Is a hospital for habilitation cost-effective?

Dr. Gary E. Eddey

By Gary E. Eddey, MD

Matheny’s data consistently demonstrate that care provided here reduces the risk for much more costly acute care hospitalizations. Our daily bed rate, in fact, is lower than that of acute care hospitals.

Morbidity and mortality data for 2011 and 2012 show that Matheny has consistently reduced transfers of our patients to acute care hospitals over the preceding years. Factors contributing to this reduction include: 24/7 on-site coverage; an advanced respiratory therapy department; a fully staffed onsite pharmacy, which has increased the availability of urgently needed medications; and  interconnected informal relationships with several acute care hospitals.

Our transition nursing program, developed with a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has enabled us to reduce the chances of readmission for those patients who have been transferred to acute care hospitals. Rehospitalizations within 30 days of the original admission have been reduced to 7.4% from 25%. Also, patients with routine planned preventative surgery admissions are quickly readmitted back to Matheny.

All individuals have the right to have their potential maximized, regardless of whether they have mild, moderate or severe developmental disabilities. Matheny has always focused on improving and prolonging the quality of life of its patients. In addition to our medical expertise, we believe that the therapies and activities we provide are absolutely crucial in maximizing our patients’ functioning and their ability to actively engage in and enjoy life experiences.

(Fourth in a series of articles by Gary E. Eddey, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Matheny, on the habilitative healthcare model).

Fred, Andy and Morgan Lash at Miles for Matheny 2009.

“When you meet someone with a severe disability,” says Justin Lash, “it’s hard to imagine what their quality of life would be. But Matheny has given my brother Andy an exceptional quality of life for more than 35 years, for which we are forever thankful.”

That’s why Lash and his family continue to vigorously support Miles for Matheny, Matheny’s annual fundraiser and community event, which is being held this year on Sunday, April 21, at Liberty Park in Peapack, NJ.  The Lash family – parents Fred and Suzanne Lash of Denville, NJ; Justin, his wife Melissa and son Jack of Randolph, NJ; and sister Morgan of Oak Ridge, NJ – have once again formed a team, “Andy ‘Flash’ Lash,” to raise funds. This year’s fundraising goal is $2,500, but Justin is pretty sure he’ll have to adjust it upward because, as of March 12, the team had already raised $1,325 from 10 donors.

Andy Lash, now 41, became a Matheny resident in 1977 at the age of six.  For the past 11+ years he has resided at Matheny’s community residence in Franklin Township, NJ. He’s an avid New York Yankees fan and when he lived at Matheny, Justin recalls, “We always joked that he was the mayor because he would be soloing through the halls, and everybody knew him and liked him.” What continues to amaze Justin Lash is “the creativity at Matheny that enables people like Andy to have as normal a life as possible. It became clear as Andy got older that he was so comfortable in his own environment at Matheny.”

Andy Lash will be one of more than 100 adults and children in wheelchairs, with walking partners, who will travel 1.5 miles around downtown Peapack as part of the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk at Miles for Matheny. In addition, there will be a 5K Road Race, five Cycling routes, a Kids Fun Run and The Friends of Matheny’s “Breakfast of Champions,” followed by luncheon refreshments in the park.

All funds raised at Miles for Matheny will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in communities throughout New Jersey. Major sponsors are: the Poses Family Foundation, title sponsor; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; Porzio Bromberg & Newman, P.C.; Affinity Federal Credit Union; and WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880.

To find out how you can be part of this fun-filled and uplifting event, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260. To support Andy “Flash” Lash, click on Search for Participant and type in Andy “Flash” Lash.

Justin and Andy Lash in 2005.

At Miles for Matheny 2012: Otis Livingston and his son Marquis with Lloyd and Edana Desatnick of Basking Ridge, NJ, and their son Bryan, a Matheny student.

“It’s a little dreary, but we’re not going to let that dampen our spirits. The motto is: ‘Go the Miles and make some Smiles.’ Let’s do that today, and let’s have a great time.” So said WCBS-TV sports anchor Otis Livingston, as he cheered on the participants in the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk last year at Miles for Matheny, our fundraiser and community event to be held this year on Sunday, April 21, in Peapack’s Liberty Park. Livingston will be making a return appearance, hopefully under sunnier skies.

WCBS-TV, along with sister station WCBS Newsradio 880, will again be broadcast media sponsors of Miles for Matheny, which in addition to the wheelchair walk, includes a 5K Road Race, five different Cycling routes, a Kids Fun Run and The Friends of Matheny’s “Breakfast of Champions,” followed by luncheon refreshments in the park. All funds raised at Miles help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in communities throughout New Jersey.

A multi-Emmy Award winner, Livingston lives in New Jersey with his wife and five children. He has been part of the CBS 2 sports team since 2009. Prior to that, he reported on sports for “Today in New York” on WNBC-TV and has also reported for WWOR-TV and WPHL-TV in Philadelphia. In 2004, Livingston carried the Olympic Torch through part of the Torch’s world tour leading up to the Summer Olympics in Athens. He was a member of the University of Kansas basketball team that won the national championship in 1988 and is a graduate of the University of Idaho with a BS in telecommunications.

To find out how you can be part of this fun-filled and uplifting event, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

Otis Livingston and his son Marquis, keeping dry in the gym last year with Matheny adult student Dion Alston and the New Jersey Devils mascot.

Wayne Cabot and his daughter Amanda, trying to keep dry last year.

WCBS Newsradio 880 anchor Wayne Cabot will once again have a personal webpage on the Miles for Matheny website to raise money for our fundraiser and community event, being held on Sunday, April 21, at Liberty Park in Peapack, NJ. WCBS Newsradio 880 and sister station WCBS-TV are media sponsors of Miles, and Cabot and CBS 2 sports anchor Otis Livingston will be at the event.

Cabot says he comes to Miles every year because, “We believe in what the folks at Matheny do. I have had the honor of being shown around many times. The people at Matheny are treated with care and dignity. I’m so happy to be a part of it.”

Activities at Miles for Matheny include the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, a 5K Road Race, five different Cycling routes, a Kids Fun Run and The Friends of Matheny “Breakfast of Champions” followed by luncheon refreshments in the park.

All funds raised at Miles help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in communities throughout New Jersey. Other major sponsors are: the Poses Family Foundation, title sponsor; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; Porzio Bromberg & Newman, P.C.; and Affinity Federal Credit Union.

To find out how you can be part of this fun-filled and uplifting event, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260. To help support Wayne Cabot’s fundraising efforts, click on Search for Participant and type in his name.

PT Marda Herz consults with Matheny rehab technician Jon DaSilva about a Belmont Runyan student’s seating needs.

Matheny has dozens of highly skilled professionals with unparalleled depth and breadth of experience, who are available to work with special needs students at all levels of ability in public school districts. In a program we call “Matheny Solutions for Schools,” we can provide specialized evaluations, therapy services, home-based  services and adaptive equipment and technologies.

Matheny has been working closely for some time with the Newark Public Schools District, specifically at the Belmont Runyan School, which has a program for medically fragile students. According to Marda Herz, a physical therapist for the district, Matheny’s rehab technicians consult with school therapists to determine equipment needs for the students. “Then,” she says, “the Matheny technicians make recommendations. The one thing that Matheny offers that no one else does is the service upon delivery. They install, they set up, they instruct. It is a pleasurable working experience, not only for me, but the teaching staff, too.”

Among the services Matheny’s rehab technicians can provide to school districts are:

• Adapting equipment to provide students access to classrooms through the use of environmental controls in the classroom.

• Supplying adaptive physical education products.

• Setting up new classrooms to ensure access for students with physical disabilities.

Free assembly and inservice is available for all equipment purchased by schools. For more information about any of our services, email Linda Newsome, Director of Matheny Solutions for Schools, at mathenysolutions@matheny.org or call her at (908) 229-7342.

From left, Bruce, Roxanne, Jack and Max Levinston.

Twelve year-old Jack Levinston says he has been a runner “my whole life.” He also competes in lacrosse, soccer and wrestling. But it was his love for running that inspired him to look for a way he could run in a road race to support a worthy cause for his Bar Mitzvah project. A seventh grader at Bridgewater-Raritan Middle School, Jack will have his Bar Mitzvah ceremony on May 11 at Temple Beth-El in Hillsborough.

“I started looking online for races,” he said, “and Matheny just seemed like a good place because it helps people with disabilities. It had the best description of what it does.” Jack will be running the 5K at Miles for Matheny and has set a fundraising goal of $5,000. As of March 15, he had already raised $1,507 from 19 different donors. “We’ve gotten some very generous donations,” he added, pointing out that “100% of the money I raise goes to the Matheny Medical and Educational Center to help people with disabilities.”

The 16th annual Miles for Matheny will be held Sunday, April 21, at Liberty Park in downtown Peapack. In addition to the 5K, activities include the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, five different Cycling routes, a Kids Fun Run and The Friends of Matheny’s “Breakfast of Champions” followed by luncheon refreshments in the park. All funds raised will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny inpatients and people with disabilities in communities throughout New Jersey.

Major sponsors are the Poses Family Foundation, title sponsor; Partlow Insurance Agency, Peapack-Gladstone Bank, Porzio Bromberg & Newman, P.C.; Affinity Federal Credit Union; and WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880.

To find out how you can be part of this fun-filled and uplifting event, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260. To help support Jack Levinston, click on Search For Participant and type in his name.

Jack Levinston

Dr. Gary E. Eddey

By Gary E. Eddey, MD

Only a very small percentage of individuals with significant disabling conditions are candidates for admission to Matheny. The medical and treatment needs of our inpatients are extraordinary. More than 2,200 medical and treatment administrations occur daily for our 101 patients, and each patient has an average of 15 diagnoses.

For example, the most common admitting diagnosis to our hospital is cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia. However, if the patient only had this diagnosis, he or she would certainly not be appropriate or qualify for admission. The majority of our inpatients have serious musculoskeletal conditions leading to specialized position needs, highly customized seating and mobility requirements and post operative treatment needs. Our inpatients have moderate to significant forms of dysphagia (swallowing difficulties), necessitating thorough evaluation of head and neck positioning to decrease risk of aspiration. Approximately 90% of our patients have dysarthia (for our patient population that means they are non-verbal).

Respiratory needs are present in 40% of our inpatients, who are cared for by an advanced respiratory therapy department. Matheny has an inpatient pharmacy that enhances patient care due to its inclusion in the interdisciplinary team process. Patient care is dramatically improved due to the immediate delivery of medications, accurate order fulfillment and real time communication among physicians, nurses and pharmacists.

Our hospital has become a national resource for the care of patients with Lesch-Nyhan Disease (LND), a rare but well-known neurological disorder that has an extremely complex medical and behavioral habilitative treatment protocol. Healthcare providers around the United States who serve persons with Lesch-Nyhan Disease know Matheny and call upon Matheny’s clinical staff and its published research for guidance in serving this very complex population.

All of Matheny’s inpatients have significant physical limitations, in addition to their medical complexities, that require constant or close monitoring. Those individuals appropriate for community care, as opposed to special hospital inpatients, may require daily care, but rarely are in need of constant or close monitoring.

(Third in a series of articles by Gary E. Eddey, MD, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Matheny, on the habilitative healthcare model).

Cyclists prepare to take off on one of the courses in 2012.

The cycling routes at Miles for Matheny, our annual fundraiser and community event, have been designed by the Bedminster Flyers Cycling Club to offer every level of cyclist a rewarding challenge. The cycling courses range from a 10-mile family-friendly ride to the 50-mile Hills of Attrition course with steep climbing hills. In between are a 25-mile ride, 35-mile ride and a regular 50-mile ride.

For the 11th consecutive year, Bedminster, NJ-based Peapack-Gladstone Bank will be the Cycling Sponsor and will make two of its branches available for rest stops. “Peapack-Gladstone Bank,” says Denise Pace-Sanders, vice president brand and marketing director, “is proud to be a continuing supporter and Cycling Sponsor for Miles for Matheny. It gives us great pleasure to assist in raising money for such a worthy cause and for an organization that is very much a part of our community.”

The 16th annual Miles for Matheny will be held on Sunday, April 21 at Liberty Park in Peapack, NJ. The Cycling rides begin at 9:30 a.m. Other activities include the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, a USATF-certified 5K Road Race, a Kids Fun Run and The Friends of Matheny “Breakfast of Champions” followed by luncheon refreshments in the park. All funds raised at Miles will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and to people with disabilities in communities throughout New Jersey.

Other major sponsors are: Poses Family Foundation, title sponsor; Partlow Insurance Agency; Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C.; Affinity Federal Credit Union; and WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880. To find out how you can be part of the fun-filled and uplifting event, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

Untitled by Ellen Kane will be one of the paintings on display at MONDO.

Matheny’s Arts Access Program will be participating in two important arts events in March in New Jersey. Arts Access is joining several other organizations to be part of the ReelAbilities New Jersey Disabilities Film Festival, and Arts Access artists will have their work shown and heard at a special presentation at the MONDO Summit building in Summit, NJ.

The ReelAbilities Film Festival is the largest festival in the country dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities. At 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 15, the gallery in the Robert Schonhorn Arts Center at Matheny will be open for viewing of visual art created by Arts Access artists. At 6 p.m., a New Jersey edition of the ReelAbilities Festival will open with a short film about Arts Access, followed by Wampler’s Ascent, a feature film about Steve Wampler, who has cerebral palsy and needs to do 20,000 pull-ups in order to climb the El Capitan Mountain in Yosemite National Park. In 2002, Wampler founded a camp for children with disabilities, and his climb will be dedicated to the idea that kids with disabilities can do anything they set their minds to. After the film, there will be a 30-minute discussion with the Wampler family and other panelists.

Admission is $10; all proceeds will benefit Matheny. For more information, call (908) 234-0011, ext. 765, or email haeree@artsaccessprogram.org.

On Sunday, March 17, from 2-4 p.m., Arts Access visual art and written works will be on display and presented at the MONDO Summit building, a 94-year-old reconstructed brick building which is dedicated to all kinds of art: craftsmanship, culinary arts, visual arts, performing arts and literary arts. Mondo is located at 426 Springfield Ave. in Summit, and admission is free.

Dr. Gary E. Eddey.

By Gary E. Eddey, M.D.

For individuals with complex developmental disabilities, who are totally dependent on care with a lifetime ahead of them, an inpatient habilitation healthcare model may be the most appropriate healthcare approach.

What distinguishes this individual from someone who can be adequately cared for in the community? Here are four determining factors for recommending inpatient habilitation care:

• The chronic neurologic disabling condition is accompanied by many other healthcare disorders.

• Significant musculoskeletal conditions impact mobility.

• The patient is totally dependent for care.

• Social/family supports are unable to keep the patient from improving or even maintaining function.

The above issues significantly increase the care-load burden of the patient. These patients require much closer monitoring throughout the day than those who can live in the community because they have multiple associated clinical conditions requiring the most complex medical, physical, therapeutic and nursing care needs.

At Matheny, 100% of inpatients are complex and ambulatory-dependent. Almost all have 15 to 20 accompanying diagnoses in addition to their primary underlying chronic neurologic disability. The Matheny inpatient habilitation healthcare model is the essential standard of care for all those with significant developmental disabilities and should be the standard of care for all persons with developmental disabilities who are medically  complex.

(Second in a series of articles by Gary E. Eddey, MD, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Matheny, on the habilitative healthcare model).

Adult patient Jessica Evans and walking partner.

Named after the late Lu Huggins, a co-founder of Miles for Matheny, the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk is a 1.5 mile walk through downtown Peapack, NJ. Members of the community are invited to walk with Matheny students and patients in an event that is truly a celebration of the abilities of those who are physically challenged. Our students and patients look forward to this walk every year, as Miles is “their” day. Join us for what we promise will be a very rewarding experience on Sunday, April 21.

This year, Partlow Insurance Agency will be the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk Sponsor at Miles for Matheny. Partlow, headquartered in Winchester, VA, is recognized nationally as the leader in insuring nonprofit social service and special education institutions.

Other activities at Miles for Matheny include a USATF-certified 5K Road Race, five different Cycling routes, a Kids Fun Run and The Friends of Matheny “Breakfast of Champions” followed by luncheon refreshments in Liberty Park. All funds raised at Miles will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and to people with disabilities in communities throughout New Jersey.

Other major sponsors are: Poses Family Foundation, title sponsor; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C.; Affinity Federal Credit Union; and WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880.

To find out how you can be part of this fun-filled and uplifting event, log onto www.milesformatheny.org or call (908) 234-0011, ext. 260.

Adult patient Chris Saglimbene with the NJ Devils mascot.

Kids Fun Run 2012.

Everyone’s a winner in the Kids Fun Run at Miles for Matheny, which introduces children to running for a cause.

The run is designed especially for the youngest racing enthusiasts. There are four short sprints: 50 yards for ages 3-4; 75 yards, ages 5-6; 100 yards, ages 7-8; and 150 yards, ages 9-10. All Fun Run participants receive a winner’s medal.

The 16th annual Miles for Matheny community event and fundraiser will be held on Sunday, April 21, at Liberty Park in Peapack, NJ. The Fun Run begins at 11:30 a.m. Other activities include the Lu Huggins Wheelchair Walk, a USATF-certified 5K race and five different cycling routes. All funds raised at the event will help support the Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, which provides medical, dental and therapy care to Matheny’s inpatients and to people with disabilities in the community.

This year Porzio Bromberg & Newman P.C., Morristown, NJ-based attorneys at law, will again be the Kids Fun Run sponsor. Other major sponsors are: Poses Family Foundation, title sponsor; Partlow Insurance Agency; Peapack-Gladstone Bank; Affinity Federal Credit Union; and WCBS-TV and WCBS Newsradio 880.

To find out how you can be part of this fun-filled and uplifiting event, log onto www.milesformatheny.org.

Celebrating after the races.