Medical Services

The Anne Carlsen Center, licensed as an intermediate care facility for the mentally retarded, provides round-the-clock observations for all children from registered nurses and licensed practical nurses. Our overall medical care management includes specialized treatments, respiratory care, administering and monitoring medication, and the expertise of on-site pediatricians who spends no less than 15 hours per week in the building with the children.

Diagnostic testing and evaluations are available from consulting physicians who come to the Center on a rotating basis every couple of months from Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks. These consulting physicians represent a variety of disciplines, including orthopedics, psychiatry, neurology, pulmonology and cardiology.

The Center's Advanced Care Unit (ACU) offers state-of-the-art care to our most medically fragile children. In this unit, the medical staff is trained to provide ventilator care and short-term intravenous therapy in addition to respiratory and oxygen therapy. The ACU provides one dedicated staff person for every two clients but does have the ability to provide one-to-one care for those who require undivided attention.

Residents of the ACU are not confined to the unit. Keeping in line with the Center's overall goal of providing a holistic approach to children's personal, psychological, physical and social well-being, the Center makes every effort to provide its ACU residents opportunities for outings around the Center and the community. A registered nurse or licensed practical nurse trained in the child's specific care needs accompanies him or her on all trips.