KidsPeace

Last updated
Registered KidsPeace logo with dove in hand NewKP Logo.png
Registered KidsPeace logo with dove in hand

KidsPeace is an American private charity serving the behavioral and mental health needs of children, families and communities. Founded in 1882, it operates a psychiatric hospital, a range of residential treatment programs, educational services, foster care offices and a variety of community-based treatment programs.

Contents

KidsPeace offers services in Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

KidsPeace was founded by the president of the predecessor to Bethlehem Steel Corporation, William Thurston, in response to a smallpox epidemic that had left many children in south Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, orphaned and homeless. In 1895, Captain James Wiley donated a Salisbury Township (PA) home and 6 acres (24,000 m2) of surrounding land to the charity. Afterwards, the organization came to be known as "Wiley House" and remained so for many years, until it officially changed its name to "KidsPeace" in January 1992.

Treatment programs

KidsPeace provides a range of services to children in need of mental and behavioral health treatment, and to their families. [1]

The largest KidsPeace facility is its Orchard Hills Campus in Orefield, outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania. This 262-acre (106 ha) campus includes an inpatient children’s psychiatric hospital and several residential treatment programs. It also has amenities such as an Olympic-sized swimming pool, ropes course, apple orchard, playgrounds, gym with wrap-around track, multiple athletic fields, and recreation lounges. To educate the children in its care, KidsPeace utilizes its own private schools, staffed with specially trained teachers.

At its Graham Lake Campus in Maine, KidsPeace provides residential treatment, autism spectrum disorders residential treatment, therapeutic day treatment, and a licensed, approved special-purpose school. It has five other offices around the state to provide services like foster care, a supported families program, a family visitation program, and outpatient mental health services.

In Georgia, the KidsPeace Bowdon Campus is a 70-bed residential facility, with a separate unit that houses males aged 12–17 with sexual issues. The Georgia operation also provides therapeutic outpatient services. The on-site KidsPeace School of Georgia is accredited through the Carroll County School System by the Southern Accreditation of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

In 2015, KidsPeace School of Georgia received Bronze level recognition by U.S. News & World Report 's listing of the best high schools in the nation. [2]

KidsPeace also provides foster care and community programs services through offices in Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and Indiana. In 2016 the organization started Orchard Behavioral Health, an initiative to provide outpatient services for adults aged 21 to 65.

KidsPeace is accredited by the Joint Commission in Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

According to the organization’s annual report, in 2018 KidsPeace served nearly 10,000 clients through its various programs. Since 1882, it has treated more than 200,000 children and adults in need. [3]

Concerns over care of clients

In 1993, Dean Sine, a counselor in the Orefield, Pennsylvania, facility, restrained a 12-year-old boy by sitting on his buttocks and then lower back. The boy reported that he couldn't breathe, but the restraint was continued until after he was unresponsive, when it was discovered that he had stopped breathing. Resuscitation attempts failed, and the counselor was subsequently charged and acquitted of homicide in criminal court in 1995.

On February 21, 2002, a resident of Kidspeace's Orfield, PA campus took her own life. Chloe Cohen of Betsy Ross House hung herself while being placed on "suicide watch" to ensure her safety.

In 2007, admissions to KidsPeace were halted by state officials due to seven children sustaining broken bones while being restrained by KidsPeace staff. Admissions resumed in December 2007 after KidsPeace implemented new policies on use of restraints and restricting admission of violent and aggressive clients into the program. [4]

In April 2008, two 16-year-old girls accessed a counselor's supply of methadone pills in her car. The girls took a total of 28 pills, resulting in one fatally overdosing and another being partially paralyzed. They were being given a ride home from a group home for children with drug problems. [5]

Financial issues, pension default, and bankruptcy

As of 2010, the pension plan for KidsPeace was underfunded by $42 million. In January 2012, it failed to make a $1.4 million bond payment. In March 2012, a lien was filed against KidsPeace for failing to contribute $3 million to its retirement plan. As a partial result, Moody's downgraded KidsPeace's bond rating to a C. [6]

In May 2013, KidsPeace filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. [7] [8] The filing listed organizational debts totaling nearly $249 million, including nearly $100 million in unfunded pension obligations. Also in May 2013, the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation assumed control of the KidsPeace pension plan after KidsPeace officials defaulted on making required payments. [9]

KidsPeace emerged from bankruptcy protection in July 2014. [10]

Related Research Articles

Boys Town, officially Father Flanagan's Boys' Home, is a non-profit organization based in Boys Town, Nebraska, dedicated to caring for children and families.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children's Hospital of Philadelphia</span> Hospital in U.S., Delaware Valley

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, also known by its acronym CHOP, is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its primary campus is located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The hospital has 594 beds and more than one million outpatient and inpatient visits annually. It is one of the world's largest and oldest children's hospitals and the first hospital in the United States dedicated to the healthcare of children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences</span> Medical university in Little Rock, Arkansas, US

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is a public health sciences university in Little Rock, Arkansas. It is part of the University of Arkansas System and consists of six colleges, seven institutes, several research centers, a statewide network of community education centers, and the UAMS Medical Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Pittsburgh Medical Center</span> Global medical organization

UPMC is an American integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 100,000 employees, 40 hospitals with more than 8,000 licensed beds, 800 clinical locations including outpatient sites and doctors' offices, a 3.8 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and international ventures. It is closely affiliated with its academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh. It is considered a leading American health care provider, as its flagship facilities have ranked in U.S. News & World Report "Honor Roll" of the approximately 15 to 20 best hospitals in America for over 15 years. As of 2016, its flagship hospital UPMC Presbyterian was ranked 12th nationally among the best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report and ranked in 15 of 16 specialty areas when including UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital. This does not include UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh which ranked in the top 10 of pediatric centers in a separate US News ranking.

A methadone clinic is a medical facility where medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) are dispensed-—historically and most commonly methadone, although buprenorphine is also increasingly prescribed. Medically assisted drug therapy treatment is indicated in patients who are opioid-dependent or have a history of opioid dependence. Methadone is a schedule II (USA) opioid analgesic, that is also prescribed for pain management. It is a long-acting opioid that can delay the opioid withdrawal symptoms that patients experience from taking short-acting opioids, like heroin, and allow time for withdrawal management. In the United States, by law, patients must receive methadone under the supervision of a physician, and dispensed through the Opioid Treatment Program (OTP) certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Learning Center for the Deaf</span> Private, publicly funded school

The Learning Center for the Deaf (TLC) is a Framingham, Massachusetts-based non-profit organization and school serving deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults. The mission of The Learning Center for the Deaf is to ensure that all deaf and hard of hearing children and adults thrive by having the knowledge, opportunity and power to design the future of their choice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Children's Hospital Colorado</span> Hospital in Colorado, United States

Children's Hospital Colorado is an academic pediatric acute care children's hospital system with its flagship hospital located in the Anschutz Medical Campus near the interchange of I-225 and Colfax Avenue in Aurora, Colorado. The hospital system has more than 600 pediatric beds at its four hospitals located in Aurora, Colorado Springs, Highlands Ranch and Broomfield. As Children's Colorado is a teaching hospital, it operates a number of residency programs, which train newly graduated physicians in various pediatric specialties and subspecialties. The hospital is affiliated with the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 and sometimes until 25 throughout Colorado and the Midwest. The hospital also sometimes treats adults that require pediatric care. Children's Colorado is the only children's hospital in Colorado. Additionally, the hospital has outpatient centers, campuses, and doctors offices around Colorado. The hospital features an ACS verified Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center and features a rooftop helipad to transport critically ill patients.

Phoenix House Foundation was a national nonprofit drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization operating in ten states with 150 programs throughout the United States. Programs served individuals, families, and communities affected by substance abuse and dependency.

Provo Canyon School (PCS) is a psychiatric youth involuntary residential treatment center in Provo, Utah, owned and operated by Universal Health Services (UHS) since 2000. The involuntary residential program claims to use an "Acuity Based Care" (ABC) model that identifies and re-assesses the strengths and needs of its students. Residents instead receive a wide range of interventions including psychotropic drug therapy; use of physical restraints; humiliation; starvation; and solitary confinement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services</span> Hospital in Michigan, United States

Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services is a psychiatric hospital and behavioral health provider, with the main treatment campus located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Chief Executive Officer and President is Dr. Mark Eastburg, appointed December, 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers</span> Former healthcare system in New York, United States

Saint Vincent's Catholic Medical Centers was a healthcare system in New York City, anchored by its flagship hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital Manhattan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nationwide Children's Hospital</span> Hospital in Ohio, United States

Nationwide Children's Hospital is a nationally ranked pediatric acute care teaching hospital located in the Southern Orchards neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. The hospital has 673 pediatric beds and is affiliated with the Ohio State University College of Medicine. The hospital provides comprehensive pediatric specialties and subspecialties to infants, children, teens, and young adults aged 0–21 throughout Ohio and surrounding regions. Nationwide Children's Hospital also sometimes treats adults that require pediatric care. Nationwide Children's Hospital also features an ACS-verified Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center, one of four in the state. The hospital has affiliations with the nearby Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. Nationwide Children's Hospital is located on its own campus and has more than 1,379 medical staff members and over 11,909 total employees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Tennessee Children's Hospital</span> Hospital in Tennessee, United States

East Tennessee Children's Hospital is a private, independent, not-for-profit, 152-bed pediatric medical center in Knoxville, Tennessee. The hospital's primary service area includes 16 counties in East Tennessee, and its secondary service area includes counties in southwest Virginia, southeast Kentucky and western North Carolina.

Silver Hill Hospital is a non-profit psychiatric hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut established in 1931. The hospital is accredited by the Joint Commission and provides behavioral health care treatment. This includes psychiatric and addiction services.

Willingway, located in Statesboro, Georgia, is a privately owned Substance Use Disorder facility which specializes in treating alcoholism and drug addiction. The treatment modality at Willingway is based on the principles of the twelve-step program, Alcoholics Anonymous. It is referred to by many as "The Betty Ford Center of the South."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntsman Mental Health Institute</span> Salt Lake City institute for psychiatric education, research, treatment

The Huntsman Mental Health Institute (HMHI), formerly University Neuropsychiatric Institute (UNI), is an assemblage of psychiatric treatment, education, and research programs based in Salt Lake City, Utah. HMHI is a component of University of Utah Health Hospitals & Clinics. The institute was dedicated on 14 January 2021 after the Huntsman family, in November 2019, committed $150 million over 10 years to create the institute

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VA Butler Healthcare</span>

VA Butler Healthcare is a Health Care Center operated by the Department of Veteran Affairs. Serving over 22,000 veterans in Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio. The hospital is located on a 90-acre campus on New Castle Road in Butler Township, Butler County, Pennsylvania.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System is a health care organization that provides care to Massachusetts’ Veterans. It is part of the VA New England Healthcare System, one of 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) within the VA. The VA New England Healthcare System includes VA medical centers in Boston and all six New England states. The VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System includes a medical center in Northampton and community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) in Greenfield, Worcester, Pittsfield, Springfield and Fitchburg.

Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) is a not-for-profit children's healthcare system located in the Atlanta area, dedicated to caring for infants, children, teens, and young adults age 0–21 throughout Georgia. Children's formed in 1998 when Egleston Children's Health Care System and Scottish Rite Medical Center came together, becoming one of the largest pediatric systems in the United States. In 2006, Children's assumed responsibility for the management of services at Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital, growing the system to three hospitals.

Howard Center is a Burlington, Vermont-based nonprofit organization that offers professional crisis and counseling services to children and adults; supportive services to individuals with autism and developmental disabilities who need help with education, employment, and life maintenance skills; counseling and medical services for those struggling with substance use disorders; and interventions and supports for adults with serious and persistent mental health challenges in Chittenden County, Vermont's most populous county. Howard Center collaborates with many community partners and is a United Way of Northwest Vermont-funded agency.

References

  1. ↑ "KidsPeace Website". KidsPeace.org. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "KidsPeace Overview". usnews.com. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  3. ↑ "Outcomes and Annual Report 2019" (PDF). KidsPeace.org. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Crisis brings KidsPeace to a crossroads: High number of restraints, spike in police calls bring state probe. Can the 125-year-old agency survive?". tmcnet.com. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  5. ↑ Matt Assad, "4 critical errors identified in KidsPeace death ** Investigation: Girls stole methadone from worker, report says". The Morning Call. 26 June 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  6. ↑ JD Malone, "KidsPeace finances shaky, misses bond and pension payments". The Morning Call. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  7. ↑ Matt Assad, "KidsPeace files for bankruptcy". The Morning Call. 21 May 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  8. ↑ "Who We Are". omnimgt.com. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  9. ↑ "Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation". pbgc.gov. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  10. ↑ Matt Assad, "KidsPeace emerges from bankruptcy". 2 August 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.