Children's Institute of Pittsburgh

Options: Vision, Mission and/or Purpose of Organization

The Children's Institute of Pittsburgh is dedicated to improving the quality of life for children, young people and their families by providing a specialized continuum of services that enables them to reach their potential.

Vision 2016

The Children's Institute of Pittsburgh will be a nationally and internationally recognized leader in the provision of family-centered care and coordination of services for children and youth with special needs and for any child needing rehabilitation services.The hallmark of The Children’s Institute’s legacy will continue to be an unwavering commitment to these children and their families.

Values

Our trustees, employees and volunteers will embody our values in every interaction with patients, students, clients and their families, each other and all other stakeholders. Our values are:
:Compassion: We provide a loving, caring family-centered environment for children with special needs, their families, and each other. We advocate for children and their families.

:Integrity: We are committed to organizational and financial accountability, transparency, respect for all, and ethical practices.

:Excellence: We will be the best at our work and provide the highest quality family-centered care and services to our children, constantly striving to improve.

:Innovation: We go above and beyond the norm and will be creative in providing services and solving problems.

:Teamwork and Collaboration: We seek to collaborate and partner in all that we do. We are a team where every person is needed to provide the quality care and services for which we are known. We work together and communicate effectively.
:Fun: We will provide a positive and friendly environment.

History of Organization:

When we opened our doors, our founders made a promise —to provide the highest quality of compassionate and innovative care. Over the years, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to be responsive to the changing and increasingly complex needs of those we serve.

It all began in 1902, when Mary Irwin Laughlin established the Memorial Home for Crippled Children to care for a six-year-old boy whose legs had been severed in a train accident. What started with the care of a single child quickly grew into one of the nation’s leading pediatric care facilities.

By 1919, 75 percent of our patients had been affected by polio. And for nearly 40 years, we provided a haven for children and young adults struggling to overcome the effects of the disease.

In the 1960s, we were serving children with a wide range of disabilities. And in 1968, we became the nation’s first comprehensive rehabilitation center for children to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

During the 1970s, we responded to the emerging needs of an aging population by creating adult inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services. As we evolved to meet the changing needs of the families we served, we changed our name from the Home for Crippled Children to The Rehabilitation Institute of Pittsburgh.

February 1998 marked another milestone in our evolution. That’s when we transferred our adult services to the UPMC Health System (UPMC), allowing us to reaffirm our original mission — promoting the well-being of children, young people and their families and providing services that meet their special needs. We sold our Squirrel Hill building to UPMC and began renting space for our programs. To better reflect our renewed focus on children, we changed our name to The Children’s Institute.

Today, The Children’s Institute is an independent, non-profit organization providing individualized pediatric services along a broad continuum.

Options: Accreditations and Licenses

•Pennsylvania Department of Health
•Pennsylvania Department of Education
•Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare
•CARF, the Rehabilitation Accreditation Commission
•Allegheny County Mental Health/Mental Retardation Program
•National Commission for the Accreditation of Special Educations Services

Affiliations

•Hospital Trustee Association (HTA)
•Hospital Council of Western Pennsylvania (HCWP)
•American Hospital Association (AHA)
•Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP)
•National Association of Children’s Hospital and Related Institutions (NACHRI)
•Pennsylvania Association of Rehabilitation Facilities (PARF)
•Advisory Board on Autism Related Disorders (ABOARD)
•Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)
•Council of Administrators of Special Education (CASE)
•National Association of Private Special Education Centers (NAPSEC)
•Alliance of Approved Private Schools (AAPS)
•American Association of School Administrators (AASA)
•State-Wide Adoption Network (SWAN)

Leadership

Contact Information

Contact Phone Numbers

Number* Title / Description (Telephone, Toll free, Fax, etc.)
412.420.2400

Contact Emails

Email* Title / Description (Director, General, Intake, etc.)
Thru web site

Web Addresses

Website* Title / Description (National, Local office, etc.)
www.amazingkids.org/

Primary Address

Title/Description (Corporate office, Headquarters, etc.)

The Children's Institute

Address:

1405 Shady Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
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Services Provided

Speaker Available

No

Volunteer Use

No

Volunteer Need

No

Thank You To Our Sponsors

We are grateful to our many partners who provide financial and operational support. 

OUR SUPPORTERS