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Description

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The JD McCarty Center was founded in 1946 established to treat just one thing cerebral palsy Since that time the hospital has expanded its patient experience and level of expertise Today the McCarty Center has treated more than 70 different diagnoses of developmental disabilities
Children referred to the hospital are evaluated and treated by a team of physical occupational and speech therapists registered nurses and LPNs a dietitian physicians a pediatric psychologist and direct care specialists who focus on discovering what a child can do rather than what he or she cannot do
On January 22 2001 Oklahoma Lt Governor Mary Fallin presided over groundbreaking ceremonies for the construction of a new facility for the JD McCarty Center Located on an 80acre campus the new facility measures more than 100000 square feet in size tripling the hospitals previous Norman home Today the McCarty center offers stateoftheart therapeutic outpatient and inpatient care
With a staff of more than 200 people the JD McCarty Center currently maintains an average daily inpatient census of 30 The average length of stay is approximately one monthThe McCarty Center staff is dedicated to helping patients function at the highest possible level On average the McCarty Center sees children from 70 of Oklahomas 77 counties
No one could have known in 1946 how many children would pass through the McCarty Centers doors but generations of Oklahomans with disabilities owe a debt of gratitude to the founders legislators Cerebral Palsy Commissioners donors staff and volunteers who have helped in the quest for better lives Sixty years after the idea was proposed the JD McCarty Center continues to turn stumbling blocks into building blocks for children with developmental disabilities in Oklahoma
mission
The mission of the JD McCarty Center is to provide a comprehensive program of rehabilitative care to Oklahomas children ages 021 with developmental disabilities
In addition the Center seeks to
utilize measurable quality standards and to ensure excellence in health care through a comprehensive multidisciplinary approach to service delivery which will enable children with developmental disabilities to maximize their potential and enhance their quality of life
provide an intensive and comprehensive rehabilitative environment through direct services referrals and consultations that will lead to increased productivity and a quality standard of living throughout adulthood
increase the physical and emotional wellbeing of patients and their families through an empowering process of education training transitional planning and community support
advocate for the needs of children with developmental disabilities by increasing awareness and supplementing rehabilitative services in all communities as well as proactively seeking solutions to expressed concerns
facilitate ongoing education and training for staff in order to ensure continuous quality improvements

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History

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In the mid 1940s few Oklahomans could pronounce quotcerebral palsyquot and even fewer people knew what to do with a child who had a disability That was one of the difficulties that the JD McCarty Centers first directors had to overcome
A group called quotThe 40 et 8 of Oklahomaquot tackled the job of building a center where Oklahoma kids could get intensive therapy and schooling regardless of their race religion or ability to pay The idea came about after one member of the quot40 et 8quot had searched the state in vain for a place that could teach his grandson to walk and talk So in 1946 the quot40 et 8quot voted to begin plans for a medical facility that would give children the help they needed and make parents realize that there was no need for shame or blame
For about two years the quot40 et 8quot operated their center out of a building on the US Navys former quotSouth Basequot in Norman with the first child admitted in 1948 Just to stay afloat the group had to hit the streets raffling off cars knocking on doors and soliciting money every way they could
Then their cause found a new champion JD McCarty a member of Oklahomas House of Representatives who later became the Speaker of the Oklahoma House McCarty used his influence to pass a bill to build the Oklahoma Cerebral Palsy Institute and another bill sponsored by State Senator Phil Smalley of Norman covered annual operating expenses Central State Hospital now known as Griffin Memorial Hospital sold 10 acres of land for only one dollar for the new facility to be built on
With Representative McCartys support in the legislature the institute became a state agency and the quot40 et 8quot was allowed to remain active with the facility The legislature created a three member Cerebral Palsy Commission which governed the McCarty Center then and today The governor appoints members of the commission today
The year 2001 brought a major change to the clinical operations of the JD McCarty Center In July of that year the center changed its clinical care model from a cerebral palsy focus to a broader model encompassing a wide variety of diagnoses
The care model that the McCarty Center now uses has a specially trained direct care specialist assigned to each one or two children that are admitted to our hospital Among other things these direct care specialist make sure that the inpatients care plan is implemented throughout the day including any behavior modification plan the child might be on sees that the child is in therapy at the appointed times records and reports various observations of the patient for the nursing staff and assists the patient while theyre in school
Another step in the evolution of the McCarty Center occurred on January 12 2000 On that day the Oklahoma Foundation for Persons with Disabilities OFPD was born with notification from the Internal Revenue Service that the McCarty Centers application papers had been approved to establish a public notforprofit foundation Its sole purpose is to raise monies for the support of various projects and programs that will in turn benefit the children the JD McCarty Center serves
In June 2005 the foundation board voted to change the foundations name to The JD McCarty Center Foundation