Unique program offered assistance to childrenwith psychological and physical disabilities
BY LINDSAY FIORI
lindsay.fiori@journaltimes.com | Posted: Saturday, May 30, 2009 12:00 am
RACINE - When Wadewitz Elementary School closes for the summer, part of it will close forever.
Racine Unified is closing a free special needs clinic housed at the school that has been helping community children for more than 60 years. The closing has staff upset and worrying the loss of the clinic will leave a hole in patients' lives.
"The saddest part is we are abandoning children who are at the greatest risk and cannot articulate their own needs very well and have parents who are disenfranchised," said Subbanna Jayaprakash, a physician who has spent 24 years at the clinic, 2700 Yout St.
The Wadewitz clinic serves about 200 families and children that have suspected or confirmed handicapping conditions, learning disabilities and related behavioral problems, said Jerelyn Hardt, a school social worker who has been with the clinic for 25 years.
The clinic primarily treats children with attention deficit disorder, autism,
muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and spina bifida, said Jayaprakash, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Wheaton Franciscan in Racine.
The clinic is completely free, there are no patient eligibility requirements and children do not need to attend the Racine Unified School District.
The clinic is open once a month. At appointments, a doctor, school staff person and staff member from a community resource agency work on collaborative evaluations of the child, according to Hardt.
"We're putting our heads together to see what the child's needs are," she said.
After an initial visit, Hardt and a nurse follow up, working with school staff to develop an individual education plan for the child.
"It truly is a terrific service," Hardt said. "There are not these resources in Racine. These families have to go to Milwaukee or Chicago and many can't - disadvantaged, poor, low income families are a high percentage of who we see."
District spokeswoman Stephanie Hayden said Unified administrators chose to end the clinic in part because of BadgerCare Plus, a state-run health care program that provides insurance primarily for children. BadgerCare Plus recently expanded to include every Wisconsin child, regardless of family income.
Jayaprakash said BadgerCare is not an adequate reason to close the clinic because the state has not yet demonstrated all children really will receive coverage. He also said at other facilities patients will lose the clinic's teamwork component that allows doctors and teachers to be on the same page about medicines and behavior.
Hayden said Racine has many other care providers that can serve families better than Wadewitz.
"The Wadewitz Clinic was only open 10 days per year and therefore could only provide minimal care," she said in an e-mail.
But staff said the clinic is not intended to provide primary care - it instead helps families who may not get care elsewhere or who need additional support.
That's how Julian Thomas Elementary School social worker Cheryl Holewinski refers students to Wadewitz. She suggests kids who do not have insurance, who have missed a few appointments with pediatricians and whose parents may not have green cards or frequently switch medical service providers.
By closing the clinic, Unified will save about $114,000 annually with the elimination of the clinic's social worker, secretary and nurse positions. Hardt and the nurse will be moved to other open positions within the district.
Unified will save an additional $5,500 paid to Jayaprakash. He has offered free services to the clinic, but district officials said that doesn't matter.
"No one has really taken the time to get to know what goes on there. That's the problem," Holewinski said. "The whole manner in which this was handled was just wrong."