Sooners Giving Back

Norman, Okla. - The Oklahoma women's basketball program is more than what fans see on the court. Each month OU's 13 players are out in the community extending a helping hand. This year, Oklahoma has teamed up with the J.D. McCarthy Center for Children with Developmental Disabilities in Norman.

Once a month the Sooners spend an evening at the facility reading, talking, playing cards or just visiting with the patience's at each of the six houses.

"This is rewarding to me," said junior Laura Andrews. "Being able to come out here and interact with these kids is a special opportunity that we all enjoy. People may think we bring the smiles and laughs but it's actually them bringing us a lot of laughs and smiles."

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JDM Center - http://www.jdmc.org
There were only 52 employees at JDM when Harper Orth became director in 1956, but there were 96 when he retired in 1981. Today, the staff numbers about 130. JDM is licensed for 60 beds, is staffed and equipped for 42 beds and about 25 children stay as inpatients every day. The average length of stay at JDM now is 43 days.

|There were several building projects over the years that added beds and space for therapy. The first big addition was for laundry, a shop area, additional wards, a conference room, classrooms and speech therapy rooms. This addition alone cost more than the original building itself. Other additions came later.

The "other additions" included a wheelchair course and recreational area on the south side of JDM, the renovation of the lobby and administration area, the expansion of the occupational therapy department and the renovation of nursing station and bathing room.

JDM reaches out to kids with every kind of developmental disability. In 1946, the center treated one diagnosis...cerebral palsy. Today they treat almost 50 diagnoses in the category of developmental disabilities. Thousands of the children they have treated have grown to be more functional, independent members of society.

JDM Mission
The mission of the J.D. McCarty Center for Children with Developmental Disabilities is to provide a comprehensive program of habilitative care to Oklahoma's children (0-21) with developmental disabilities.

To utilize measurable quality standards and to ensure excellence in health care through a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach to service delivery which will enable children with developmental disabilities to maximize their potential and enhance their quality of life.

To provide an intensive and comprehensive habilitative environment through direct services, referrals and consultations that will lead to increased productivity and a quality standard of living throughout adulthood.

To increase the physical and emotional well-being of patients and their families through an empowering process of education, training, transitional planning and community support.

To advocate for the needs of children with developmental disabilities by increasing awareness and supplementing habilitative services in all communities as well as pro-actively seeking solutions to expressed concerns.

Services Offerred by the J D McCarty Center
To facilitate ongoing education and training for staff in order to ensure continuous quality improvements. The J D McCarty Center offers a large variety of services to the developmentally disabled children of the State of Oklahoma. These services include: Telemedicine, Outpatient services, Inpatient Services, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Communications Disorders Therapy, Psychological Testing, Music Therapy, and Recreational Therapy.

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