Grant A Gift Autism Foundation Seeks to Expand Operations of Diagnostic Center
This article was originally published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal here.
A Las Vegas autism services nonprofit is fundraising for more staff following its takeover of a medical therapy and diagnostic center.
Grant A Gift Autism Foundation took control of the Ackerman Autism Center’s operations in late June, after about five years of acting as the center’s fundraising arm while UNLV Medicine led operations.
The Ackerman Center offers diagnosis, therapy, social support programs, vocational training and education for families of patients with autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. The organization intends to streamline the patient on-boarding process by making it easier to get on the wait list, get seen more quickly and create other efficiencies, it said.
“It allows us to really operate at what I call the speed of business, which allows us to bring quicker and greater care to our patients,” Peter Krauss, the foundation’s president and CEO, said.
The center has served more than 5,000 families since its inception, but it also has more than 5,000 on its waitlist, the foundation said. Krauss’ goal is to “exponentially” see more patients — primarily through hiring more clinical staff.