Volume V, Issue 3 : 2013

Take a look inside!

A Letter from Cortney.......................... 1

Cortneys Letter
As we begin to prepare for the kids to go back to school and anticipate the weather cooling down, the end of summer brings reflection on a lot of hard work for us here at KidsCare Therapy. During the last quarter the legislative session in Texas ended. KidsCare Therapy once again was a strong presence during this session, striving to ensure that our patients were fairly represented. As the session has come to a close we are proud of the work we have done, and would like to share some of the changes that have come from the session that will affect our industry. First, Senate Bill 1216 was passed with the verbiage that all Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) will standardize their prior authorization forms and advisory committees will be formed by October of this year to begin working on this standardization. The hopes are that this will streamline the intake process for many healthcare companies providing Medicaid services. Texas also recently decided not to pass the Expansion of Medicaid from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which would have integrated the entire population, regardless of age, into Medicaid services based on income. This will help continue to concentrate the funding for Medicaid to the pediatric population. While this law from the ACA was decided to be constitutional, it was decided that withholding federal monies from states that did not pass this law was not constitutional. Therefore, Texas will not receive less funding for healthcare because of denying the Expansion of Medicaid. Perhaps the other most notable change during the last session is that children with SSI will now be provided healthcare services by being enrolled in MCOs. The state is still working on the logistics of this change, and will be providing further information in the coming

Speech in the Country......................... 2 KCT Celebrates 10 Years!.....................2 1st Annual CLASP Diaper Dash ............3 MultiPlan/PHCS....................................4 Upcoming Events .................................4 KCT New Hires ..................................... 4

months. To keep up-to-date on the status of these changes and other changes happening as a result of the previous legislative session, check out the Texas Health and Human Services website. During the last few months we have also increased our presence in our new Austin market. I am proud to say that we have hired a Community Relations representative, a few therapists, and even started seeing patients. We have worked hard to get to know the Austin community, and have enjoyed and appreciated the warm welcome from our new healthcare partners in Austin. As we begin to incorporate new healthcare changes into our policy and continue our growth in Austin, we will also be focusing on supporting our communities in the coming months in preparation for children heading back to school. This is always a busy time for us, as we sponsor back to school fairs and support health drives in order to help ensure that the children of Texas are healthy and have the supplies they need to start a new school year. Make sure to check out our Events section in the back for more information on where we will be, and to find events you may want to attend. I hope everyone enjoys the remaining days of their summer, and has a wonderful fall season. Thank you to everyone who has supported KidsCare Therapy and our growth over these past months, we are always humbled by the community collaboration we receive in new markets, as well as in North Texas.

- Cortney Baker

Speech in the Country

There are a variety of ways to provide speech therapy to patients, and in Home health we often see a little creativity go a long way. One of the joys of being in the childs home is that fun and creative therapy often make the child more comfortable, allowing them to pick up on things more quickly. A perfect example of this is Rebecca Pugh, KCT STA doing therapy with her patient Eder with his baby lamb. Eder, a ten year old patient who has a severe language delay, has been working on using a Dynavox to communicate, because his speech is unintelligible to the average listener. With a Dynavox, which is a device that allows the patient to point to items which will then be pronounced through the device, Eder will be able to convey his needs to unfamiliar listeners. Of course, this is a temporary fix, as speech therapy is also working on slow speech production and producing consonants clearly in order for him to be able speak on his own. While Eder has been receiving speech therapy for almost eight months, lately he has been having a hard time focusing on his speech sessions. One session in particular was starting out exceptionally tough, and it didnt help that Eders twin sisters were heading outside to feed their new baby lambs. Since Rebecca knew the session wouldnt progress with Eder wanting to be outside with his sisters, she packed up her stuff and they both headed outside to try an unconventional type of therapy for the day. Outside, after finally corralling a little lamb, Eder began bottle feeding her. He quickly became calm and joyful from feeding the lamb, so Rebecca started right in on their therapy, asking him to repeat his target words. His newfound distraction provided the perfect opportunity for him to focus and cooperate for the rest of their time together. Rebecca says she and Eder will definitely do their therapy with the lambs again, and hopes that therapy may be something Eder looks forward to in the future if she continues to provide it in unique ways!

KidsCare Therapy celebrates 10 years!

KidsCare Therapy has been growing at such a rapid rate that time has seemed to just fly by, which is why it is so hard to believe that this October, KidsCare Therapy will be celebrating ten years in business. In October of 2003 owner and founder Cortney Baker started KidsCare Therapy out of her home with the hopes of running a company where therapists and employees were supported and encouraged to grow professionally, and where patients would receive the utmost care in the comfort of their homes. Cortneys vision has now turned into a company of over 100 therapists, and 1400 patients covering four markets. But Cortney says she is most proud of the importance KidsCare Therapy still places on providing the highest quality and ethical care to each patient, no matter how large we grow. She is also grateful to all of the community partners who have supported us over the last ten years. We have made some invaluable connections in all of our communities, and the growth is a product of the support that has come from them. Cortney, and the KidsCare team, is proud of all of the accomplishments that have been made over the past ten years, and we are all excited to see what the next ten have in store!

First Annual CLASP International Diaper Dash

is to support and improve the lives of children and adults with disabilities in developing countries. We are proud to say that Shannon Benton, Founder and Executive Director of CLASP International, was a KCT therapist when we were getting started. Today, she and members of her team frequently travel to Africa and other developing countries to provide therapy to villages, bringing rehabilitation services to the special needs population who is so often forgotten in these parts of the world. KidsCare Therapys owner and founder, Cortney Baker, is on the Governing Board of CLASP International, and KidsCare Therapy couldnt have been more honored to support this wonderful cause at the Diaper Dash!

KidsCare Therapy loves to run, especially for wonderful causes! So we couldnt have been more thrilled when we were invited to participate in a 5K/1 mile fun run for CLASP Internationals first annual Diaper Dash. CLASP Internationals mission

www.KidsCareTherapy.com

KidsCare Events
August 9 CEU Lunch & Learn - Trach & Vent Class Dallas, TX August 10 Healthy Family Fair & School Supply Drive Fort Worth, TX August 10 Hip Hop to Health Waco Convention Center August 17 Golden Hat Walk for Autism Austin, TX August 23-24 CEU Course Dallas, TX September 6 CEU Course - Treating Children with Severe Physical Disabilities Dallas, TX September 7 Greater North Texas NAPNAP Conference Dallas, TX September 13 Dallas Quarterly Therapist Meeting Dallas, TX September 18 Texas Tech Career Fair Lubbock, TX September 20 Fort Worth Quarterly Therapist Meeting Fort Worth, TX September 20 Babies & Birdies Cowboys Golf Club September 21 Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech Dallas, TX

MultiPlan/PHCS
KidsCare Therapy is proud to announce they have partnered with MultiPlan, an organization that will allow patients with commercial insurance plans who are under MultiPlan/PHCS to receive our services with assistance from their insurance policy. This new partnership will allow KidsCare Therapy to broaden our scope of patients, and we are excited for the opportunity to provide our services to even more kids in our communities. Stay tuned for more information on our partnership through the KidsCare Therapy website blog at KidsCareTherapy.com/blog.

KidsCares New Hires

April
Dawn Ashley Christine ST Waco Community Relations Coordinator Dallas ST Dallas ST Dallas Community Relations Specialist Austin PT Dallas OT Waco ST Dallas OT Dallas OT Fort Worth Therapy Service Coordinator Fort Worth ST Fort Worth ST Dallas PT Dallas Receptionist Dallas Processing Coordinator Fort Worth ST Dallas ST Dallas PT Dallas ST Dallas ST Fort Worth ST Dallas ST Dallas

February
Courtney Diana Shanni Kimberly Tracy Ashley Laurie Christian

June

Sarah Shelley Erin Seleena Leeanna Maurie Bonnie Sarah Jaclyn Mary Tiffany Carrie

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Dallas (214) 575-2999

Fort Worth (817) 546-8661

Waco (254) 751-0253

Austin (866) 919-3240