Long Term Care Team

Director of Pediatric Long Term Care

​The Director of Pediatric Long Term Care responsibilities are to insure the quality of care and the maintenance of safe and appropriate business practices. This includes insuring that we meet Federal, State, Local and Organizational regulations and policies. The goal is always to strive for customer satisfaction and best practices in all that we do.

Nurse Manager

The Nurse Manager responsibilities are to ensure that hospital policies and procedures are carried out, that we have appropriate staff, and to generally make sure the Pediatric Long Term Care Center runs smoothly and that the children’s needs are being met.

Pediatric Nurse Practitioner

The Pediatric Nurse Practitioner responsibilities are to perform medical assessments, monitor progress, prescribe and supervise therapy, and meet regularly with the family.

Physician

The Physician responsibilities are to perform the initial medical assessment with the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and work closely with the Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in the ongoing care of every child.

Registered Nurses (RN) and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN)

The registered nurse responsibilities are the coordination and planning of nursing care. They work with the LPN’s and Certified Nurse assistants to evaluate each child's condition, to plan and implement nursing care, and to discuss current needs. A Registered Nurse is on duty at all times (24 hours a day). The nursing staff is responsible for providing direct care such as giving medications, and specialized treatments as well as the physical care for your child’s daily needs. Please feel free to speak to the nurse concerning any questions or concerns you /your child may have.

Certified Nursing Assistants (CNA)

The Certified Nursing Assistant’s responsibilities are to work hand in hand with the nurses and therapists to make sure that your child’s daily needs are met. They take care of daily grooming and dressing needs and make sure that your child is comfortable and happy.

Social Worker

A Social Worker will be available to support and assist you/your child and will maintain close contact with you. She can help you get answers to questions, find special resources for your child’s needs, inform you of special meetings and events and in general help you navigate the many journeys you will make in caring for your child.

Respiratory (Mountainside only)

Our respiratory team is made up of some of the most experienced respiratory therapists in the State of New Jersey. In our centers, the respiratory therapists are able to continuously monitor children with challenging respiratory needs such as mechanical ventilator dependency and tracheostomy. Some advanced techniques performed are:

• Tracheostomy insertion and removal
• Weaning from mechanical ventilation
• Our Mountainside center offers more intensive supervision nursing stations than similar facilities to ensure children with respiratory challenges are closely monitored
• Our on-site lab provides quick turn around on blood gases, glucose, chemistry and ketone levels.

Our department staffs respiratory therapists in our center 365 days, 24hours a day. When it comes to learning the care of your child with a tracheostomy and/or with mechanical ventilation, our staff provides direct training and care techniques to allow greater opportunities to visit outside the facility to your home, special events and over-night stays. We are here to support our families and children.

Physical Therapist

The Physical therapist responsibilities are to work with each child to maintain or improve range of motion, and promote independent functional mobility through exercises, both active and passive, functional positioning, and through the use of braces and positioning equipment.

Occupational Therapists

The Occupational Therapist responsibilities are to focus on activities that improve functions of the hands, arms, and upper body, as well as eye-hand coordination and various motor skills that help contribute to the child's physical and emotional independence.

Speech Therapist

The Speech Therapist responsibilities are to work with each child to assess their ability to eat, swallow and communicate. If the child is able to eat by mouth, the speech therapist will help to determine the best food/texture for their diet. The speech therapist also accesses the child’s ability to communicate both verbally and/or through alternate means of communication which includes use of switches, picture boards, etc.

The Restorative Nursing Assistant

The Restorative Nursing Assistant, a certified nursing assistant, responsibilities are to act as a liaison between the nursing department and the therapy teams. The Restorative Nursing Assistant assists the nursing staff to carry out a restorative plan set forth by the therapy team.

Recreational Therapist

Recreational therapist responsibilities are to utilize play, recreation, and leisure activities to improve the physical, cognitive, sensory and social/emotional abilities of infants, toddlers, children and adolescents. The primary purpose of their treatment is to identify, improve and/or enhance the functional abilities and independence of the children through leisure and play skills/techniques. We also focus on engaging our residents through play and social opportunities through leisure group and evening recreation activities, special events, open recreation play times, pet therapy programming, music therapy, volunteers, patient pals, cuddler program, community outing trips, and family encouraged activities.

Child Life Specialist

The Child Life Specialist responsibility is to help children successfully cope with health related stressors. The Child Life Specialist will provide age-appropriate activities, distraction and successful coping mechanisms to support children during Dental Clinic, Blood draws, Immunizations and other stressful procedures. Child Life services are available for sibling support, bereavement support, and individual sessions.

Rehabilitation Technology

Rehabilitation Technology responsibility is to provide children with the proper seating and positioning devices, and mobility-access equipment such as wheelchairs, to enable children to interact with their environment.

Orthotics and Prosthetics

Children’s Specialized Hospital works with NOPCO - New Jersey Orthotics and Prosthetics Department to provide children with access to the latest technology in orthotics and prosthetics.

Psychotherapist/Psychologist

The psychotherapist provides counseling services to your child and your family. These services are arranged for on referral by the care team.

Family Faculty

Family Faculty will provide peer-to-peer support to assist families with transition and adjustment to the Pediatric Long Term Care center. Family Faculty also assists with many of the family programs and activities.

Clinical Nutrition

Upon admission a registered dietitian conducts a comprehensive nutritional assessment on every child. This nutritional assessment addresses the child’s nutritional needs and special dietary requirements. Members of the Clinical nutrition staff are responsible for the creation, implementation, monitoring and revision of nutritional care plans. The registered dietitian (RD) and registered diet technician (DTR) work with the interdisciplinary team members to optimize each child’s nutritional status. They attend patient care meetings on each child every 3 months.

Food Service

Our Mountainside location has a food service department on site that provides the children who are able to eat/drink by mouth with 3 meals and snacks as appropriate. They provide meals that correspond to the diets that are recommended by the RD, RDT and speech therapist based on the child’s dietary requirements, dietary restrictions and oral motor skills. The RD and RDT provide the food service department with food preferences that are obtained on each child. The Mountainside dietary staff is also responsible for the preparation of specialized formulas for a child’s tube feeding using recipes written by the RD and RDT.

At our Toms River location, the food service department of an adjoining nursing home provides the meals. The food service department is responsible for preparation of meals and snacks that correspond to the diets that are recommended by the RD and speech therapist based on the child’s dietary requirements, dietary restrictions and oral motor skills. The RD provides the food service department with food preferences that are obtained on each child. The food service staff is also responsible for the preparation of specialized formulas for a child’s tube feeding using recipes written by the RD.

Kosher Meals: We do not keep a kosher kitchen for food preparation and handling. We assume responsibility only for heating and serving frozen kosher meals, intact (in other words, in the packing in which they are delivered and with disposable plates and utensils). We do not accept responsibility for any other items placed on the food service tray or table. Children and families assume the responsibility for assuring that tray and table items meet their religious standards.

Pharmacist

The pharmacist dispenses and monitors all medication prescribed for the child. The hospital pharmacist is an integral member of the health care team. The pharmacist, physician and nurse work together in meeting your child’s medication needs.

Spiritual Needs/Chaplain

Please feel free to invite your clergy to visit your child. We would be happy to contact the clergy who visit our hospital on an on-call basis, should you wish them to meet with you and/or your child. Please speak to your nurse or other staff about any support you or your child have for meeting your spiritual needs. In addition, our Chaplain will see your child when they visit the home and provide spiritual direction at that time. If you have special requests for your child you can make them known to the chaplain. The chaplain is also a presence for the family for support and counseling.