Company Profile
Kenny Rogers Children's Center
Company Overview
The Kenny Rogers Children's Center serves children with all types of special needs and developmental delays including Prematurity, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida, Muscular Dystrophy, Seizure Disorder, Autism, ADHD, Sensory Processing Dysfunction and many other developmental delays.
Occupational therapy, Physical therapy, and Speech therapy are all provided at the Kenny Rogers Children's Center. These services are provided in the Center as well as in many of the surrounding school districts. The therapists all use a team approach to coordinate services for children and their families.
The Center prides itself in providing the children of Southeast Missouri with the highest quality and most cutting-edge treatments available.
The mission of the Kenny Rogers Children's Center is to improve the quality of life for children with all disabilities and their families throughout the community and region by providing a wide array of superior developmental and therapeutic services.
Company History
The Kenny Rogers Children's Center was born from the compassion, determination, and vision of two extraordinary individuals, Helen Shelton and physical therapist Tom Richey.
Helen Shelton was the mother of a young son with cerebral palsy who desperately needed physical therapy at a time when no pediatric therapy services existed locally. Refusing to accept that her son and other children would go without care, Helen immersed herself in learning everything she could about therapy. She attended seminars, studied educational materials, and sought guidance from healthcare professionals so she could help her son. As families throughout the community learned of her efforts, more and more parents began reaching out for assistance for their own children with special needs.
At the same time, Tom Richey was working as a physical therapist at Missouri Delta Medical Center and the Regional Center located behind the hospital. There, he discovered a file cabinet filled with records of children with severe disabilities who were not receiving the therapy they needed. When told he could help them only on his own time, Tom willingly volunteered. He began by evaluating children one Saturday each month. Before long, those sessions expanded into full Saturdays, and eventually every Saturday was devoted to evaluations while a team of dedicated volunteers carried out therapy programs throughout the month.
These humble beginnings led to the opening of the Scott-Mississippi-New Madrid Counties United Cerebral Palsy Center in September 1974 at the Sikeston Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled on One Plaza Drive. The Center started with just five children, one paid employee, two Foster Grandparents, and a devoted group of volunteers united by a common purpose, to ensure that every child had access to the therapy they deserved.
A defining moment in the Center's history came in 1977 when country music legend Kenny Rogers was the featured entertainer at the 25th Annual Sikeston Jaycee Bootheel Rodeo. Inspired by the Jaycees' dedication to improving their community, Kenny donated an Arabian stallion valued at $25,000. The Jaycees auctioned the horse for $75,000, creating the seed money that made it possible to establish the Center's permanent home. In recognition of his generosity and lasting impact, the organization was later renamed the Kenny Rogers Children's Center.
Today, what began as a small volunteer-driven program has grown into a recognized pediatric therapy center with a team of 25 highly skilled therapists serving more than 600 children every week. True to the founders' vision, no family is ever charged for therapy services. Through the generosity of donors, community fundraisers, grants, and countless supporters, the Kenny Rogers Children's Center continues to ensure that every child has access to life-changing therapy regardless of a family's ability to pay.
Benefits
• 100% employer-paid health insurance
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Employer-paid life insurance
• Continuing education support and mentorship
• School-aligned schedule with paid weather-related closures
• Paid Thanksgiving break (Wednesday–Friday)
• 8–10 paid days off during Christmas break
• 8+ paid holidays each year
• 10 days of paid vacation annually
• Four-day workweeks during the summer
• Opportunities to work with innovative programs including Intensive Suit Therapy, CIMT, AAC, Adaptive Sports, Exoskeleton, and Gait & Motion Analysis Lab
Positions Available
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