A Cleveland Clinic consultancy has agreed to help a hospital in one of Pennsylvania’s most medically underserved regions to design and staff a treatment center for autistic children.
Highlands Hospital, a community hospital in Connellsville, Pa., has hired Cleveland Clinic Autism Development Solutions to help it open an autism center next year, according to a PR Newswire release by California University of Pennsylvania.
The agreement is the latest example of how the Clinic is expanding operations domestically and internationally through affiliations, satellite programs and comprehensive management agreements “to provide the best possible care to as many patients as possible,” in the words of Dr. Eric Klein, chairman of its Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute.
The Power of One: Redefining Healthcare with an AI-Driven Unified Platform
In a landscape where complexity has long been the norm, the power of one lies not just in unification, but in intelligence and automation.
Cleveland Clinic Autism Development Solutions is a highly specialized business within the Center for Autism at Cleveland Clinic Children’s Hospital, according to California University, which plans to educate some of its graduate students at the Highlands Hospital autism center.
Autism Development Solutions helps healthcare agencies and systems develop autism programs, from designing “eduscapes,” staff development and individual student curriculum, to establishing procedures, processes and opportunities for research collaboration.
Highlands Hospital will be the nation’s third healthcare provider to open an autism center with the help of Autism Development Solutions, according to California University. Programs are under way at Highlands Regional Medical Center in Prestonburg, Ky. and Freeman Health System in Joplin, Mo.
Research by the Cleveland Clinic shows that one in every 94 American children has some form of autism, according to California University’s release. The Clinic has developed a program based on applied behavioral analysis to teach basic and complex skills to children with autism.
NEMT Partner Guide: Why Payers and Providers Should Choose MediDrive’s TMS
Alan Murray on improving access for medical transportation.
In rural Fayette County where Highlands Hospital is located, more than 400 people between the ages of 5 and 24 are believed to be affected by the complex developmental disability that appears in early childhood, disrupting communication and social interaction, the university said in its release. Statistics suggest that 80 more children in the southwestern Pennsylvania county who are younger than 5 will be diagnosed.
The center would be the first autism program in the region near Pittsburgh that has one of the highest poverty rates in the state, the university said. The hospital will offer autism services and awareness education to encourage early diagnosis.