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To earn the Autism Friendly Designation, businesses and organizations must have at least 80% of customer-facing team members complete specialized Autism Speaks training to better understand ASD.<\/p>\n
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Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care announced that its pediatric centers in Lake Success<\/a>, East Northport<\/a>, and Hewlett<\/a> on Long Island have been re-designated as Autism Friendly<\/a> by Autism Speaks. The three centers were the first urgent care locations in the nation to earn the designation in 2024, and in just two years, more than 50 urgent care centers across New York, Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina have joined<\/a> the effort to make urgent care more accessible to people with autism.<\/p>\n The renewal comes as nearly 20,000 children on Long Island are estimated to be on the autism spectrum, many of whom face barriers to accessing timely care. For many families, getting care is not simple. A typical healthcare visit, with a busy waiting room, unfamiliar sounds, and unclear timing, can feel overwhelming. Some families delay or avoid visits due to communication challenges, uncertainty about what to expect, or past experiences of feeling misunderstood in healthcare settings. Northwell Health-GoHealth has invested in providing a better care experience for children with autism.<\/p>\n Originally recognized<\/a> in 2024 as the first urgent care provider in the nation to earn the Autism Friendly Designation, Northwell Health-GoHealth continues to refine how it delivers care for patients with autism. The re-designation reflects ongoing staff training and use of sensory-aware accommodations designed to better support patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).<\/p>\n \u201cHealthcare settings can be overwhelming for children with autism, which is why we\u2019ve focused on making the experience more predictable and less stressful,\u201d said Dr. Gina Ruocchio, clinical manager of Pediatrics for Northwell Health-GoHealth Pediatric Urgent Care. \u201cThis re-designation reinforces the work we\u2019ve continued to do to better support patients and gives families more confidence in coming to us when they need care.\u201d<\/p>\n Read More: Hundreds rally in rain to protest proposed Kings Point Park\u00a0land use<\/a><\/p>\n To earn the Autism Friendly Designation, businesses and organizations must have at least 80% of customer-facing team members complete specialized Autism Speaks training to better understand ASD. The team members at Northwell Health-GoHealth\u2019s pediatric urgent care centers exceeded this goal and have focused on delivering personalized care to meet each person\u2019s unique needs. The centers have also been modified to better support sensory needs, including quieter exam rooms, dimmable lighting, and sensory kits that help reduce stress during visits. Patients and families can also access online resources<\/a> to help them prepare for their visit, and to privately share accommodation needs at check-in so care teams can adjust the visit in real time.<\/p>\n \u201cNorthwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care has taken a thoughtful approach to making care more accessible for autistic patients and their families,\u201d said Lindsay Naeder, vice president of Services and Supports at Autism Speaks. \u201cThis kind of intentional work\u2014from training staff to adapting the care environment\u2014is what creates more consistent and supportive experiences for families. We\u2019re proud to recognize their leadership and the example they\u2019re setting for healthcare systems across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0Northwell Health-GoHealth will continue working with Autism Speaks and clinical partners to improve the experience and expand access to inclusive urgent care for neurodiverse communities.<\/p>\n Autism-friendly pediatric urgent care is available at the Lake Success<\/a>, East Northport<\/a>, and Hewlett<\/a> centers Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., for infants, children and young adults. For more information about Autism-Friendly Designated Northwell Health-GoHealth Urgent Care pediatric centers, visit www.gohealthuc.com\/northwell\/pediatrics<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To earn the Autism Friendly Designation, businesses and organizations must have at least 80% of customer-facing team members…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-203762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}