Social workers are an important part of your child’s healthcare team. Our team is highly experienced and skilled in working with medically fragile children and their families.
Contact information
Katie Walsh, LCSW, Director of Social Work and Care Coordination Services
Our social workers are licensed in the state of New York and have expertise in many areas, including palliative care, therapeutic crisis intervention, school social work, and early childhood programs.
We work closely with the Inpatient, Day Hospital, and Long Term Care teams to provide emotional support and discharge planning services to families. Our inpatient social workers are paired with a nurse care manager who will focus on the clinical aspects of our child’s discharge plan.
The department also includes our Patient Ambassador who is available to support parents with any questions or concerns related to the hospital or the care team. We welcome you to call or visit our department on the first floor, where you will be greeted by one of our two bilingual administrative assistants.
When your child is admitted to one of Blythedale’s programs, your family is assigned a social worker who will work closely with you throughout your stay at Blythedale. We will help you cope with the emotional stress of the next phase of your child’s recovery while adjusting to a new care team. Your social worker collaborates closely with your child’s care team to ensure that you are well-informed each step of the way from admission to discharge.
Beginning at the time of admission, your social worker will work with a nurse care manager to help you plan for discharge. Following a thorough assessment of your child’s needs and resources in the community, we will guide you in the development of a comprehensive discharge plan. By working with your insurance plan, we will help you to determine which providers may be in your network and arrange for any necessary referrals, evaluations or assessments prior to your child’s discharge home.
Your social worker can also assist you with many other issues that impact your child or your family. If you have a question or a concern and are not sure how to address it, please stop by our department on the first floor and we will be happy to help you.
Acquired and Traumatic Brain Injury
With the only dedicated post-acute pediatric brain injury unit in New York State - specifically constructed to treat children and adolescents with brain injuries - and our expertly trained clinical team, Blythedale is uniquely positioned to provide the best environment for recovery.
As technology continues to advance, children with special needs are becoming increasingly more integrated into the world around them. Blythedale's comprehensive Assistive Technology program, one of only a few such programs in New York State, is opening doors for these children.
Blythedale’s commitment to the highest level of medical and rehabilitative care, and ongoing integration of the newest cardiac support technologies for medically fragile children, is evident in our Cardiac Rehabilitation program.
Blythedale is the only specialty children’s hospital in New York State with the capability of providing the highest level of medical care and rehabilitation for children recovering from complex medical conditions, including childhood cancers.
As an expert in helping medically fragile children achieve their highest potential, Blythedale is well-suited to help transition a child with multiple complex chronic conditions from hospital to home.
Complex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
For children recovering from multiple traumatic injuries, extensive orthopedic surgery or complex surgery, Blythedale offers a highly specialized, integrated approach to care.
Complex Wound and Burn Management
Blythedale is a center of excellence in treating children with complex burns and wounds. The goal of the complex wound rehabilitation team is to obtain maximum autonomy and functionality while maintaining the optimal integrity of the healing wound or grafts with scar control.
Blythedale is widely recognized as a leader in treating children with rare conditions, spinal cord injury, neuromuscular disorders including muscular dystrophy and other myopathies, neuropathies, motor neuron diseases and neuromuscular junction disorders as well as complex genetic syndromes.
Blythedale has a commitment to achieving the best outcomes for infants coming for intensive rehabilitation following Neonatal Intensive Care stays. With a staff of full-time neonatologists overseeing the care our infants, and the addition of neonatal fellows, Blythedale continues to push the boundaries of what post-acute neonatal care can provide to medically fragile infants.
Pre/Post Organ & Stem Cell Transplant
At Blythedale Children’s Hospital, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week, pediatric attending staff supports infants, children and adolescents prior to and following complicated transplant procedures including heart, liver, kidney, bowel, and even multi-organ transplants.
Pulmonary hypertension is relatively rare, occurring in only two children per one million. Despite its low occurrence, Blythedale treated 30 children with pulmonary hypertension last year.
Blythedale’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation program is widely recognized as a national center of excellence due to the Hospital’s extraordinary success weaning fragile infants and children from respiratory support machines for an improved quality of life. Our parent training programs help ensure that caregivers are both confident and competent in caring for their child.
As the only pediatric specialty hospital in New York State, Blythedale Children’s Hospital has the ability to evaluate and treat complex feeding difficulties in children with a team of pediatric specialists who work exclusively with medically fragile children.
Aubrey's Fight Against Ependymoma
During a middle school volleyball practice last September, Aubrey fractured her right femur. As her condition continued to deteriorate, Aubrey's parents, Meghann and Joe, brought her to Maria Fareri Children's Hospital for a CT scan which revealed several tumors on her spine. A subsequent biopsy...
Maria is a six-year-old girl whose family has long awaited her arrival home and it's taken a village to get her there. Maria was born with arthrogryposis, a rare and complex congenital condition that affects the joints in her upper and lower limbs causing stiffness and limiting her range of motion...
"In the Blink of an Eye" is the inspiring story of two children at Blythedale Children's Hospital and their complex road to recovery following devastating brain injuries. Watch Xiomara and Easton as they navigate an unexpected future with the help of their medical team, family and friends. See the...
Visiting Blythedale is the best way to learn more about our programs and services. We are here to help you find the answers to your questions.
At Blythedale we understand the value of balancing work and family. Our employees have the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally while making a meaningful contribution to improve the lives of children.
