I began my role as director of MMI’s Physical Therapy Department in early January. I continue to marvel at the depth and breadth of experience and expertise in our department.
In October – three months prior to stepping into the director role – I was able to witness the collaboration of the department with the American Physical Therapy Association’s Academy of Pediatrics to run the annual Pediatrics Conference in Omaha. The conference was a resounding success for all attendees.
MMI will offer a course this fall on the treatment of children with developmental coordination disorder as the department continues to position itself as a leader in pediatric physical therapy continuing education in the region.
MMI’s physical therapists serve children with developmental and movement challenges in many settings. We have clinicians who serve infants in the neonatal intensive care unit at Nebraska Medicine, then follow the infants through the TIPS (Tracking Infant Progress Statewide) program. We are the physical therapy service providers for both Omaha and Bellevue public schools. As part of those relationships, we provide services to both the early development program and school-age populations.
Here at MMI we provide direct physical therapy services to patients from infancy through adulthood. We provide physical therapy intervention to address movement dysfunction that impacts the child’s ability to interact with and participate in activities with family and peers.
With both land and aquatic therapy, we can better meet the needs of our patients. Later this year, we will be joining other disciplines in launching a multidisciplinary transition clinic to provide much needed services to adults with developmental disabilities as they age out of their pediatric providers. We also have a pelvic and sexual health program for adolescents and adults with developmental disabilities.
We are a site for the GoBabyGo! Program, which provides power mobility devices for children as young as 9 months of age. We will offer another build this spring for several children and their families. Our staff also participate in many other community engagement activities designed to promote health and fitness in the communities we serve.
Our therapists participate in the pediatrics course taught at UNMC to share their expertise with the next generation of physical therapists. We also have several research projects underway run by our two faculty members.
As I look ahead to the next year, I am excited at the opportunities MMI affords the clinicians here and am anxious to see how we can continue to grow and develop to better serve the community.