Restore
January 1, 2013

When it opened last spring, the outpatient pediatric rehabilitation center at Johns Hopkins made rehabilitative therapies available to children living with a chronic illness, injury or developmental disability.

Housed in The Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children’s Center, the facility has already improved the lives of some of its sickest patients, says Pediatric Rehabilitation Team Coordinator Julie Quinn. One in particular comes to mind: the young recipient of two grueling bone marrow transplants who was now home, eager to resume childhood.

“Her mom recently texted me a little video of her riding her bike,” Quinn says. “She was able to do this much more quickly, since we were seeing her twice weekly in coordination with her oncology clinic appointments.”

The spacious new facility features a gym, main room for multiple activities and a kitchen area. “We’ve been able to bridge care for children as they progress from inpatient to outpatient,” Quinn says.

The center reaffirms the importance of pediatric rehabilitation for various conditions,” says Frank Pidcock, associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation and pediatrics. 

Its cheerful environment, adds Quinn, inspires patients who need motivation after a prolonged hospital stay that may have left them weak and depressed.

The outpatient rehab center has already spawned possibilities for innovative collaborations, including an alliance with the Division of Pediatric Cardiology to craft a cardiac rehabilitation program. Plans are also under way to open pediatric rehabilitation centers at other Johns Hopkins outpatient sites to serve patients in a larger geographic area.