LIH Healthcare Management Visits Children’s Specialized Hospital

LIH Healthcare Senior Managers Hu Dai and Kristi Troutman

On March 28, Children’s Specialized Hospital (CSH), LIH Healthcare’s partner hospital for pediatrics in New Jersey, US welcomed three LIH healthcare managers, Dr. Fengyi Kuo, Therapy Director at Kunming LIH SkyCity Rehabilitation Hospital; Kristi Troutman, Interim Therapy Director at LIH Olivia’s Place Shenzhen, and Dai Hu, General Manager at LIH Olivia’s Place Beijing, prior to the opening of the AOTA conference. Clinical leadership from two organizations met face to face during the 1-day visit to conduct significant dialogue on various topics including rehabilitation facilities, clinical education, and team building in the cultural context of China and the US. The second part of the visit consisted of tours of CSH’s inpatient and outpatient facilities under the guidance of Patricia Foley, VP of Outpatient Services, with thorough overviews of their outpatient services and programs from an operational perspective. “As a clinic manager, the visit was fulfilled with great conversations with their clinicians and a deep tour in their inpatient and outpatient facilities which brought me inspiration on the direction of our Beijing clinic,” said Mr. Hu.

A special half-day meeting was arranged exclusively for clinicians to conduct special topic presentations, Q&A, and discussions. A series of topics including The Current State of Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Education in China, LIH Healthcare Current Facilities, Staffing and Patient Demographics, and Overview of LIH Healthcare Clinical Training and Leveling were brought to CSH’s therapist leads team by the LIH Healthcare managers. The presentations and dialogue received tremendous feedback from CSH’s clinicians. Kristi Troutman, Interim Therapy Director at LIH Olivia’s Place Shenzhen recalled, “Our CSH counterparts found these presentations extremely helpful for them to put many things into perspective in terms of supporting clinician peers in China. It was eye-opening for them to hear about the ‘gaps’ in therapist numbers versus need throughout China and the history of rehab in China!” The meeting served as a great opportunity for stronger ties between clinicians as they exchanged professional expertise and went into a deep dive on special clinical topics.

During the meeting, CSH presented “The Six Thinking Hats” methodology that the organization adopted to train clinicians on multidisplinary team thinking and working models. The clinical leads initiated deep discussion with the LIH Healthcare managers on identifying needs areas for ongoing training and improvement for better multidisplinary team communication that leads to better treatment planning and higher quality of care. “My understanding on how CSH has been effectively implementing the family-centered care approach to all levels from management to clinicians had been incrementally growing throughout the visit. I was also constantly amazed by the level of cohesiveness of their communications between disciplines.” Said Dr. Fengyi Kuo, Therapy Director at Kunming LIH SkyCity Rehabilitation Hospital.

The partnership between LIH Healthcare and CSH was established in 2015, with the goal of increasing the quality and availability of services for pediatric rehabilitation/therapy and developmental-behavioral pediatrics in China. Since then, therapists from both organizations have been working closely on building knowledge pathways to share professional expertise. Children’s Specialized Hospital is the leading US provider of inpatient and outpatient care for children from birth to 21 years of age facing special health challenges, with a volume of 30,000 patients yearly – from chronic illnesses and complex physical disabilities like brain and spinal cord injuries, to developmental and behavioral issues like autism and mental health. With 68 inpatient beds and 13 New Jersey locations, Children’s Specialized is the region’s largest provider of services for children with ASD. Based on a Press Ganey independent survey, 99% of patient’s parents would recommend Children’s specialized to others. It has been named “Top Children’s Hospital” by The Leapfrog Group and named among Top Children’s Hospitals by New York Magazine.