New Therapeutic Recreation Clinical Lead Named at the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, N.Y. - March 26, 2014 - PRLog -- Lauren Manning, C.T.R.S., a certified therapeutic recreation specialist, recently accepted the Clinical Lead position for Therapeutic Recreation at the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center in Yonkers, N.Y.

Therapeutic Recreation is a holistic approach to wellness that offers support to the "whole" person: cognitively, physically, emotionally, socially and spiritually. At the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center, our Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists (CTRSs) carefully plan and implement activities that are adapted for our residents that involve arts and crafts, music, sports, games and even field trips to help improve their functional skills, while also fostering their sense of self-esteem and decreasing any feelings of stress and anxiety that our children feel about being in a healthcare environment.

Manning has worked as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist since 2002. She has a bachelor’s degree in Recreation Management – Therapeutic Recreation and in the last 12 years she has had experience working with: children and adults with physical and developmental challenges; children, adolescents and adults in a psychiatric setting and children who are medically fragile.

Manning first joined the Pediatric Center’s Therapeutic Recreation team in July of 2011. “I chose to work at the Pediatric Center not just because I enjoy working with this population of medically complex children, but also because of the Pediatric Center’s mission,” Manning said. “I find it so incredibly gratifying to see the children I work with reach their milestones and to do so while smiling and laughing and just being children. That’s what our culture of delivering compassionate care is all about.”

In her new role as Clinical Lead, Manning has now taken on a greater leadership role that Carmela Senese, M.A., OTR/L, Chief Rehabilitation Officer, describes as a perfect fit. “Over the years, Lauren has provided wonderful therapeutic recreation activities for our children and truly understands the importance of therapeutic recreation, especially for the children we serve here at the Pediatric Center. She is approachable and well-respected by the entire trans-disciplinary team,” she said. “I look forward to working with her in a leadership role as she continues to raise the standard of practice for the Therapeutic Recreation staff.”

Manning lives in River Edge, N.J., with her fiancé.

About the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center

The Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center is a not-for-profit, pediatric specialty nursing facility, serving children from infancy through age 21, who are among the most medically complex children in New York State. The Pediatric Center, which is a 137-bed and 165,000-square-foot complex located in Yonkers, just celebrated its 25th year of service. This state-of-the-art, child-centered building is the only LEED Gold certified “green” pediatric facility in the country. Children come to us with serious medical and neurological challenges including, but not limited to: premature birth complications; cerebral palsy; congenital heart disease; chronic lung disease; chromosome, metabolic and respiratory disorders; muscular and neurological diseases; and immunodeficiency syndromes. We provide comprehensive healthcare, rehabilitation and special education services to all our residents. Learn more about the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center at setonpediatric.org and find us on Facebook at facebook.com/setonpediatric.