Windber hospital adds early intervention therapy program

Jul. 28—WINDBER, Pa. — One area hospital has expanded its pediatric physical therapy program to include children from birth to age 3 who have developmental delays and disabilities.

Chan Soon-Shiong Medical Center at Windber launched its federally supported Early Intervention services this month.

The free program provides qualified therapists to work with qualified patients in their home or a community location, such as a park, library, grocery store or playground. They focus on building skills that typically develop during the first three years of life, including physical skills such as reaching, rolling, crawling, and walking. They also cover cognitive, communication, social, emotional and self-help skills.

The program is led by physical therapist Tonya McCool, who has a passion for helping children build a strong gross motor skills foundation so that they can grow up to be as independent as possible and reach every desired goal, the hospital said in a press release.

"The therapist will work alongside the family to help coach and teach the family strategies to achieve their desired goals for their child so that the child can keep up with their peers, siblings and family members," McCool said.

"If a child presents with a delay that limits their abilities to complete age- appropriate milestones, a provider will assist by guiding the child into appropriate positions, providing them opportunities to experience new opportunities or helping them try new things so that their families can continue to work with them throughout the week to meet their goals."

The expanded physical therapy program allows children to receive therapy from birth to age 21 at Windber, reducing the stress of changing providers once children "age out" of subsidized Early Intervention, the hospital said.

Families who think they may need early intervention services for their child may call the Windber hospital at 814-467-3893 to discuss their needs and concerns.

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