaking and truly outrageous that this week, a member of the Langhorne Borough Council verbally demanded that four girls with disabilities at Woods Services who were using the swings at the Mayor’s Playground leave immediately. The Council member told their caregivers that Woods Services’ clients are not welcome at the playground and should be limited to the playground on Woods’ premises.

The Council member further alleged that the playground may only be used by children who are five and six years of age but could point to no signage on-site or online that contained any stated age limit (since there is none). Woods Services also serves young children, but this person’s shockingly bold assertion that Woods clients aren’t welcome clearly excludes even our youngest children from playing where she has to see them.

The children at Woods Services have a range of intellectual, medical, and behavioral disabilities: Excluding them from using public facilities, such as a playground that is by law open to all, is not only a despicable act but is also against the law.

The Councilwoman’s actions would be shameful under any circumstances, but they are particularly egregious coming from an elected community leader. The individuals served by Woods deserve—and are legally guaranteed—access to the same public places as any other child without having to face hostility and shame.

When Woods’ founder came to Langhorne in 1921, she dedicated her life to fighting the idea that people with disabilities must be hidden away from public sight and forgotten. She fought for dignity and respect for ALL people. How appalled she would be to see that after more than 100 years in the town she loved, there are still people who don’t see those with disabilities human beings deserving of equal access and rights.

Woods has filed a complaint concerning this matter with the newly established Langhorne Borough Human Relations Commission. We hope that they use this opportunity to send a strong message about the Borough’s treatment of people with disabilities.

Sincerely,

The Woods Services Community