MUSC is bringing life-changing inpatient pediatric rehabilitation closer to home for South Carolina families, helping children to recover critical skills after serious illnesses or injuries – from walking and talking to returning to school and play.
Over the past year, the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital’s inpatient pediatric rehab unit has been treating children across South Carolina who need specialized intensive recovery care. Before this unit came to fruition, families had to travel out of state to access these services. Today, that care is available closer to home.
“I think the biggest benefit is keeping these families close to the doctors and care teams who already know them so well,” said Scott Benjamin, M.D., section chief of Pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital.
Inpatient pediatric rehabilitation supports children recovering from serious illness, injury or surgery who have lost key abilities, such as walking, talking, eating or performing daily activities. Rehab helps them to regain their independence and return to school and play. For many families, it means watching a child who once couldn’t sit up, speak or take a step begin to regain those abilities day by day.
"The biggest difference, obviously because of age, is that our goal with children is to get them back to what their job is, which is education and play, whereas with adults it is about getting them back to work. Another difference is that many of these children, especially the younger ones, are still developing skills, and a new injury can impact their typical development,” said Benjamin. “You are working with kids who were not fully independent yet, and you have to help them reach some level of independence.”
The biggest difference is that our goal with children is to get them back to what their job is, which is education and play.
In its first year, the MUSC inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit has treated 26 patients, with a goal of providing each child a minimum of three hours of therapy per day. Benjamin said that the unit has also transformed his team’s morale because they now see their patients’ progress firsthand rather than transferring them elsewhere.
“What stands out the most is what a positive experience it's been for a lot of the staff here to see children get that much better. Before the unit opened, the nurses would see these kids soon after their injuries, and they would leave still very limited – sometimes not talking or walking yet. So, to see the staff witness the recovery of these children has been really rewarding,” said Benjamin.
As Benjamin reflected on the first year of the MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital’s inpatient pediatric rehabilitation unit, he pointed to both early successes and opportunities for growth.
“To see how much we can do for these kids before they go home has been really notable,” he said. “There were a lot of successes and a lot of things that we'd like to do better. I think that first year marked the success of getting it open and successfully discharging a bunch of patients.”
“As we continue to grow,” he continued, “our goal is to expand what we can offer these children and their families. But even in this first year, we’ve seen just how much of a difference it makes to help kids to recover closer to home.”
As we continue to grow, our goal is to expand what we can offer these children and their families. But even in this first year, we’ve seen just how much of a difference it makes to help kids to recover closer to home.
