When it comes to the children of St. Augustine, community partners Brightside Pediatrics and Great Strides Pediatric Rehabilitation (An H2 Health Company), want you to know one simple thing: they’re eager to help. Loving and caring for a child with mild developmental disabilities, or medically complex children, brings a unique set of challenges and responsibilities when it comes to daily routines, even something thought to be as available as child care. The vision is to offer daily medically complex child care at Brightside Pediatrics and Great Strides Pediatric Rehabilitation will offer in-house therapy to those students during the standard school day, as well as outpatient therapies and ABA during operating business hours next door at Great Strides. A huge win for parents and kids alike, being this saves them from hours of driving around to and from appointments, scheduling conflicts, and more. In turn this gives the parents and the kids more opportunity to spend quality time together with family and leave behind the stress of complex care coordination and the likeness of having to previously drive to Jacksonville for therapy services.
For both parties, the concept started with a deep love for pediatrics and even greater understanding of these children’s unique needs and challenges. Dr. Jon Edenfield, Director of Great Strides Pediatric Rehabilitation, has extensive pediatric care with a focus in specialized therapy. After working with children across various spaces Jon realized just how complicated it could be for children and families to have to visit different facilities for different reasons. Inspired to make a difference, he founded Great Strides Pediatric Rehabilitation. The overwhelming need for a single place where people could visit to receive all sorts of therapy led the company to grow to more than 180 locations across the United States – St. Augustine being one of them. Jon knew he needed to bring this company “home”, considering he graduated from University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences occupational therapy program.
“We really want people in the community to know we are here to support them. Even if it’s not therapy services you may need, or childcare, if you have something you’re dealing with and we can be that resource for you, we’d love to do that,” Jon says. North Florida local Jacque Dennie founded Brightside Pediatrics in Jacksonville after working for Wolfson Children’s Hospital as a pediatric nurse for 18 years, and as a pediatric nurse within the local area for almost 25 years. In 2012, while working in complex pediatric childcare centers, she grew more passionate about providing care for these children and wanted to create something that eased the lives of families with medically complex children. The medical term is Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care (PPEC), but to Jacque, they are just children who need and deserve a little extra love and attention. In 2020, Jacque purchased an existing pediatric home-care agency and so she began her lifelong dream to open her own. The concept for Brightside was born in 2021 after she realized the absolute need for this in St. Johns County.
“My dream was to be able to provide things for the kids, and the nurses, that I felt are important, and sometimes being overlooked or left out,” says Jacque. Their mission? This partnership will provide St. Augustine with the unique combination of an outpatient therapy center and a nursing care center for children. Brightside Pediatrics of St. Augustine is located on Tree Blvd. (just pass the 312 and US 1 intersection), they are currently under construction and hope to be open to the public as permitting allows in early to mid 2024. Brightside Pediatrics and Great Strides are situated right next to one another, which is even more convenient for children and parents. Great Strides is currently open to the public at 1764 Tree Blvd. Unit 2. Their services aren’t limited to pediatrics, but their partnership with Brightside Pediatrics will be. They have an extensive list of services and capabilities for everything from physical therapy to rehabilitation and curated wellness programs.
Jacque and Jon are excited to work together in partnership and offer the families of St. Augustine a sort of “one-stop shop” for families seeking medically complex child care and services for small disabilities such as fine motor skills and handwriting, and autism. Great Strides offers comprehensive outpatient therapy and ABA. Peace of mind comes in many forms, and for these children it means having the same opportunities as other children in a loving and family-like environment. Parents can enjoy more free time knowing their kids are receiving everything they need through tenured experts under just one roof. “To have to take kids to multiple therapies a week, or skipping out on services because it’s just not available or realistic to drive them to five appointments across town, that’s really the benefit here we are offering to families, and Jon and I are so excited to offer that,” says Jacque.
Great Strides Rehabilitation & Brightside Pediatrics
1764 Tree Blvd
St. Augustine, FL 32084
(904) 886-3228
(904) 895-7337
