New Britain’s Hospital for Special Care (HSC) says a recent $500,000 state grant will enable it to establish Connecticut’s first children’s in-patient autism unit.
Using the grant from the state Department of Developmental Services, The Autism Center at the Hospital for Special Care will open around November with eight beds for children and adolescents ages 10 to 21 with autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, HSC CEO Lynn Ricci announced Monday.
The grant also pays for program development, staff recruiting and training for 38 new in-state jobs to support the autism program, Ricci said.
The unit, she said, will be one of only 10 designated units in the U.S. that provide inter-disciplinary treatment to meet the complex needs of children who need intensive treatment for aggression, self-injury, or severely impaired functioning which threatens their or others’ safety in the community. Average patient stays are estimated to last 30 to 45 days.
The treatment team will include a child psychiatrist, developmental pediatrician, psychologists and behavioral analysts and behavioral technicians, nurses, occupational therapy and speech language pathology, as well as dietitians, social workers, case managers and pharmacists.
“Until now, families have had to leave Connecticut and travel to Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New Hampshire or Maine to receive in-patient care for their children and adolescents with ASD,” Ricci said. “The in-patient unit is the next step for HSC to continue to meet the specialized needs of this patient population in Connecticut. Driving out of state is an undue burden that disrupts family dynamics and can be financially challenging to many.”
