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The nucleus of our medical services here at the Riddle Developmental Center is our team of primary care physicians. Physicians are assigned to each cottage where they perform regular examinations on our residents and keep continuously updated and accurate medical records of their conditions. We have a number of onsite special medical consultants in areas such as psychiatry, neurology, orthopedics and genetics. Our primary care physicians coordinate consultation with both onsite and off-site specialists. Additionally, our primary care physicians have special interpersonal skills that enable them to function as members of the resident's treatment teams and communicate medical information to residents, parents, treatment team members and other stake holders.
Services that work in liaison with physicians at the J. Iverson Riddle Center include laboratory services, x-ray services, dental services, pharmacy and nursing. While laboratory services are provided through a variety of special laboratories, onsite laboratory technicians assisted by our nursing staff enable us to obtain specimens from residents and out-patients often not possible in other settings. Additionally, our onsite x-ray services and x-ray technician enable us to obtain many films with greater safety and comfort for our residents. Our nursing and pharmacy services are specialized to each resident and have representatives on each resident's treatment team. Again, the ability to tailor these medical services to the individual needs of each resident as well as the availability of clinical professionals specializing in developmental disabilities creates an unusually effective medical service at the J. Iverson Riddle Center.
Our physicians and nurses coordinate services with community hospitals, tertiary care centers and a variety of medical sub-specialists. We provide regular onsite consultative services in psychiatry and neurology because of the high incidence of psychiatric, behavioral, and neurologic disorders in this population. The high incidence of unusual or highly specialized medical problems require that our staff maintain strong ties with university medical centers and research agencies. The Riddle Developmental Center is, in coordination with academic centers and research foundations, one of the world's most prolific publishers of DD research in mental and physical health care issues.
The Department of Medical Services at the J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center is dedicated to providing the highest quality of state of the art medical care for residents and other citizens with developmental disabilities. Questions may be e-mailed to Steven L. Mahorney, M.D., Director of Medical Services.
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