|
About Us
Frequently Asked Questions | Staff Biographies | Links
- Q: What is the advantage of offering this type of therapy through a hospital?
A: Because Euro-Pēds is offered on the campus of a hospital, North Oakland Medical Centers (www.nomc.org), it is more sophisticated and medically sound than similar programs around the world. All therapy is overseen by the medical director, and is covered by most insurance companies to the same extent as any other physical therapy, with the exception of Suit Therapy. In addition, children at Euro-Pēds have access to any other medical practitioners they might need, including an occupational therapist, speech therapist, other physicians, and emergency services, etc. This offers comfort in case a medical emergency does arise while you are away from home.
- Q: What kind of training does the Euro-Pēds staff have?
A: The highly specialized staff members at Euro-Pēds have been trained to provide the individualized therapy necessary for each patient. The licensed physical therapists and physical therapist assistants are intensively trained (for 1 to 2 months in length) by the Program Coordinator who was employed at Euromed in Poland. In addition, the staff continually receives ongoing education and training as well as monthly in-services.
- Q: How does Euro-Pēds differ from traditional treatments for cerebral palsy and other neuromuscular disorders?
A: Our treatment differs from traditional therapy in several ways. Euro-Pēds feels that a very effective way to achieve functional gains is through an intensive bout of therapy. Intensive therapy provides a child with the amount and type of repetition that they require to learn new movement skills. In the United States, children generally receive 1- 2 hours of therapy per week through school or outpatient programs. Preliminary research indicates that this duration of time is not enough to learn a new motor skill efficiently. Euro-Pēds, on the other hand, involves 4 - 20 hours per week of intensive therapy. It intends to produce progress and change, and focuses on the child's abilities, rather than on the disability. Additionally, Euro-Pēds utilizes multiple therapeutic tools that have been specifically devised for intensive therapy such as the Universal Exercise Unit and Suit Therapy. To learn more about how Euro-Pēds treatment differs from other therapies go to The Euro-Pēds Difference
- Q: How do the children tolerate 4 hours of therapy?
A: Once a child reaches about two years old, there are relatively no problems tolerating 4 hours of therapy. As many aides as necessary are available to help the therapist entertain and motivate the child as well as to provide hands-on assistance. Activities will be switched often and as long as one muscle group is not excessively worked, extensive muscle soreness will not occur. The therapist will use the parent's feedback as well as their own expertise to determine if the child is showing signs of genuine exhaustion and fatigue. It may take a day or two for the child to become comfortable with the Euro-Pēds routine and some children do cry during portions of the treatment because it is challenging. Every child is different, but the therapists are skilled at adapting the therapy session to fulfill the child's behavioral and physical needs.
- Q: How are parents involved in their child's treatment?
A: Unlike other programs, parents are fully involved in their child's Euro-Pēds therapy. Parental involvement is integrated into the treatment program, with professionals teaching parents to become their child's most available and personalized therapist. Because children require repetition and reinforcement to master new skills, parents, who spend more time with their children than any therapist, learn exercises to complement the formal Euro-Pēds treatment. Children, whose parents embrace this philosophy, experience lasting results. Each family participating in Euro-Pēds therapy receives a detailed home exercise program with digital pictures of their child to promote continuation of progress after discharge.
- Q: What is Suit Therapy? Does Euro-Pēds provide it?
A: Euro-Pēds is proud to have been the first clinic in the United States to offer a unique therapeutic device known as Suit Therapy, which can improve strength, balance, coordination, gait, functional activities and increase proprioceptive awareness. This Suit also positions the child in a more ideal alignment during these activities. For further information please see Suit Therapy. In 2007, Euro-Peds developed and designed their own improved Therapy Suit based on input from our experienced intensive therapy team. The Euro-Peds® Therapy Suit is patent-pending.
- Q: Does Euro-Pēds sell the Suit? Do you provide training to parents on how to use the Suit?
A: Euro-Pēds does not sell the Suit nor does it provide training to parents for use outside the therapy clinic. We believe that only trained professionals should use the Suit. Because the Suit is a medical tool and could potentially cause harm if not used properly, we do not recommend that it be purchased and used at home. This is for the SAFETY of the child. The Suit is a medical tool that has many contraindications, which are basically reasons that the Suit could cause harm to a child. The most common contraindications are as follows: Significant hip subluxation (which you might not even be aware of), severe scoliosis, uncontrolled seizure activity, VP shunt obstruction, osteoporosis (decreased bone density due to lack of weight bearing), and cognitive impairments/decreased communication skills. Our medical director evaluates each child and assess any precautions or contraindications before approving Suit Therapy. Hip x-rays are mandatory to determine if any hip subluxation is present. Many of the children that we see have several precautions to Suit Therapy that the therapists monitor and assess every moment they are in the Suit.
Each application of the Suit is different. Many changes occur daily in each child that require reassessment to determine the appropriate placement and tension of the bands. Example: You may notice that a child's tone is different when he or she is sick, tired, or excited. The application of the Suit changes because of this fluctuation in tone. Euro-Pēds therapists receive extensive and ongoing training to ensure that the therapists continue to provide intense therapy utilizing the European approach. As physical therapists and physical therapists assistants, we have been trained to recognize symptoms of greater pathology. This is especially important for children who cannot communicate their discomfort or concerns. Because Euro-Pēds is located in a fully equipped hospital, if unexpected complications arise, we have the facilities to manage the situation immediately.
- Q: Are there other tools I can use at home that will provide the same therapeutic benefits as the Euro-PedsŪ Therapy Suit?
A: There are other devices on the market that use some of the same principles and benefits of Suit Therapy such as the Theratog and Benik Vest. The Theratog and Benik Vest cannot supply the same force or adjustability that the Suit can. For that reason it does not have the same contraindications as the Suit and is an option for parents to use at home.
- Q: Are the results seen at Euro-Pēds maintainable?
A: Our aim at Euro-Pēds is to perform an intensive bout of physical therapy to boost the child to the next functional level. For example, a child may learn to roll over in order to get a toy at our clinic and then will continue to use this rolling skill to play at home, therefore, maintaining their progress. Many children at Euro-Pēds also learn to go from using a walker to using forearm crutches. With the continued use of the crutches at home, they will keep practicing and perfecting the new skill as they continue to walk. In addition, we do stress the importance of following-through with the supplied home exercise program to further strengthen and improve a child's motor skills. We have seen many families return to Euro-Pēds year after year whose children have maintained and integrated the skills they learned at our clinic into their daily lives.
- Q: Do you have other clinics? Will you?
A: No, currently Euro-Pēds is the first hospital-based intensive physical therapy clinic in the United States. While great potential exists to branch out across the country, and we have interest to expand to other locations, our first goal is to increase the capacity and the size of our Michigan clinic. Focusing on this internal expansion before moving outward is important, as we would use our clinic as the training center for future sites.
- Q: What kind of research does Euro-Pēds conduct?
A: In addition to treating children, the Euro-Pēds staff is committed to expanding knowledge of cerebral palsy and exploring new treatments. As such, Euro-Pēds serves as a research center to evaluate and utilize these new therapies. For further information please see Research.
- Q: Is Euro-Pēds intensive therapy covered by insurance?
A: Yes. As a hospital-based treatment program, most medical insurance companies cover Euro-Pēds intensive therapy. While specific coverage varies, the treatment is recognized as a successful, legitimate, physical therapy program throughout the U.S. Because Suit Therapy, specifically, is a new, unique technique, many insurance companies consider it investigational and are not covering it at this time. For those patients without insurance, those whose insurance does not cover physical therapy, those using Suit therapy, or those who travel from out of town and incur additional expenses while participating in Euro-Pēds therapy, may be eligible for NOMC's Adopt a EuroKid program, which provides financial assistance to children who need it. For further information please see Adopt-A-EuroKid.
- Q: Are there similar therapy programs like Euro-Pēds out there?
A: When Euro-Peds opened in October of 1999, it became the first intensive pediatric PT program outside of Europe, and was the only hospital-based intensive PT clinic in the world. Today, it remains in the same non-profit hospital. However, since 1999 other intensive physical therapy clinics have opened. Euro-Peds is unable to speak to the content of other programs claiming similar ideas. We suggest that when you are investing in something this important, you need to fully investigate the quality and longevity of the program. It is important to look at the staff training, length of time of operation, as well as the quality of the facility with which the program is associated. For further information on how our program is unique please see The Euro-Peds Difference
- Q: Regarding the 4 hour per day EPO program - Why does the bulk of your therapy consist of physical therapy? Why does your program not include hippotherapy, dolphin therapy etc?
A: At Euro-Pēds, our goal is to evaluate the child's functional status and to determine specific areas of strength and weaknesses. An individualized plan is then devised that will target the needs of this child and lead to a functional improvement. The therapist utilizes the entire therapy session to employ different interventions to achieve the desired outcome. Every child will show some improvement from a general exercise program, but in order to achieve maximum improvement in minimal time, an individually targeted treatment regimen needs to be administered. Additional therapeutic activities after the four-hour session may be too much for the child, potentially causing fatigue and decreased progress. More is not necessarily better.
- Q: Why is an individualized treatment plan so important?
A: Euro-Pēds employs individualized treatment plans and therapy that is provided in a one-on-one setting. When therapy is completed in a group setting, children of all different skill levels undergo the same exercise routine. Euro-Pēds strongly believes that while every child will show some improvement from a general exercise program, maximum improvement in minimal time is achieved through an individually targeted treatment regimen. Separate treatment areas provide the privacy needed for the children to focus on the task at hand and are extremely useful for children who are easily distracted. In addition, a one-on-one approach ensures that the therapist forms a relationship with the patient enabling them to accurately gage their response to treatment and make any necessary adjustments to ensure an optimal outcome. While overall privacy will be maintained as necessary, children and parents alike enjoy the encouragement and networking that is available by interacting with other families undergoing the program.
|
© Copyright 1999 - 2008 Euro-Pēds. All Rights Reserved. | Created by Media Genesis
|
