The CP Center staff consists of a team of experts; each staff member specializing in a different aspect of care for children with cerebral palsy. Although each physician focuses primarily on specific groups of children with cerebral palsy, most children treated at the Center interact with several staff members and are followed by more than one physician.
Jan Brunstrom-Hernandez, MD, director
Dr.Brunstrom is a pediatric neurologistand developmental neurobiologist.
-
Expertise:
-
Early diagnosis and intervention
-
Development of medical and therapeutic strategies to improve outcome in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy
-
Therapeutic use of Electrical Stimulation
-
Target Group:
-
Children from infancy to three years with motor disability, especially those with a history of prematurity
-
Children age three years to 18 years with a history of prematurity whose primary disability is motor impairment, particularly spastic diplegia
-
Adults with CP who are motivated to improve
Michael Noetzel, MD, division director, pediatric neurology
Dr. Noetzel is a pediatric neurologist.
Shellie Lackey, RN
Clinical Nurse Coordinator
Shellie has been a pediatric nurse for over 20 years. She assists Dr. Janice Brunstrom in the Cerebral Palsy clinical setting. Shellie's role includes the following:
- Phone triage for patients and families followed by he CP Center.
- Performs the Intrathecal Baclofen refill and adjustment procedure.
- Works with insurance companies and Medicaid to obtain necessary equipment, therapy, medications, etc.
- Arranges therapies, lab tests and referrals for patients.
- Advocates for child's educational, accessibility and equipment-related needs for home, school and the community.
- Educates families about medications, tests and procedures.
- Works as a clinical research nurse/coordinator and is actively involved in CP research.
Stephanie Marten, RN
Clinical Nurse Coordinator
Stephanie has four years of pediatric experience on a general medicine floor at St. Louis Children's Hospital. She is currently pursuing her Master's of Science Degree in Nursing.
Stephanie assists Dr. Brunstrom in the Cerebral Palsy clinical setting. Stephanie's role includes the following:
- Phone triage for patients and families followed by the Cerebral Palsy Center.
- Works with insurance companies and Medicaid to obtain necessary equipment, therapy, medications, etc.
- Arrange therapies, lab tests and referrals for patients.
- Advocate for child's educational, accessibility and equipment-related needs for home, school and the community.
- Educates families/caregivers, patients, and schools in the areas of neurological diagnosis, equipment needs, therapies and medications.
- Works as a clinical research nurse and is actively involved in cerebral palsy research.
Helen Race RN, MSN, CPNP
Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
Helen works primarily with patients followed by Dr. Brunstrom and Dr. Noetzel in the Cerebral Palsy Center. Helen’s role includes the following:
Kathy Herndon, PT, MHS, PCS
Kathy has practiced pediatric therapy at St. Louis Children’s Hospital since 1991 and has been with the CP center since 1999. She is a board-certified pediatric specialist through the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialists.
Courtney Dunn, PT
Courtney shares her time between the CP center and the Botox clinic with Dr. Racette. Courtney has been treating children since 1995.
Ashley Cavender, MPT
Ashley joined the CP Center staff in January 2007. She divides her time between the CP Center and Washington University, where she works as a research physical therapist with Dr. Brunstrom.
All therapists share the role of evaluation, consultation and treatment in the CP center. Areas which may be addressed by physical therapy include:
-
Serial casting for increasing range of motion
-
Electrical stimulation
-
Taping and compression orthotics
-
Lite Gait and treadmill evaluation
-
Equipment recommendations
-
Orthotic recommendations
-
Treatment recommendations to supplement current programming
-
School recommendations
Jackie Webel, OTD, OTR/L
Jackie is a registered and licensed occupational therapist. She has experience in health and wellness programs, environmental assessment and adaptations, and disability policy to support participation of children and adolescents in the home and community. Jackie evaluates and offers suggestions in regards to:
- Home and community modification
- Assistive technology
- Strengthening
- Adaptive equipment selection
- Splinting
Jennifer Miros, MPT
Jennifer Miros is a pediatric physical therapist, specializing in adaptive sports and recreation activities for young people with cerebral palsy, at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. She is manager of The Carol and Paul Hatfield Cerebral Palsy Sports and
Rehabilitation Center. Jennifer sets up many different sports activities, such as tennis clinics, basketball classes, and cycling outings. She also organizes winter and summer sports camps, where kids participate in sports such as ice-skating, dancing, swimming, martial arts, rock climbing, soccer, baseball, and volleyball.
Consultants to the CP Center
Scott Luhmann, MD
Dr. Luhmann, a board certified orthopedic surgeon, specializes in the area of pediatric orthopedics and has various clinical and basic research interests. One of his interests is in the treatment of orthopedic problems in children/adolescents with neuromuscular conditions, such as cerebral palsy. At the CP Center, Dr. Luhmann works with and sees patients with Dr. Brunstrom who have spinal orthopedic concerns or problems.
Bradley Schlaggar, MD, PhD
Dr. Schlaggar, a pediatric neurologist, is a specialist in pediatric movement disorders and hemiplegic cerebral palsy -- CP involving the arm and leg on one side of the body -- and in understanding the outcome and causes of pediatric stroke.
Dr. Schlaggar is actively involved in research using functional imaging to understand the development of language and thinking in normal children and in children who have had injury to one side of the brain. The goal of Dr. Schlaggar's work is to determine how to best enhance the developing brain's natural ability to recover after injury in order to develop new treatments for children with cerebral palsy.
K. Liu Lin Thio, MD, PhD
Dr. Thio is an epileptologist -- a physician specializing in seizures -- and assists in the care of those patients who have seizures. His role includes medical management of difficult seizure disorders, evaluation for surgical intervention in refractory epilepsy and video EEG monitoring to determine whether a child's unusual episodes are due to epileptic seizures versus other movement abnormalities related to cerebral palsy.
Dr. Thio is actively involved in basic research to understand the abnormal electrical activity in the brain that leads to seizures. His specific research projects seek to determine how the ketogenic diet stops seizures and how the brain processes electrical signals. His goals are to further our understanding of seizures in order to provide new treatment options for children with epilepsy.
Rob Hails, ATS
Rob, a seating and mobility specialist, works with equipment at the Cerebral Palsy Center. He specializes in evaluating clients for custom-fit wheelchairs to provide both manual and powered mobility. Rob is a valuable resource for questions regarding seating, wheelchair, mobility, walking and standing aides. He can be reached at rhails@unitedseating.com.
In addition to acting as a consultant to patients at the CP Center during their visit, Rob also does home evaluations and equipment demonstrations.
Keith Smith, CO
Keith, an American Board Certified Orthotist, specializes in the design, fabrication and fit of custom bracing. He has a special interest in working with pediatrics and neuromuscular needs. Keith evaluates children in the CP clinic, in the hospital and in his private office.
Keith is active in research and has published numerous scientific articles with the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics. He lectures at meetings and University Hospitals nationwide. Keith was selected as one of six orthotists in the country to develop and implement the use of a clinical standards of practice for the field of orthotics.