Four more hospitals are signing on to be part of a unique national network that provides one-stop shopping for medical and behavioral care of children and adolescents with autism.
Medical centers in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Columbus, Ohio and Edmonton, Canada will join 13 other hospitals as part of Autism Speaks’ Autism Treatment Network.
Participating facilities offer children with autism spectrum disorders one centralized place to see everyone from pediatricians, neurologists and child psychiatrists to social workers and those with expertise in gastroenterology and sleep disorders.
“These sites are hubs of the most advanced autism research and clinical care,” said Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks. “Our goal is to continue to expand this critical network to improve access to the most effective treatments and clinical care for as many families as possible, especially those living in medically underserved areas of the country.”
In addition to treating children with autism from about 22,000 families each year, the hospitals in the Autism Treatment Network also conduct research.
Facilities already participating in the network are located in Texas, Ohio, New York, Maryland, Canada, Massachusetts, Oregon, Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
I think it’s time to drop “unique” when discussing 21 hospitals treating in excess of 22,000, don’t you? And more to come, as states continue to mandate autism coverage by private insurers: let no potential income stream go untapped!