Terri McDearman, M.S.C., CCC-SLP Clinical Supervisor
Wolfson Children's Hospital at Baptist Health
807 Nira Street, 3rd Floor, Jacksonville, Florida 32207

Heather Whitestone McCallum, Miss America 1995, showed her support of the RiteCare Program during a recent visit to Wolfson Children's Hospital at Baptist Health, Jacksonville, Florida, and taught the patients "I love you" in American Sign Language.

Imagine a four-year-old child who can only speak in one- or two-word unintelligible phrases due to ear infections; a five-year-old who cannot coordinate the mouth muscles to even speak a simple sound; a 10-year-old who is teased and afraid to speak in class because he stutters; a child in his own world, not communicating at all. Imagine a child with a painful, harsh voice or a child being fed through a tube in her stomach because she cannot swallow. Now, imagine parents and caregivers desperate to help these children overcome the difficulties affecting all of their lives. With little support from health insurance providers, many families find the expense of quality speech-language therapy out of their reach.

In 1997, two organizations, Wolfson Children's Hospital at Baptist Health in Jacksonville and the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida, decided to meet the needs of this special group of children. They joined together to create the Childhood Language Disorders Program as a part of Wolfson Children's Rehabilitation. This program makes affordable, superior speech-language services available to many, many children.

In the first year of this cooperation, the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida funded approximately 150 therapy sessions to a handful of children with one speech pathologist during a five-month period. By 1999-2000, the Scottish Rite funded many children in 3,698 therapy sessions with eight speech pathologist. And this record continues to increase each year!

Now imagine a four-year-old communicating effectively; a five-year-old being understood; a 10-year-old confidently giving an oral book report; and a child responding meaningfully to his environment. Imagine a child with a normal voice without surgery and a child eating a home-cooked dinner without a tube. Thanks to the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida, children are overcoming disabling conditions and attaining success at home, in school, and in life.

Our program serves children from birth to 18 years of age providing therapy and evaluations for delays and disorders in the areas of articulation, language, oral motor, feeding, stuttering, and voice control. We serve developmentally delayed children, as well as those with a wide range of handicapping conditions. We provide individual therapy sessions, occasional group therapy, and parent/caregiver training. We have a Central Clinic downtown and two Community Clinics.

In the community, we provide in-service training, professional representation in the media, community awareness, serve on community boards/committees, and coordinate efforts with a variety of professionals and organizations to meet the needs of children in the Jacksonville area. The demand for Wolfson's specialized pediatric speech and language services, made affordable by the Scottish Rite Foundation, has increased significantly, and a great reputation for both the hospital and the Scottish Rite is becoming more evident in the community.

Children with communication disorders continue to be denied coverage by health insurance carriers for the services they need to overcome difficulties and be successful in life. School programs are overcrowded and, at times, ineffective or inappropriate for the child's needs. Research data across the country shows an increasing trend in the number of "special needs" children. Parents do not know where to turn for help. As professionals who specialize in children, we recognize the need for early intervention, the outcomes that prevail when services are not rendered in a timely and effective manner, and the need to provide services that are affordable and close to home.

All funds provided by the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida go directly to patient care. The qualifications to receive Scottish Rite funding requires patients to have no insurance or state/federal funding to help pay for speech therapy. A contract is signed agreeing to shared cost format between the patient, the Scottish Rite Foundation of Florida, and the hospital. This sharing of costs has allowed us to extend the funds to as many children as possible. This program is unique in the community, and families are very excited to receive quality, affordable therapy through the support of the Scottish Rite Foundation.

To make our Scottish Rite Language Disorders Program successful in meeting the needs of children takes teamwork. It takes speech-language pathologist who are dedicated specialist, compassionate to needs, and able to provide exceptional service and support for families. It takes the mission of Wolfson Children's Hospital at Baptist Health to provide the underlying support for services.

It takes parents devoted to taking their child to therapy two to three times each week, learning skills that will help their child to be successful. Lastly, it takes the dedication and kindness of each member of the Scottish Rite in Florida, for without their sacrifice and donation of their time, talents, and money this program would not exist.