Additional Services

WHEELCHAIR/ADAPTIVE EQUIPMENT CLINIC

The Wheelchair/Adaptive Equipment Clinic is a free service provided by our school district. The clinic is organized and run by members of the Physical Therapy Department., PT. Scheduled clinics are held every Wednesday. During a scheduled clinic, students are seen to assess their needs for either a new wheelchair, growth to an existing wheelchair, or modifications to either improve seating posture or function or safety.

	Students are also seen to assess their needs for varied mobility-based assistive devices. This could include: assessment for a walker, gait trainer, quad cane, etc. Families/caregivers are always invited and encouraged to attend, particularly when a new chair is being assessed or ordered. Given that many parents are unable to attend (work, younger children at home, transportation issues, etc.) we do our best to facilitate their input through the use of a parental questionnaire form.
When requested or as needed, we assist families with equipment needs for their student at home. This can include: a car seat, toilet seat, hospital bed, etc. Prior to any child being seen, a parental permission form is sent home. This form includes a section for HIPPA compliance. In addition to scheduled clinics, emergency clinics are held as needed for emergency repairs that fall outside of the minor repairs that we are able to do ourselves.

The process of obtaining a new piece of equipment for a student or even obtaining repairs/revisions, requires: a physician prescription; detailed letter of medical necessity which defines the medical need, use, and pertinent student information (name, diagnosis, date of birth, potential for success with it, age of equipment being replaced, etc.). This is a fairly involved process for both the primary treating therapist as well as the clinic supervisors, as they often have to assist in writing these letters and mailing them to the appropriate physicians for signature. This also involves working with a number of different equipment vendors, as the choice of vendor is dictated by the child’s medical insurance. Every vendor that we work with has been approved by the Board of Education for our school district and has been screened through our criminal record process.

This year we have 89 students in our district who are followed throughout this clinic. In addition, we are working with 11 vendors.