Frequently Asked Questions

• Does insurance cover the cost of therapy?
• How do I schedule or change an appointment?
• When should I cancel my child’s therapy appointment?
• What is Kenny Kids’ attendance policy?
• What happens if my child will arrive late for his/her scheduled appointment?
• What should my child wear to therapy?
• Who should attend therapy?
• How do the therapists make treatment recommendations?
• How do I know how many appointments to schedule?

Does insurance cover the cost of therapy?

Every insurance plan is different. Check with your insurance carrier’s customer service department to learn about the benefits and exclusions of your plan prior to your initial treatment session. If your insurance plan requires prior authorization for on-going treatment, our staff will assist you in obtaining this prior authorization. Co-payments and plan exclusions are your responsibility. Questions regarding insurance coverage should be directed to your therapist case manager, they will assist you.

How do I schedule or change an appointment?

Once the appropriate frequency and duration of treatment for your child has been determined, you can schedule your appointment with our secretary. Depending on your insurance coverage, your first appointment for treatment may not be scheduled until after prior authorization from your insurance company has been received. Insurance prior authorization may take 10-30 days, depending on your insurance carrier.

If your child requires weekly treatment sessions, we recommend that they be scheduled on the same day, at the same time, with the same therapists. This consistency is optimal for families, children, and treatment outcomes. If your child requires therapy from more than one discipline, we will make every effort to schedule appointments consecutively as able or appropriate. When your child’s therapist is ill or on vacation, every effort will be made to obtain coverage for your child’s treatment session. This may include a substitute therapist, or rescheduling your child’s appointment with another therapist. We will notify you of any changes as soon as possible.

If you need to reschedule an appointment due to a conflicting appointment, illness, or family vacation, please let our secretary know as soon as possible. A 24 hour notice is customary. Every effort will be made to reschedule you on another day. For our Coon Rapids loation, please call 763-236-7337 to reschedule or change your child’s appointment. For Kenny Kids in Owatonna, please call 507-977-2150. You may request an appointment itinerary at any time from our schedulers, which lists all your scheduled appointments.

When should I cancel my child’s therapy appointment?

If your child is ill, please cancel your appointment by calling our secretary at 763-236-7337 as soon as possible.

Children should not attend therapy for their own health and the health of others if they have:

• two or more occurrences of vomiting or abnormally loose stools within 24 hours of their scheduled appointment
• a fever of 100 degrees or higher (before fever reducing medications is given) within 24 hours of appointment
• chicken pox, when child is contagious or lesions are not crusted over
• green or thick discharge from nose
• pink eye or other bacterial infection that has not completed the 24 hours of antibiotic treatment
• lice, ringworm or scabies that is untreated and contagious to others

What is Kenny Kids’ attendance policy?

Any patient who fails to show or cancels in less than 24 hours for two or more scheduled appointments, will receive a letter in the mail alerting the family to the policy around no shows and cancels. If a third appointment is missed or cancelled in less than 24 hours in advance, the remaining appointments may be cancelled. Your child may then return for a re-evaluation after receiving a new order from their physician.

We understand that illness may result in last minute cancellations. We do NOT encourage you to bring a child to therapy when they are ill - it is in the best interest of all of our patients and staff that children who are ill not attend therapy. If your child is ill over a period of time and this necessitates last minute cancellations, please ask to speak to your child’s therapist who will work with you individually to determine the best course of action for ongoing therapy and the appointments they have scheduled.

What happens if my child will arrive late for his/her scheduled appointment?

Please be aware that out of fairness toward others, if you arrive more than 20 minutes late for your appointment, you may not receive the length of treatment session that would be typical or may be asked to re-schedule the appointment.

What should my child wear to therapy?

Children should wear loose, comfortable, active-wear clothing, and have tennis shoes available. Some play activities are messy, so dress your child appropriately. If one of the goals of therapy is to improve your child’s dressing skills, a change of clothing may be appropriate to bring to therapy for your child to practice these skills.

Who should attend therapy?

Family members and caregivers directly involved with your child are welcome to attend therapy sessions. We feel it is important for caregivers to be involved in learning about play activities that are beneficial for your child. Children who have actively involved families have the best outcomes in therapy intervention. Due to the privacy of all of our patients, only 1-2 family members should attend your child’s treatment session at a given time. If it is necessary for you to bring siblings along to therapy, you may be asked to wait with your child’s siblings in our waiting area. This allows for the privacy and optimal treatment environment for all of our patients, as well as safety and infection control concerns. If you are not present during your child’s full treatment session, you are welcome to attend the last 5-10 minutes to discuss your child’s session and plan of care in the privacy of a treatment room, versus the waiting area.

How do the therapists make treatment recommendations?

After the multidisciplinary evaluation, the therapists along with the caregivers are better equipped to formulate goals and a focused intervention plan. While the child’s overall developmental needs might be global, the initial plan may focus on a single area of development for a defined period of time. This individualized treatment plan is determined by the child’s current abilities and needs, parents’ and family’s goals, capabilities and schedules, and other interventions the child may be receiving.

Therapy intervention may be one of the following options:

• an interval of time, but with increased intensity to target the needs prioritized in the evaluation process.
• weekly ongoing therapy
• intensive short-term treatment
• group treatment options

How do I know how many appointments to schedule?

You and your therapist will discuss your child’s plan of care, and your therapist will document this plan of care in the progress note to your doctor. If you have signed a release of information, you may request a copy of your child’s progress note from your therapist, or the receptionist. This plan of care will help you to know how many appointments should be scheduled. You will want to ensure that your plan of care is reflected in the number of appointments scheduled on your itinerary. For example, if your therapist recommends weekly appointments for two months, your itinerary should include eight visits. If your insurance plan requires prior authorization, they will also receive a copy of your child’s plan of care. Once authorization is received, you may only be scheduled for the number of visits that are authorized by your insurance company.



 

Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute
Kenny Kids Pediatric Rehabilitation Program
3111 124th Ave. NW
Coon Rapids, MN 55433
763-236-7337
763-236-8966 fax