About Matheny

The Matheny Medical and Educational Center is a special hospital for children and adults with medically complex developmental disabilities . . . a special education school providing academics, combined with functional life skills, for students, ages 3-21 . . . a comprehensive outpatient center meeting the health care needs of people with all types of disabilities in the community . . . and a teaching hospital developing ways to train healthcare professionals, therapists and educators in how to work with persons who have developmental disabilities.

Matheny’s main campus in Peapack, NJ, is home to 101 children and adults with developmental disabilities.  Its five group homes, located throughout Middlesex, Somerset and Warren counties, provide a residence in the community for an additional 30 adults.  Many of the children and adults currently at Matheny, in addition to their primary diagnoses, have a long list of associated clinical conditions such as vision and hearing deficits, seizure disorders, mental retardation and dysphagia, with resulting aspiration problems.  As a result of the increasing acuity level of its patients over the past several years, Matheny decided to convert several intermediate care facility (ICF) beds to special hospital beds, a move that was approved by the New Jersey Department of Health and Human Serivces.

Matheny is also committed to spreading its expertise into the community.  For example:

• The Matheny Center of Medicine and Dentistry, our outpatient clinic, provides services to people with disabilities from 12 New Jersey counties.

• Matheny’s therapists, teachers, social workers, psychologists, nutritionists and nurses participate in the Somerset, Morris and Hunterdon County Special Child Health Services Early Intervention Programs.

• Matheny is now offering its skills and experience to public school districts on a consultative basis in order to help school districts better manage the challenges of educating special needs students.