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Children’s Care Hospital & School opened in 1952 as the private, non-profit “Crippled Children’s Hospital & School,” a citizens’ grass roots effort to provide rehabilitation and education to children recovering from polio. Until then, children often never returned to school after recovering from the acute phase of their illness, as buildings were seldom accessible. As the polio threat waned, children with other disabilities were admitted, but the early mission of the organization was to serve children with physical disabilities only. More children were “mainstreamed” into public schools in the 1970s, and Crippled Children’s began serving children with more complex disabilities – the result of modern medicine’s ability to save sicker and more premature babies. Also in the 1970s, the organization began serving children in their own communities through the outreach program. The organization acquired an outpatient center in Rapid City in 1985, and was able to provide services throughout the state. The name changed to Children’s Care Hospital & School in 1994, and an outpatient rehabilitation center opened in Sioux Falls in 1999, serving children and adults. In 2012, Children’s Care celebrated its 60th Anniversary.

The two organizations followed similar paths over the years. During a conversation over a cup of coffee between Achieve’s CEO Anne Rieck McFarland and Children’s Care interim CEO Dave Timpe, the idea of joining the two organizations was sparked. The Boards of Directors of both organization supported exploring the possibilities. Similar missions, vision, and values, as well as unique areas of expertise encouraged the Boards to take action and seriously explore the merger of these two strongly, highly respected agencies. After nearly eighteen months of exploration, the boards of the two organizations voted unanimously to join South Dakota Achieve and Children’s Care. On April 1, 2014, LifeScape was formed.

On August 1, 2016, LifeScape acquired AbleKids Pediatric Therapy in Sioux City, and LifeScape AbleKids was born.

LifeScape continues to provide all of the services of South Dakota Achieve and Children’s Care Hospital & School to about 3,000 children and adults through programs based in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Sioux City. By offering support throughout the lifespan, the two organizations are truly “better together.”