by Meritech, on Jul 2, 2020 11:50:34 AM
Meritech to support philanthropy partner DevelopmentalFX in extending critical neurodevelopmental therapy via telehealth model with aid of resource-packed kits for children.
GOLDEN, Colo., July 2, 2020 --Meritech, the leader in automated hygiene technology, recently sponsored DevelopmentalFX’s “Back to Therapy” Kits designed to support patients transitioning to remote therapy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In total the kits included over 500 items and will support approximately 150 children with neurodevelopmental disorders in the Denver area.
DevelopmentalFX is a Denver based nonprofit providing unique, individualized therapy to children with a wide range of learning and developmental disabilities. One of the most unique aspects of DevelopmentalFX’s patented STEPSi therapy model is that it is designed to help children overcome neurodevelopmental disorders through play. Due to the social distancing restrictions put in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this presents a significant challenge to DevelopmentalFX and their patients.
“For many of our patients, the session they have with their therapist once a week may be the only time they get to feel ‘unstuck’— a word we use to describe the liberating feeling of actualization and connectedness our children experience with the ‘therapy that fits’ model at DFX. With school closures leaving children at home full time coupled with the increased stress and anxiety adults are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our children now need more support during a time when families and communities have less bandwidth to offer it. Ensuring consistent care for these patients is critically important—not only for the child, but in order to support the foundation of resiliency for the family and community,” says Tracy Stackhouse, DevelopmentalFX Co-Founder and Executive Director. “When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we had to close our clinic and weren’t sure how and when we’d be able to return to therapy. Since that time we’ve made great strides in translating our unique model of care to telehealth, but during this transition we discovered that many of our families simply did not have various toys and school supplies a child may need to support their therapy readily available at home.”
To bridge this gap, DevelopmentalFX decided to create “Back to Therapy” Kits for their patients to provide them with tools and resources designed to support remote therapy. The kits are brightly colored and contain toys, art supplies, activities, and writing utensils.
The kits were funded and assembled by corporate sponsor Meritech, a hygiene technology manufacturer based in Golden, CO. DevelopemntalFX was selected as Meritech’s dedicated philanthropy partner in 2019 and since that time Meritech has supported the organization through series of charitable donations. The “Back to Therapy” Kit initiative presents another opportunity for the company to expand its support.
“As soon as we heard that DevelopmentalFX and their patients were adversely affected by COVID-19, we knew we needed to roll up our sleeves and find a way to help,” said Meritech CEO David Duran. “The truly unique and critical therapy DevelopmentalFX provides stood out to us when selecting a philanthropy partner, and we felt it was important to ensure they were enabled to continue helping their patients achieve their fullest potential—regardless of where that therapy took place.”
Meritech staff assembled the “Back to Therapy” Kits on Wednesday June 17 at their headquarter office in Golden, CO, and the kits were distributed to families via socially-distanced pick up at DevelopmentalFX’s clinic on Thursday June 18th in Denver, CO. 
Read the original release here.
About DevelopmentalFX
DevelopmentalFX is a Denver-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to transform the lives of children and families affected by neurodevelopmental disorders so that they can live to their fullest potential. Their clinicians create and implement best practices with individualized and multi-disciplinary therapies for children with a wide range of learning and developmental disabilities – ‘Therapy That Fits.’ In order to reach as many families and clinicians as possible, DevelopmentalFX actively provides local, national, and worldwide training and mentoring in their unique methods and best practices. Their involvement in internationally recognized collaborations, research, and publications ensures DevelopmentalFX’s continued growth and provision of the best “Therapy That Fits” to children and families across the globe. Learn more at developmentalfx.org.
About Meritech
At Meritech, we believe that in order to make the world a healthier and safer place, we must redefine human hygiene. We aim to do this in two ways: by making the “perfect hand wash” powered by CleanTech® Automated Handwashing Stations more accessible, and by raising awareness to the importance of effective hygiene with education on best practices for ensuring health and safety. We are more than a mere equipment manufacturer—we seek to partner with organizations to help them achieve hygiene excellence so that together we can save lives and prevent the spread of infection. We achieve this by overcoming the variability of human behavior with CleanTech®, the WORLD’S ONLY fully automated hygiene technology that performs a CDC standard hand wash regardless of user age, language, or skill level— clinically proven to remove 99.9% of harmful pathogens from hands. We have extensive experience creating tailored hygiene programs across a variety of markets, including food manufacturing and packaging, foodservice, retail, cleanroom, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, medical, education, government, amusement parks, and cruise lines.
