DIAGNOSIS AT BIRTH: PHYSICIAN’S PERSPECTIVE continued...
are available to their growing child to
help him or her progress in a way to
maximize this independence, while ac-
knowledging a need to assure safety and
well-being.
Although not always com-
fortable to talk about, what are
some important end of life issues
that families and people with de-
velopmental disabilities should
openly discuss?
likely to outlive them, are there
other tips you can provide?
Dr. Zambron:
•
•
Dr. Zambron:
•
•
•
•
Life expectancy for adults with
developmental disabilities is
increasing.
Acute and end of life care: It can
be increasingly complicated and
emotional.
Standard tools for advance care
planning are challenging to de-
velop or modify for people with
developmental disabilities.
Talk about advance directives –
Documents vs. Discussions.
Thinking ahead, especially
for elderly parents whose de-
velopmentally disabled child is
•
Legally competent adults, de-
velopmentally disabled or not,
should appoint a health care agent
or complete a living will.
Legally
incompetent
adults
should have a guardian appointed.
Capacity is situational — a
trained physician or psycholo-
gist can assess capacity and de-
termine a person’s ability to give
informed consent or refusal or if
an agent must decide on the per-
son’s behalf.
Medical Orders for Life Sus-
taining Treatment should be
considered for all patients
with life-limiting conditions.
Dr. Zambron provides adult and pediatric
health care with a primary focus on car-
ing for people with developmental dis-
abilities. His clinical expertise includes
more than two decades of primary care
practice at the Elmwood Health Cen-
ter, an affiliate of People Inc., which is
a health care facility providing a wide
range of medical, rehabilitative thera-
pies and counseling services for children,
teens, adults and older adults. Specially
designed services for people with devel-
opmental disabilities are provided.
Striving to understand the needs of all his
patients, Dr. Zambron’s research is dedi-
cated to increasing advanced directives
in the medical charts of adults with devel-
opmental disabilities. He serves as a con-
sultant to hospital health care providers
in assessing the decision-making ability
of adults with intellectual impairments.
Dr. Zambron teaches in various settings,
including: inpatient teaching of medi-
cal students and residents at the Buffalo
General Medical Center (BGMC) and
John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital. He
oversees outpatient clinical training of
medical students and residents in inter-
nal medicine and pediatrics at the Elm-
wood Health Center. He also teaches the
second-year Clinical Practice of Medi-
cine course as a preceptor at the Elm-
wood Health Center.
RESOURCES
Aspire of WNY
716-838-0047
aspirewny.org Elmwood Health Center
716-874-4500
elmwoodhealthcenter.org People Inc.
716-817-7400
people-inc.org
Autism Society Western New York
716-633-2275
autismwny.org John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital
716-323-2000
ochbuffalo.org Person Centered Services
888-977-7030
personcenteredservices.com
Bornhava
716-839-1655
bornhava.org NYS Office for People
with Developmental Disabilities
866-946-9733
opwdd.ny.gov Robert Warner
Rehabilitation Center
at Oishei Children’s Hospital
716-323-6410
ochbuffalo.org/care-treatment/
robert-warner-rehabilitation-center
Developmental Disabilities
Alliance of Western New York
(DDAWNY)
716-877-7007
ddawny.org
Down Syndrome Parents Group
of Western New York
716-832-9334
dspgwny.org
Empower
716-297-0798
empower-wny.org
Parent Network of WNY
716-332-4170
parentnetworkwny.org
Pediatric Cardiology Associates of
WNY
716-885-5437
pedcardwny.com
Strong Memorial Hospital
585-275-2100
urmc.rochester.edu/strong-memorial
UB MD Physicians’ Group
Developmental Pediatrics and
Rehabilitation: 716-323-6410
General Pediatrics and Hospitalist
Service: 716-323-0034
ubmd.com
April 2019 WNY Family 47