Parents whose children suffer from developmental delays or disorders have a valuable new resource at St. Luke’s Hospital.  Licensed by the California Department of Health Services as part of California Pacific Medical Center’s Child Development Center, St. Luke’s now provides services that can help children develop the necessary life skills to perform at an age-appropriate level.

“Our services are designed for children with problems that disrupt the normal patterns of development, including various neurological disorders, speech difficulties or delayed development of the skills required for everyday activities,” explains Child Development Center Manager Karen Norman, OTR-L.  “Initially, we will provide psychology assessment and treatment services.  These will include consultation and treatment for emotional and behavioral issues and parenting.  Occupational therapy and speech pathology services will follow.”

Typically, children are referred to St. Luke’s for services by their pediatricians.  After the initial assessment or evaluation, an individual treatment plan is implemented.  Depending on what services are needed, examples of treatment may include:

• Work on coordination and motor skills.
• Visual perception.
• Speech and language therapy.
• Development of play and social skills.
• Sensory processing issues.

“For example, we work with children who are overly sensitive to various sounds or other sensory stimulation which might cause them to not perform at the same level as their peers,” Norman says. 

Developmental psychology services may be provided up through adolescence.  Occupational therapy and speech pathology services will generally apply from preschool through grade school (ages 3 – 10).

“These services are very much in demand in communities surrounding St. Luke’s,” Norman notes.  “In fact, there are very few programs such as this in San Francisco.  CPMC’s Child Development Center currently has a waiting list of 250 to 300 children, some of whom are from the St. Luke’s neighborhood.  We’re delighted to be able to offer these services at St. Luke’s now.  As the demand for these services grows, we will add more staff.  We eventually hope to operate the center five days a week.”

Physician referral is recommended, particularly if parents want to use insurance to pay for the services.  Some services may not be covered by insurance, depending on the diagnosis.  A sliding scale of fees is available for families with limited income. 

The facilities are located in rooms 440 and 443 on the fourth floor of the hospital.  For more information regarding services available, business hours and referrals, please call (415) 641-3345 or (415) 600-6200.  If you need to find a physician, please call the St. Luke’s Physician Referral & Information number, (415) 821-DOCS or Find a Physician online.