171 Ashley Ave.
Charleston, SC 29425
843-792-1414
800-424-MUSC
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Press Release
Day Treatment Center ready for children
April 19, 2002
Contact: Chris West 843-792-2626
In an effort to IMPACT what can be the dark and dismal sky of at-risk children, MUSC has
added another shiny STAR. Located in the Mark Clark Business Center on Leeds Avenue, MUSC’s
new Children's Day Treatment Center is now accepting its first group of children. The new
groups will consist of 3-to-12-year-old children who will be the first to use the seven
thousand-square-foot facility in the youth intervention programs known as IMPACT and STAR.
With roots in MUSC’s Institute of Psychiatry (IOP), STAR and IMPACT are treatment programs
targeted at children with severe emotional and/or behavioral disturbances. The participating
child’s age designates which program he or she will enter for treatment and intervention with
the goal of addressing and overcoming the problem areas of their lives.
Innovative Models for Parent and Child Treatment (IMPACT) offers treatment for preschool-age
children with extreme disruptive behavior at home or daycare.
“The goal of IMPACT is to intervene early enough in a child’s life to set him or her on a
more adaptive course of behavior before the problem behavior worsens,” said Owen Shoemaker,
Ph.D., and program director. “And while IMPACT cannot be considered primary prevention,
it is proactive in its approach before the problem seriously disrupts their educational,
social and emotional development.”
Initially conceptualized by Conway Saylor, Ph.D., and Rusty Wolf, M.D., IMPACT was made
reality when the doctors realized a growing need to address and serve young children who
were already having considerable problems adjusting to home, school and community environments.
Initially housed in the Charles Webb Easter Seal building and sponsored by the IOP, it was decided
to move the program to a site in West Ashley in 1994. Shoemaker, who lent consultation services in
its fledgling years, became program director in 1995. Through the years, the site grew in popularity
to a large population desiring its services.
“The West Ashley site had been carrying a long waiting list over the years and even after referral
a child’s admission may take up to three months. That’s why we were fortunate to have the support of
IOP administrator Joan Herbert in acquiring the new site at Leeds Avenue,” Shoemaker said.
The IMPACT format consists of two groups: one for three and four year-olds and another for five
and six year-olds. The groups are led by two facilitators and are kept small. According to Shoemaker,
this allows for prompt consequences of behavior, both positive and negative.
STAR is a partial hospitalization/day treatment program for youths with severe emotional and/or
behavioral disturbances. Dedicating its services to younger children, STAR picks up where IMPACT
leaves off. Children ages 6 to 18 are eligible for the STAR program. The STAR acronym reveals the
four mission steps of the program: stabilization, treatment, assessment and reintegration. All four
must be completed for “graduation” from the program. The initial classes will consist of three
groups of peers, ages seven to twelve, and will be led through the six to eight week program by a
teacher/facilitator.
“STAR began in 1995 on the fifth floor of the Institute of Psychiatry (IOP),” said Tei McCurdy,
program coordinator. “Shortly after, the program grew in popularity and found itself with an
expansive waiting list that still exists today. This new facility was established to take some
of the crunch off of the other facilities and because of its location, should facilitate serving
some of Charleston’s outlying areas, such as Summerville and North Charleston.”
STAR is also designed to intervene with problem behavior in children to restore age appropriate
independent functioning and reintegrate them into their problem areas minus disruptive behavior.
But the similarities don’t stop there.
Parent/caregiver participation is mandatory for admission to both programs. There they are
taught behavior management skills to ensure that treatment continues in the home after the
child has left the facility.
Parent/caregiver participation is a vital component, as both programs recognize the crucial
role that parents and caregivers play in helping a child to make changes in behavior. Family
groups and individual family therapy sessions are provided to help the patients and family
integrate new skills. IMPACT therapists may also work with the patient and family in the home
in order to individualize treatment.
The two programs have a similar treatment model with children participating in therapeutic
groups which range from social-skill focused groups to spending time in a classroom-type
environment in order to help children learn skills in handling both highly structured and
less structured settings.
While each program will have treatment personnel working specifically with its children and
families, there will be some limited sharing of space and personnel in order to maximize the
efficient use of resources. Mark Wagner, M.D., will serve as the attending psychiatrist for
both programs. Shoemaker will continue to provide administrative, research, training, clinical
and supervisory services for both IMPACT programs, and McCurdy will provide coordination services
for the STAR Leeds program.
In the early stages of opening their new site, the goal of Shoemaker and McCurdy is to have
the new programs fully running as soon as possible. The programs have already begun working
with new patients and are accepting further referrals. For more information, contact McCurdy
for STAR or Shoemaker for IMPACT at (843) 740-6130.
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