Dedicated On-Site Wound Team


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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.
The child’s clinical team works collaboratively with parents and other caregivers to identify developmentally appropriate medical and therapeutic goals. This team is also committed to meeting the psychological and social challenges that accompany burn and wound treatment and recovery, including body image concerns.
Comprehensive rehabilitation, aggressive nutritional support, pain management, infection avoidance, evaluation of needs by sophisticated pressure mapping for wounds, and the optimization of any necessary medical equipment (including vacuum assist wound closure devices) are integral parts of the program. Close, ongoing collaboration with referring surgical teams is a mainstay of Blythedale’s approach as a regional referral center. Coordinated planning for discharge provides families with detailed information regarding follow-up care, equipment needs, specialized accommodations and support services available to ensure the continuity of care.
Mathew's Perfect Pitch
Thirteen-year-old Mathew was well-known as a baseball prodigy in the Little League community. A versatile player, the talented teen hit more than 70 home runs in one year alone. The road that led him to Blythedale is heart-breaking, but his tenacity and courage in the face of adversity has led to...
Complex Wound and Burn Management Team
Blythedale’s specialized complex wound rehabilitation team is comprised of certified wound care nurses, pediatricians, physiatrists, psychology, Child Life, rehabilitation nursing, nutritional support and the largest hospital-based department of pediatric therapists (physical, occupational, speech and respiratory) in New York State. These specialists provide acute, comprehensive inpatient burn and complex wound rehabilitation to children who are admitted from regional tertiary care centers.
Related Departments
Pediatrics
Dedicated pediatricians for each of our units provide medical care while the child is in the hospital, coordinate the services of the other subspecialties, and supervise the discharge planning process. Family and pediatric nurse practitioners are assigned to the Hospital’s units, as well as...
Nursing
The focus of our care is on the possibilities of each child and family for healing, for learning and for progress. We individualize the plan of care to incorporate each family's goals as we recognize that every child and parent has unique needs and strengths. Our hands-on nursing approach...
Therapeutic and Developmental Support Services
Child Life and Creative Arts Program Child Life Program The Child Life and Creative Arts program at Blythedale Children’s Hospital is dedicated to helping infants, children and their families cope through their medical journey. Our team of Certified Child Life Specialists are trained in the...
Social Work and Care Coordination Services
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...
Physical Therapy
Treatment plans often include exercise for patients who have been immobilized and lack flexibility, strength, or endurance. In addition, pediatric physical therapists promote development of normal components of movement and gross motor skills. Augmentative therapies provided by Blythedale’s...
Occupational Therapy
Our experienced pediatric OTs are proficient in working with children ranging from medically fragile infants to teenagers recovering from traumatic injuries. Our treatment sessions are child centered using a supportive and playful approach. Services include: Comprehensive evaluation of child’...
Speech Pathology & Audiology
Speech and Feeding Therapy Blythedale is skilled in diagnosing subtle developmental differences that are often difficult to identify. We provides services in the areas of language (understanding and expression of thoughts), speech (or clarity), voice, fluency (or stuttering), pragmatic (or social...
A Doll Like Mimi
Young Blythedale Amputee Receives Cross Country Gift of Hope
The sky's the limit for seven-year-old Mimi after losing her arm to a near deadly flesh-eating disease. Blythedale Children's Hospital helped heal both her mind and body with the confidence and strength to achieve her goals.
Tenacious Tasnim
Tenacious teen regains independence following double amputation.
Thirteen-year-old Tasnim moved to the United States from Bangladesh in 2015, and settled with her family in Brooklyn. She quickly acclimated to her new school - excelling in academics, playing on the volleyball team, and making many friends. When she began exhibiting flu-like symptoms, she visited the family physician. The last thing she recalls is speaking with the doctor before slipping into an unconscious state and waking up ten days later in a hospital bed, surrounded by machines.

Everyone loves superheroes. The superheroes for me are the kids here at Blythedale. We challenge them and they meet the demands that we give them.
- Ruth Alejandro, M.D., Attending Physiatrist