St. Tammany Health System Parenting Center joins St. Tammany Health System Pediatric Inpatient and Emergency Departments, Bone & Joint Clinic, and Pediatrics Clinic, in earning the Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) designation. This designation is granted by the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). It requires physicians and staff complete autism-specific training and certification to ensure they can better treat and manage the care of autistic or sensory-sensitive patients.
“We are excited to earn this designation because it gives local families confidence that they can entrust their autistic loved one’s care to us. Through this process, we have learned how to interact with our autistic patients from the time we enter their care space,” Cindy Ingram RN, St. Tammany Health System assistant vice president of Women and Children’s Services shared.
“Everything we do and how we do it shows that patient that we can be trusted and are there to help. This is vitally important for autistic patients because they experience interpersonal interactions differently, and we’re grateful to IBCCES for instilling these skills in our team.”
According to the CDC, 1 in 44 children are diagnosed with autism in the US, and many individuals also have sensory sensitivities or are receiving diagnoses later in life. Therefore, the need for training and understanding among medical professionals has never been greater to ensure they clearly understand how to communicate, treat, and assist autistic patients.
“IBCCES’ training built on existing knowledge and ensured we are up to date with best practices and better equipped to interact with autistic children and their families. Being able to identify signs early in development is vitally important. It will be helpful with all of the age groups of children and young adults we serve. Of great significance is the families whose children are 0-5 years old that we interact with daily,” shared Lori Cage, LCSW, Executive Director of St Tammany Health Systems Parenting Center.
“Not only does this help us to serve everyone’s needs, but also to communicate concerns to parents/caregivers who may not be aware. ‘Research has made clear that high quality early intervention can improve learning, communication and social skills, as well as underlying brain development.’ (autismspeaks.org). Being able to help guide parents to services early in development is priceless. I am truly grateful to St. Tammany Health Systems for investing in IBCCES training to have employees become Autism Certified. This is such a gift to our community.”
“IBCCES is excited to work with another St. Tammany Health System department to further their team’s ability to provide better care to autistic or sensory sensitive patients. Implementing lasting and impactful programs such as our position-specific training and certification is important to meet the needs of the community St. Tammany Parenting Center serves,” said Myron Pincomb, IBCCES Board Chairman.
For more than 20 years, IBCCES has been a leader in cognitive disorder training and certification for healthcare, education, and corporate professionals around the globe. IBCCES programs include evidence-based content as well as the perspectives of autistic individuals, alongside other resources, ongoing support, and renewal requirements to ensure there is continued learning and a lasting impact.
IBCCES also created CertifiedAutismCenter.com, as a free online resource for parents that lists certified locations and professionals. Each organization listed on the site has met Certified Autism Center™ (CAC) requirements.
About St. Tammany Health System
St. Tammany Health System is the heartbeat of its community, caring for patients and families with excellence, compassion and teamwork; it will strengthen the health of its community with compassion, innovation and partnership and is recognized for quality, safety and the patient experience by CareChex, Leapfrog, Healthgrades, Hospital Compare, Women’s Choice and US News & World Report. St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 is an independent service district in a clinically integrated partnership with Ochsner Health. Together, the two organizations focus on aligning their healthcare offerings to best serve patients and families in west St. Tammany and surrounding areas. Under their agreement, each retains its autonomy; neither manages nor owns the other. Self-supporting, not-for-profit STHS receives no tax funding. More at StTammany.health
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