When a young child has a developmental delay, early intervention is key to the best possible outcome. A "wait and see" response to observed delays can lead to missed opportunities that adversely affect a child's growth, development and potential.
Rehab Designed for the Unique Needs of Children
At Nicklaus Children's Hospital we offer a full range of bilingual diagnostic and therapeutic services to meet the needs of infants, children and adolescents. All pediatric rehabilitation services are provided by a team of professionals who focus on the medical, therapeutic and educational needs of the child and family.
Nicklaus Children's Hospital rehabilitative program includes both inpatient services offered to patients in the hospital’s neonatal, pediatric and cardiac intensive care units as well as outpatient care available at the hospital’s main campus and other South Florida locations.
A Select Team of Rehab Specialists
The first step in rehabilitating a child is to provide a team of pediatric rehabilitation specialists who understand the physical, emotional and psychological needs of children and their families at varying stages of life. The entire team has advanced training in meeting children's specialized needs, as well as how best to engage them in the rehabilitative process. The specialists include:
After a comprehensive evaluation, a treatment plan is developed with the child’s family to enable patients to achieve maximum functional levels as quickly as possible. Our team is dedicated to provide children with the best opportunity to improve their daily function, level of independence and quality of life.
Therapeutical Treatments and Services
- Auditory Processing Disorders Evaluations
- Aquatic Therapy
- Bone Anchored Hearing Aids
- Brain Injury/Concussion Evaluation
- Brachial-Plexus Evaluation and Treatment
- Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT)
- Constraint Induced Movement Therapy
- Feeding and Swallowing Therapy
- Feeding and Swallowing Therapy with Vital Stimulation
- Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)
- Fluency Evaluation and Treatment
- Gait Lab
- Hand Therapy
- Interactive Metronome
- Nasopharyngoscopy with Endoscope Evaluations
- Orthopedic/Sports Medicine
- Serial Casting
- Simi Motion Analysis
- Voice Evaluation and Therapy
- Voice Therapy with Instrumentation
- Videofluoroscopy Study of Velopharyngeal Function During Speech
- Wheelchair/ Seating Assesments (Wheelchair Clinic)
- Wound Care Evaluation and Treatment
Therapeutical Treatments and Services
Nicklaus Children's offers a comprehensive array of therapy services for children and teens, including:
Conditions We Treat
Nicklaus Children’s treats auditory processing disorders, fine and gross motor coordination deficits, fluency disorders, neurological-based disorders, prematurity and many other conditions listed below:
Scheduling Rehab Services
In order to begin rehabilitation services at NCH, each child requires a current, comprehensive evaluation, based on the children's individual needs, diagnosis, and age. To begin this process and to schedule an initial evaluation please use the link below.
What to expect before your rehab evaluation is scheduled:
Prior to your child’s evaluation, please complete the mobile pre-registration and clinical documentation, which you will receive via text message.
- Please ensure that you have provided the best mobile phone number, for all future communications (scheduling updates, appointment confirmations).
- o It is important to complete all documents within the mobile registration prior to the appointment to avoid delays. Anything not completed may delay your appointment.
Please upload the following documentation, using the mobile registration, necessary for your appointment:
- A valid rehab prescription, dated within 60 days from your appointment date.
- Audiology prescription is valid for 1 year.
- Photo ID
- Insurance card
Any additional documentation related to your child’s condition will be helpful for this rehab evaluation, i.e. school IEP, Early Steps documents, prior rehab evaluations as applicable, post-surgical protocols/restrictions.
• Please be mindful of your evaluation time and arrive 30 minutes prior to the appointment for parking and registration.
What to expect at your rehab evaluation:
- An evaluation can last up to two hours, depending on the specialty service.
- Please have your child wear comfortable clothing, as they may be asked to perform physical activities, depending on specialty service.
- Please note, a parent/legal guardian MUST be present if the child is under 18 years old. If the parent/legal guardian is unable to bring the child to the evaluation, a signed authorization to accompany minor patient in absence of parent/guardian is required.
What to expect after your rehab evaluation:
- The completion of the written evaluation and plan of care (POC) documentation can take up to 7 business days.
- Our team sends the POC to the referring physician for signature.
- Once signed POC is received, the authorization team will verify and share financial responsibility.
- If therapy is recommended, a staff member will call to coordinate therapy sessions.
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Tracking Rehabilitative Advancement through Accountable Care (TRAAC)
Nicklaus Children's therapists use an episodic service delivery model known as TRAAC to create an individual plan of care to meet each child'sunique needs. TRAAC provides guidelines for determining duration, type and frequency of treatment based on age, diagnosis and historic information (medical, previous treatments and history). All members of the team –parents, caregivers, teachers and therapists– work together to identify therapy goals and assess progress.
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Accepted by Most Commercial Insurance Plans
Nicklaus Children's rehabilitative services are covered by most commercial insurance plans, including:
- Aetna (commercial)
- Ambetter
- AVMED – Non-par with Jackson Select (JHS/JRP), first choice, LFP Premier, Entrust (Avmed Federal Marketplace Plan)
- BCBS Florida and Out of State – Non-par W/ Blue Select (can be seen with out of network benefits ONLY)
- Cigna – Non-par with Federal Exchange & EPO CONNECT
- Golden Rule
- Humana HMO
- Medicaid of Florida
- Oxford
- Amerihealth Caritas Medicaid
- Sunshine Medicaid
- Tricare
- United Medicaid (only accepted depending on diagnosis)
- United Healthcare Commercial
- United Bind
- United Healthcare (Neighborhood Health Plan)
- UMR
- Vivida Health Plan
Medicaid Plans that Cover Treatment at Palm Beach Gardens Location Only:
- Community Care Plan Medicaid
- Simply Medicaid & Healthy Kids
- Humana Medicaid