ABOUT US
HISTORY OF THE AARON CENTER
In 1999, there was an increase in the number of young children referred to us with Autism Spectrum Disorder as well as children with challenging behaviors. It was believed that these families needed additional assistance and that psychological services would be a beneficial service to families struggling to cope with the demands and burdens of living with a person with a disability. Although families in our practice had a tremendous need for psychological services, accessing these services required referrals to multiple select service providers who were credentialed with various health insurance carriers and Medical Assistance. Over the years it has been believed that there was a large disconnect due to difficulty coordinating services among multiple service providers.
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In 2004 with a grassroots effort, the idea of The Aaron Center was established. The Aaron Center would be a unique and comprehensive clinic where priority would be given to working in a holistic approach with the entire family system. Psychiatric and psychological outpatient services as well as Behavioral Specialist Consultant Services, Mobile Therapy Services and Therapeutic Support Services would be added to Occupational, Physical, Speech Therapy and Special Needs Instruction. The Play Center would be set up for clinical observation and treatment where parents were able to bring their children and participate in fun and educational activities in a therapeutic environment.
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In the 20 years since our founding, The Aaron Center has grown into a regional leader in expert care for the unique physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of every person.
2005
In 2005, The Aaron Center was approached by a pool of primary care physicians consisting of pediatricians, family practitioners, general practitioners and neurologists to develop an outpatient clinic which would address the needs of families who have children who are diagnosed with mental health and intellectual / developmental issues. This collaborative program consists of the Aaron Center providing psychiatry and psychology consultations and follow-up medical and psychological treatments. Parenting programs and socialization groups have recently been added with great success.
2006
Since January 2006 our consumer census shows that 40 percent of our client’s services are covered by private insurance and 40 percent are covered by Medical Assistance. We are currently working to meet all of the rehabilitative and psychiatric needs of those consumers with private health care and it is anticipated that in the near future we will be able to provide the same continuity of care to all of our consumers including those utilizing Medical Assistance.
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In June 2006, The Aaron Center received a Mental Health Psychiatric Outpatient license from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Pediatric program intends to provide comprehensive mental health services to meet the needs of individuals from infancy to 18 years of age and the Adult Program will provide mental health services to any individual over the age of 18 years of age.
2012
In January 2012, The Aaron Center's staff noticed an increase in referrals for individuals with chemical dependency issues. The process of referral to specialized programs treating drug and alcohol abuse was initiated. Over the next few months, analysis indicated that the prospect of treating these individuals in-house may be a suitable option and The Aaron Center started to explore an expansion of services.
2022
As of August 2022, The Aaron Center operates one location at 116 Larch Street, Scranton, PA. Expansion in 2022 included moving to 116 Larch St and adding a non-profit entity, Hamidian Training Institute, that focuses on the early detection of developmental delays and/or mental health concerns in young children.