St. Tammany Pediatrics, the primary care pediatric practice of St. Tammany Health System, has been named a Certified Autism Center by the International Board of Credentialing and Education Standards (IBCCES).
It joins the health system’s pediatric inpatient and emergency departments, which were named Certified Autism Centers in August 2020.
To achieve the designation, STHS pediatricians and clinic staff completed autism-specific training and certification to ensure they can better treat and manage the care of patients with autism or sensory needs.
“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,” said Cindy Brandon, St. Tammany Pediatrics office manager. “Through this process, we have learned how to interact with our patients with autism from the time we enter their care space. 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 patients with autism because they experience interpersonal interactions differently, and we’re grateful to IBCCES for instilling these skills in our team.”
For more than 20 years, IBCCES has been the industry leader in cognitive disorder training and certification for education, healthcare and corporate professionals around the globe. IBCCES provides evidence-based training and certification programs created in conjunction with clinical experts and individuals with autism in order to provide professionals serving individuals with cognitive disorders a better understanding of what these disorders are, industry best practices, and the latest research in these areas.
“IBCCES is excited to work with another St. Tammany Health System pediatrics department who has made a commitment to treating and understanding the needs of autistic children,” said Myron Pincomb, IBCCES Board chairman.
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 requirements.
St. Tammany Pediatrics’ autism certification process was made possible through the generosity of St. Tammany Guild’s annual giving to St. Tammany Hospital Foundation.
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About St. Tammany Health System
The heartbeat of its community, St. Tammany Health System cares for patients and families with excellence, compassion and teamwork. It is recognized for quality, safety and service excellence by CareChex, Leapfrog, Healthgrades, Hospital Compare, Women’s Choice and US News & World Report. St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 1 and Ochsner Health work together in partnership to improve the community’s health and quality of life. Together, west St. Tammany’s top two independent health leaders represent the most complete system of care, aligning behind the common goals of improving access, expanding specialty care and making care affordable. Under their agreement, each retains its autonomy; neither manages nor owns the other. Self-supporting, not-for-profit STHS is A+ rated by Fitch and receives no tax funding. More at StTammany.health.
About IBCCES
Delivering The Global Standard For Training and Certification in The Field of Cognitive Disorders – IBCCES provides a series of certifications that empower professionals to be leaders in their field and improve the outcomes for the individuals they serve. These programs recognized around the world as the leading benchmark for training and certification in the areas of autism and other cognitive disorders.