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MDT Care: Together, we achieve the best outcome

August 10, 2017 Olivia's Place Comments Off , , , , ,
Martin (Hai) Qiu, Speech and Language Therapist, HCPC Registered (Consultant), LIH Olivia's Place Shanghai

Martin (Hai) Qiu, Speech and Language Therapist, HCPC Registered (Consultant), LIH Olivia’s Place Shanghai

Last month, we were invited to participate in the Pediatric Innovation Forum at Shanghai Children’s Medical Center. The LIH Olivia’s Place Director of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Dr. Susan Cadzow, Shanghai Lead of Speech and Language Therapy Ms. Sophia Guarracino, and Speech and Language Therapist Mr. Martin Qiu attended the forum accompanied by LIH Healthcare public relations and translation staff members, Ms. Heidi Gao and Mr. Louis Liu.

In the forum, Dr. Michael Mintz, PsyD, from Children’s National Health System, gave a presentation on ‘Neurodevelopmental outcomes for children with congenital heart defects’ to share his experiences working with children with congenital heart defects in Washington D.C. Dr. Zhang Yiwen also presented about the ‘Cooperation of medicine and education for children with Down syndrome in Shanghai’ to discuss the recent reformation of pediatric care in local communities.

These two speakers shared their experiences from two different countries in different fields of pediatric care. However, they both emphasized the essence of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) model of care for achieving the best outcome for the child. Dr. Mintz shined some light on the care pathway involving multiple health care professions, such as speech and language therapists and occupational therapists. Whereas, Dr. Zhang discussed cooperation on a larger scale, between the health care professions and education department.

These perspectives fit perfectly with our core vision at LIH Olivia’s Place, to enable all people of China to access high-quality, evidence-based, inter-disciplinary rehabilitation services. More recently, following the latest evidence, LIH Olivia’s Place has developed multi-disciplinary assessments which are financially accessible for more families. Many of the families who are now able to obtain assessment and subsequent treatment are families from local communities with a child with complex needs. The MDT model ensures better communication between disciplines so that clinicians can understand the child’s strengths and weaknesses clearly. Only then can the team make an accurate diagnosis and provide effective family-centered treatment plans.

LIH Olivia’s Place will continue to be devoted to enabling more families to access high-quality, evidence-based, inter-disciplinary pediatric services. We strongly believe that working closely with other disciplines and local communities can help us to achieve this mission.


LIH Healthcare Pediatric Specialists Present at Children’s Healthcare Forum

July 14, 2017 Olivia's Place Comments Off , , , , , ,

The “Forum on Current Topics in Caring for Children -Nutrition, Development & Parenting” was held at Shenzhen Bao An Maternity and Children’s Hospital on 14 May. Many well-known professors and international and local supervising physicians were invited to this forum, the theme of children’s health care issues. Dr. Susan Cadzow, Director of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics for LIH Healthcare and Kristi Troutman, Occupational Therapist and Clinical Manager of LIH Olivia’s Place Shenzhen, both presented at the event.

Baoan 1Dr.Susan Cadzow is an Australian-registered pediatrician and also a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She has previously worked at Shanghai United Family Hospital and Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane. She is now the Director of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics at LIH Healthcare.
First, Dr. Cadzow explained what a multi-disciplinary team model is and why it is necessary in the diagnosis of autism. Due to complexity in diagnosis of autism and the similarity of symptoms to many other conditions, precise diagnosis requires the engagement of a team which may include a child’s doctor andoccupational therapy, physical therapy, psychological consultation, speech-language therapy, Learning support, and behavioral therapy.
Next, Dr. Cadzow explained in detail the goal of diagnostic assessment. At the end of the presentation, she expressed that she is looking forward to the further development in specialized services for treatment of autism for children and multi-disciplinary assessment team to enable early diagnosis and early intervention in China, as well as further understanding of practitioners on genetic conditions.

Kristi Troutman, LIH Olivia's Place Clinical Manager, presenting on "Occupational Therapy and Developmental-Behavioral Disorders"

Kristi Troutman, LIH Olivia’s Place Clinical Manager, presenting on “Occupational Therapy and Developmental-Behavioral Disorders”

Kristi Troutman, OTR/L, Clinical Manager at LIH Olivia’s Place Shenzhen, has more than 25 years of occupational therapy experience; she has worked with children with a variety of diagnoses, including autism, ADHD, cerebral palsy, visual impairment, Angleman Syndrome, Noonan Syndrome, selective mutism, and developmental delay.

In her speech, she explained the concept and types of pediatric occupational therapy, and advocated the idea that “Family engagement is Essential in OT”- children, peers, family members, and adults work together on occupational activities such as feeding and eating, caregiver-child interaction in play, dressing, grooming, and personal hygiene. This joint effort is very important to infants, toddlers, children, and their families.

She put emphasis on the significance of occupational therapy, exemplified by how occupational therapy activities are designed to fit for the needs of every single child’s development. Her speech won applause from the audience from time to time, and was received very warmly. In the end, Ms. Troutman explained that the goal of treatment should be varied in terms of each individual, taking consideration of education at home and school, and also highlighted that treatment should be home-centered as appropriate.


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