Children’s Specialized Hospital: Pediatric Care & Info

The New Brunswick hospital specializes in acute pediatric rehabilitation after serious illness, injury, surgery, premature birth, chronic illness, pain or another life-changing medical event.

Children can transfer to CSH after acute hospital treatment when they are medically stable but still need intensive rehabilitation, nursing, medical management and caregiver training before safely returning home.

Outpatient hours vary by center

Therapy and physician schedules differ by location. For example, the Union outpatient center currently publishes outpatient-therapy hours of Monday–Friday 7:30 a.m.–8 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m.–1 p.m., while physician/medical services there are published as Monday–Saturday 8 a.m.–5:30 p.m..

Developmental / neurology new-patient forms

What an inpatient rehabilitation day can involve

• Physical therapy
• Occupational therapy
• Speech and language therapy
• Recreation therapy
• Psychology
• Child Life
• Nursing and medical management
• Nutrition services
• School/educational support
• Splinting and casting
• Rehabilitation technology
• Caregiver education
• Animal-assisted therapy when appropriate
• Palliative care when needed

Discharge planning starts early

CSH states that discharge planning begins when the child is admitted rather than waiting until the final few days. Depending on need, the team may coordinate:

• Outpatient therapy
• Special-needs primary care
• Early Intervention
• Home nursing
• Durable medical equipment
• School reintegration
• Community outings
• Follow-up specialty appointments
• Virtual home assessment
• A “Ready for Home” trial to practice home care

Major inpatient rehabilitation programs

Major outpatient programs

Autism services

CSH’s autism programs can include developmental medical services, psychology, speech, occupational and physical therapy, feeding/nutrition treatment, severe-behavior intervention, early intervention, social-skills support and care coordination.

A formal autism diagnosis is not required before accessing every CSH autism-related service; eligibility depends on the specific program.

Pediatric rehabilitation / physiatry

Pediatric physiatrists manage rehabilitation-related medical problems involving the nervous, muscular and skeletal systems, including cerebral palsy, brain injury, spinal cord injury, neuromuscular disease, spasticity and chronic pain.

Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics / neurodevelopment

Pediatric neurology and advanced practice

CSH offers pediatric neurology at Clifton, Hamilton, New Brunswick Plum Street and Union. Current provider profiles include developmental/neurology physicians such as Andrea Richards, MD and Evelina Okouneva, DO, along with advanced-practice neurology providers such as Barbara Scarano, APN.

Special-needs inpatient pediatrics

A provider may work in New Brunswick on one date, Union or Hamilton on another, cover inpatient rehabilitation, teach, perform procedures or be unavailable. Therefore a permanent statement such as “Dr. X works every Monday and Wednesday” would not be reliable.

Useful scheduling questions

• Is this provider seeing new patients?
• Which CSH locations does the provider currently use?
• What is the first available appointment?
• Does my child need a referral?
• Can the first appointment be telehealth?
• Which records or school evaluations should I send first?
• Does insurance authorization need to be completed before booking?

Is there one doctor consultation fee?

No. Children’s Specialized Hospital does not publish one universal dollar amount for a developmental pediatrician, neurologist, physiatrist, psychiatrist, primary-care visit or therapy evaluation.

Patient responsibility can change based on:

• Specialty
• Initial evaluation versus follow-up
• Length/complexity of evaluation
• Testing performed
• Therapy type and duration
• Insurance contract
• Deductible
• Copayment
• Coinsurance
• Authorization limits
• Whether services are covered under medical or behavioral-health benefits

Official patient-specific price-estimate contact

Does CSH publish a “case fee”?

There is no single CSH case fee covering every inpatient rehabilitation admission. Acute rehabilitation costs depend on the child’s diagnosis, length of stay, nursing, physician care, therapy intensity, equipment, medications and insurance authorization. The typical inpatient stay is about 30 days, but the hospital states that actual stays vary widely.

Is there a Children’s Specialized Hospital emergency fee?

No CSH emergency-room fee exists because CSH does not operate a general emergency department. Emergency services provided by another hospital—such as the nearby Bristol Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital/RWJUH Pediatric Emergency Department—are billed separately by that acute-care hospital.

Nearby 24-hour pediatric Emergency Department

The pediatric ED is staffed 24/7 with pediatric emergency physicians and pediatricians and treats patients from infancy through age 20.

Parking decks identified for CSH patients

Current New Brunswick campus parking conditions

The RWJUH main parking deck entered a construction project beginning January 5, 2026, with work expected through summer 2026. Families should leave additional arrival time because spaces and traffic patterns can temporarily change.

Valet near 200 Somerset Street

The neighboring Bristol Myers Squibb Children’s Hospital lobby at 200 Somerset Street currently lists weekday valet service Monday–Friday, 6 a.m.–5 p.m.. Availability for your exact CSH visit should be confirmed when mobility assistance or accessible unloading is important.

Parking cost

Current campus parking decks are described as self-pay. CSH’s own current public parking information does not publish one universal dollar parking fee for every visit, so this article does not invent one. Bring your parking ticket and ask the registration/information desk whether validation or a patient rate applies.

Acute inpatient rehabilitation

Outpatient visits

Outpatient sites currently permit:

• Two parents/guardians/caregivers per patient
• Siblings
• An additional support person when needed because of physical disability, altered mental status, intellectual/cognitive disability, communication barriers or behavioral concerns

Long-term-care visitation

Long-term-care visitor rules may vary with New Jersey Department of Health guidance. Call the unit before traveling:

• Mountainside: (908) 301-5450
• Toms River: (732) 797-3800

Current masking rules

At inpatient locations, visitors are currently required to wear masks in the presence of patients. Patients who are able to do so must mask when leaving their room.

At outpatient sites, masking is required for patients with respiratory symptoms and for staff/providers caring for them. Universal masking can be required by an individual site when clinically appropriate.

Do not visit while sick

Tell staff if you have fever, respiratory symptoms, vomiting, diarrhea, a recent contagious illness or recent close contact with someone who has a contagious respiratory infection.

CSH provides pediatric long-term care, respite care and palliative services for children with complex medical conditions who cannot safely be cared for at home.

Long-term-care services operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Long-term care / inpatient referral

Pre-Admissions: (908) 301-5461
Referral fax: (732) 258-7226

Current medical insurance list

Mental-health insurance networks currently listed

• Magellan Behavioral Health
• Cigna Behavioral Health
• MHN
• ValueOptions
• United Behavioral Health

The Children’s Specialized Hospital Benefit Fund can help cover the gap between rehabilitation services a child needs and what insurance will pay.

Costs the fund may help with

• High deductibles
• Coinsurance
• Copayments
• Other eligible gaps in insurance coverage

Eligibility depends on multiple factors, so approval is not automatic.

Electronic record request

CSH says the online authorization process typically takes about 5–10 minutes to complete. Have:

• A photo ID
• Your mobile phone
• Patient identifying information
• The destination/person who should receive the records
• The records/date range you are requesting

Additional processing time may be required for large-volume requests, and charges may apply when a large volume of records is requested.

Parent access to a child’s chart

Parents/guardians listed as next of kin can request pediatric proxy access through MyChart. When a minor turns 13, parent/guardian access automatically transitions to a more limited level to protect adolescent privacy rights.

At age 13, the child may need their own email address or mobile number in the registration record to create their MyChart account and may then invite a parent/guardian to access permitted information.

MyChart message response

RWJBarnabas Health says non-urgent MyChart messages generally receive a response within 1–3 business days. MyChart should not be used for an emergency.

New Brunswick Plum Street outpatient services

Family Faculty

A distinctive part of CSH’s care model is its Family Faculty. These are hospital employees who are parents or family members of children who have received CSH services. They help incorporate the family perspective into care, support and planning.

Patient and family resources

CSH publishes family-created and clinician-created resources covering:

• Autism
• School and education
• Caregiver support
• Sibling support
• Safety and wandering prevention
• Accessible recreation
• Transition to adulthood
• Health-care navigation
• Community services
• Tools and activities for children and teens

Language assistance

Children’s Specialized Hospital/RWJBarnabas Health provides language assistance across many languages, including Spanish, Arabic, Hindi, Gujarati, Korean, Chinese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Urdu, French, Italian, Haitian Creole and Tagalog.

Telehealth

Some outpatient therapies and specialty services may be available through telehealth, depending on the program, clinical recommendation, appointment availability, patient preference and insurance coverage.

• Insurance card
• Parent/guardian identification
• Referral or prescription/order if required
• Current medication list
• Prior medical reports
• Relevant imaging or test reports
• School IEP/504 plan when relevant
• Early Intervention evaluations when relevant
• Therapy evaluations from other providers
• Behavioral/developmental questionnaires requested before the appointment
• Assistive devices the child normally uses
• A list of the family’s main goals/questions

An acute-care hospital usually coordinates the transfer. Families should ask the discharge/referral team whether CSH has received:

• Current medical summary
• Medication list
• Recent laboratory results
• Imaging/reports
• Surgical restrictions
• Weight-bearing precautions
• Respiratory or feeding requirements
• Therapy evaluations
• Insurance authorization
• Equipment needs
• School information

Pre-Admissions for acute inpatient rehabilitation: (908) 301-5461.

• Confirm whether your visit is inpatient rehab, outpatient therapy, medical specialty or long-term care.
• Confirm the exact street address because CSH has multiple New Jersey sites.
• Ask whether a physician referral/order is required.
• Confirm insurance authorization before recurring therapies.
• Request the specific physician’s current location and appointment day.
• Call Insurance Verification if you need a patient-specific cost estimate.
• Leave extra parking time on the New Brunswick academic campus.
• Review current visitor/masking rules before an inpatient visit.
• Use MyChart for eligible records, appointments and non-urgent messages.
• For an emergency, use 911 or an emergency department—not a routine CSH appointment.