Public-private partnerships keep Schreiber services available

The president of Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development has a goal of increasing the center’s endowment to $5 million to ensure services for children continue and expand.

During a tour of the newly renovated and expanded center at 625 Community Way in Lancaster, James DeBord said he would like to see the endowment closer to $10 million.

Schreiber, which provides services to children ages birth to 21 with developmental and cognitive disabilities, recently completed a $10 million 21,000-square-foot expansion and renovation.

“Without Schreiber, there would be no place for these kids to go to live their dreams,” DeBord said, adding Schreiber is the only outpatient pediatric therapy service in Central Pennsylvania.

To date, the center has raised $13 million for the expansion and renovation, and DeBord said he is confident that it will reach $15 million with the still yet to be received pledges from the capital campaign.

The center, which loses an average of $74 per hour across all services from Medicaid reimbursements, needs community and corporate support to operate, he said.

“Most health care systems don’t cover outpatient treatment because of this,” DeBord said. “The endowment will ensure we can cover operating costs and see more kids.”

With an annual budget of $6 million, DeBord said the center can hire more staff and equipment for the expanded space.

That is something DeBord is proud of, especially after the financial hit the center endured during the pandemic.

The behavioral health services the center offers started May 16, 2020, the same time COVID hit.

DeBord said of all the services Scheiber offers, behavioral health could be offered through telehealth.

“Some payers took two weeks to cover telehealth while others took over a month,” he said.

And because the other services need in person care because most of Schreiber’s patients aren’t equipped for telehealth, DeBord said the staff was furloughed for a short time. When they returned, space was severely limited.

“Our therapists could work with two patients in a space equipped for 15,” he said. “Then it took 20 minutes to sterilize everything. The losses shot up to $100’s per hour.”

DeBord said record philanthropy saved the center from closing. In fact, he said, $1.1 million from public-private partnerships came in. Without the public-private partnerships, DeBord said the center would have been $2 million “underwater.”

“We had to make hard choices and this project was delayed,” he said. “It delayed reducing our waiting lists.”

DeBord, who joined Schreiber 10 years ago when it was experiencing $2 million annual losses, said he set out to raise more funding through relationships with foundations and donors. The result has been a 500% increase in fundraising.

Three years ago, Schreiber had an annual budget of $3 million. That has doubled.

More importantly, he said, “We had a two-year waiting list for evaluations and that is just too late. Now the waiting list is weeks, a few months for some.”

“We are just coming online in the coming months, so we will see how many children we can take,” DeBord said adding Schreiber treats 4,000 children each year. “The hope is to treat up to 500 more each year.”

The behavioral health therapy services were added with a $15,000 grant from the V Kelly for Children Trust.

DeBord said the renovated former administrative offices were converted into eight rooms and a private waiting area. While he’d like to see it fully staffed, he said finding behavioral health therapists is daunting at best.

“We have one on staff now and are actively recruiting,” he said of the increased need for behavioral health services, which saw a huge spike during and after the pandemic.

In addition to the occupational, behavioral and speech therapy areas, the new facility has a state-of-the-art physical therapy department, equipped with an Oasis System that can help children stay upright while learning to walk.

DeBord showed the treadmills that harness children while they walk but explained that the treadmill keeps them walking in a straight line.

“The new system allows for more mobility,” he said, explaining that when the children start to walk, they often drift to one side or another. This system allows them to learn to straighten themselves up and learn to walk straight on their own.

The center also added a feeding room, which DeBord said is where an occupational therapist and speech pathologist can work with children who won’t eat solid food or couldn’t due to a feeding tube learn to swallow.

“It’s all about the kids,” he said.

“Without philanthropy, we would be $2.5 million in the hole every year. That’s the reality baked into the system,” DeBord said. “Thank you to the central Pennsylvania business community. Whether you donated $5 or $1 million, thank you for what you’ve done.”