HAMPTON-Ivy Rehab for Kids is opening a new location this spring between the At Home store and the U.S. Postal Service in Riverpointe Shopping Center on Mercury Boulevard in Hampton. The group’s latest addition will be the third Ivy Rehab Network facility on the Peninsula and the second to specialize in pediatrics.
Katie Silva, regional director of Ivy Rehab Network, said the 3,000 square-foot storefront will fill a void for pediatric outpatient therapy services in the community. “Our Oyster Point location has already pulled in a lot of the Hampton population, so it was definitely a logical next move to open a space in Hampton,” said Silva.
Silva said she’s hopeful the facility will open next month. “We’re dealing with a few construction issues right now and our goal is to be open sometime in May,” said Silva. “We’re already working on building caseloads, and a lot of our Hampton patients are already being seen at our Oyster Point location. We’re ready to go as soon as it opens.”
Annette Patino-Gonzalez will fill the role of clinic director at the Hampton location. Before joining the Ivy Rehab Network in August 2021, she worked with children as a speech therapist for 11 years, most recently in an educational setting. “I’m currently working at the Oyster Point location and have been building a full caseload,” said Patino-Gonzalez. “So far, we’ll have three therapists on site, speech, OT and PT. We’re looking to hire another speech therapist for the Hampton location since my caseload is almost full and our waitlist is so long.”
The new facility will offer 11 treatment rooms to accommodate patients and therapists. “We typically start with one therapist in each discipline, and then as the caseload builds and demands grow, we slowly tap on more therapists,” said Silva. “There’s enough space to potentially have ten to twelve therapists in the center, which would be one of the largest in this region to date.”
The Hampton location will specialize in pediatric speech therapy, offering both Spanish and English assessments and treatments; pediatric occupational therapy; and pediatric physical therapy. Ivy Rehab for Kids strives to craft sessions that resemble playtime for children.
Speech pathologists have extensive experience working with children to improve feeding, communication, articulation, voice, fluency, and cognitive function. Physical therapists work with children to improve their motor skills using the body’s large muscle groups and whole-body movement.
The team’s occupational therapists work with children on improving their skills for daily living. They focus on the child’s physical development, social-emotional development, and cognitive and sensory processing skills to assist the child in maximizing their potential.
The group aims to form long-lasting relationships with patients while working closely with physicians, parents, caregivers, and teachers to facilitate productive clinical and functional outcomes.
Some of the services offered and conditions treated include balance disorders, cerebral palsy, clubfoot, communication skills, down syndrome, genetic disorders, handwriting, mobility, self-care skills, self-regulation, serial casting, social skills, trauma, autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, coordination difficulties, and torticollis.
Ivy Rehab for Kids works with children from birth to adulthood and prides itself in providing timely, individualized therapy services in a caring environment through the personalized attention of a committed staff.
“We operate as a family for one another,” said Silva. “We invite our patients to be a part of our family. We provide support for them, and not just through the services we offer, but we have patients who are going through a lot in their lives and parents who are processing a lot with a child with different abilities. They often turn to us for support, and I think that helps us stand out from other providers.”
The clinic accepts most insurance plans, including Tricare and Medicaid. “We try our very best to make sure we’re able to provide services for as many kids as possible and help them to not have insurance be a barrier,” said Silva.
Ivy Rehab for Kids is working on rolling out a new plan that will link patients with opportunities for grants and funding if their insurance doesn’t cover services. “It breaks my heart to see a patient that needs services but isn’t able to receive them because finances are a roadblock,” said Silva. “We look forward to connecting our patients with more opportunities and are excited about the prospect.”
Ivy Rehab for Kids’ Hampton clinic is located at 1062B W. Mercury Blvd. Hours of operation will be 9:30am to 6pm Monday through Thursday and 8:30am to 5pm on Friday. For more information, visit the clinic’s website or call 757-644-0644.
