Meeting the needs of young people and adults with childhood-onset conditions: Gillette Lifetime Specialty Healthcare.

摘要

This paper describes how Gillette Specialty Healthcare developed a program to meet the specialty-care outpatient and in-patient needs of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and other serious congenital disabilities as they made the transition to early adulthood. The program began in 2001, with the opening of a pilot clinic for adult outpatients. Several years later, the hospital opened a small in-patient unit for selected patients. Careful planning, consultation with staff, and partnerships with caregivers were crucial to program development. Attention to the physical environment was also essential. Utilizing an integrative model of care, the patient, caregivers, and the program service providers create a comprehensive plan of care that reflects each patient's needs, preferences, and priorities. The Gillette program, when evaluated over the long term, may serve as a model for meeting the emerging needs of the young adult with CP.