Overview
The mission of the Division of Pediatric Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is to maximize activity and participation (minimize disability and handicap) for optimal quality of life for children with disabilities and their families. The faculty in the division includes five pediatric physiatrists, each of whom is Board Certified/Eligible in both Pediatrics and PM&R, and a research associate in pediatric psychology.
The clinical activities of the division include provision of acute and subacute inpatient, consultation, day program, and outpatient rehabilitative services.
The Comprehensive Integrated Inpatient Medical Rehabilitation and Pediatric Family-Centered Medical Rehabilitation Programs are accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), one of only three accredited pediatric rehabilitation programs in the State of Ohio and one of four in the tri-state area.
Outpatient clinical activities include clinics in Pediatric Rehabilitation, Spasticity Management, and EMG, as well as participation in multidisciplinary clinics, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic, Wheelchair and Adaptive Seating Evaluation Clinic, Brachial Plexus Clinic, Cerebral Palsy Clinic, Myelomeningocele Clinic, Stroke Clinic, Limb Reconstruction Clinic, and Neuro-Oncology Clinic. Satellite clinics in Pediatric Rehabilitation are offered on a monthly basis at Cincinnati Children's Outpatient Locations in Mason and Kentucky and in Portsmouth, Ohio, on a quarterly basis.
Training is provided for resident physicians in PM&R at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, as well as for resident physicians in the combined residency training program in Pediatrics and PM&R at Cincinnati Children's and UC. The five-year combined residency training program in Pediatrics and PM&R is currently one of five combined programs in this specialty in the United States. Medical students rotate in pediatric rehabilitation on electives in rehabilitation in their third and fourth years, as part of the neurosciences selective in the fourth year, and as clinical research externs during the summer between the first and second years.
Research activities are focused on pediatric brain injury (see below). Advocacy efforts in the division aim to facilitate community integration of children and youth with disabilities.
Educational activities in this area have focused on brain injury awareness, with an annual conference on brain injury sponsored for the community, held this year at Cincinnati Children's. Services supported by the community through our division facilitate appropriate inclusion of children with brain injury in school environments.
