For more than 100 years, Woods Services has been rooted in deeply caring for some of the most challenging and vulnerable people who have intellectual or developmental disabilities along with medical complexities and behavioral challenges. We treat people who have some of the most rare and complicated disorders, and who cannot be served anywhere else. Woods is a refuge for many families whose loved ones have suffered through numerous failed placements, hospitalizations, and medications. Our aim is to give every person the strategies that enable them to thrive so that they can return to the community and participate in an everyday life.
Woods’ Population Health Model
Woods offers population health management, meaning that we positively influence the social determinants of health for the individuals we serve, leading to better health outcomes.
The Medical Center at Woods
Our integrated care approach includes our innovative Medical Center at Woods, a national model for providing comprehensive, coordinated care that integrates primary care and behavioral health care to improve care coordination, provide extended service hours to reduce disruptive ER visits, and increase access to more advanced medical services and specialty services such as neurology, podiatry, and ophthalmology.
The Medical Center at Woods is designed to accommodate every barrier.
- Universal design principles are used throughout the building.
- Providers are trained to address communication barriers and to work with direct caregivers who may accompany individuals in their visits.
For many of Woods’ residents with complex medical and behavioral health care needs, the ability to reduce environmental disruptions while providing them with first-rate medical care is a game changer.
Woods’ Treatment Models
Our world-class treatment models serve people with varying diagnoses and levels of need. All are based upon building skills that enable individuals to interact with the world in safer ways. We have a team-integrated approach involving clinicians, residential direct support professionals, care coordinators, educators, nurses, physicians and parents who meet and talk to develop the best solution for the individual. Our clinical program has transformed our care and we are getting great feedback from families and funders.
Ukeru
We provide care through acceptance, respect and compassion and we continually advance our care according to our field’s best practices. A new advancement includes the implementation of the Ukeru® Systems method and its “comfort vs. control” approach when de-escalating aggressive, challenging behavior to ensure the safety of the individuals we serve as well as our staff.
In June 2017, Woods partnered with Grafton Integrated Health Network, Inc. on the implementation of the Ukeru method. Ukeru, the Japanese word for “receive”, is a trauma-informed, safe, comforting, crisis management technique developed by and for behavioral health caregivers and educators. Ukeru is recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as a best practice in restraint reduction.
The main components of the Ukeru program include verbal and nonverbal communication, managing and de-escalating conflict by converting/diverting aggression, building an environment focused on comfort versus control, and recognizing traumatic experiences of individuals who receive services for developmental, behavioral and mental health needs.
The Ukeru method teaches a variety of physical techniques that minimize the need for physical restraint. It also involves a system of blocking techniques with the use of pads that protect the both the aggressor and the person receiving the aggression during behavioral episodes. The blocking pads are a way for staff to help an upset individual work through negative emotions while keeping hands off.
