The building block, 04-06 2011, v.5 no.2

              The
Volume V, Issue 2
April-June 2011
An e-newsletter of the J. D. McCarty Center for children with developmental disabilities
Families find resources, reassurance at the
J, D. McCarty Center
(Note: This is the second in a series of stories about
the 65th anniversary of the McCarty Center and the
families and patients who have been helped by this
hospital.)
Lenore Allison found
resources.
Ann and GuyAlbertson
found some relief.
Dianna Williams found
reassurance.
All are parents of children
with special needs who have
come to the McCarty Center and
all share similar views about the
hospital.
They talk about the
valuable services their children
received, the compassion they
felt from the staff and the peace
of mind they experienced while
their kids stayed at the hospital
either as inpatients or through the
hospital's respite program.
This year marks the 65th
anniversary of the McCarty
Center, which is a pediatric rehab
hospital that specializes in the
care and treatment of children with
developmental disabilities from
birth to age 21.
The McCarty Center provides
medical care and physical,
occupational, speech and
language therapy for children on
an inpatient and outpatient basis.
More than 10,000 families
have been served by the center.
Here are a few of their stories.
Lauren Allison, left, with her mom, Lenore, came
to the hospital for inpatient and outpatient services
from the time she was a preteen to a 21-year-old.
She developed close bonds with McCarty Center
employees and fellow patients during her visits.
Developing friendships, life skills
Lenore Allison learned
about the McCarty Center when
she was looking for resources to
help her daughter, Lauren, who
has cerebral palsy.
The hospital proved to be a
place where her daughter had
fun, met friends and learned some
life skills.
Lauren Allison, now 22,
came to the McCarty Center on
an inpatient and outpatient basis
from the time she was a preteen
to a 21-year-old. She also visited
the hospital's orthopedic and
neurology clinics and received
assistance from the staff with her
equipment needs.
Lenore Allison, of Goldsby,
said she was impressed with
the care shown by the hospital
employees and how they worked
to create fun experiences for the
children.
She also noticed that
her daughter developed more
independence after visiting the
hospital. Lauren Allison improved
her driving skills with her electric
wheelchair. She learned how to
make decisions and advocate
for herself. She became stronger
and could assist as her family or
aides transferred her from her
wheelchair to a bed. The skills she
learned also seemed to boost her
self-esteem, her mother said.
Continued on page 2