For many children with significant chronic illness, home health services are essential. A pediatric home for health agency is a service dedicated to caring for medically fragile and/or technologically dependent children in their place of residence. In-home private duty nursing manages the child’s specialized care needs by working in partnership with the parent/caregivers, physicians, medical equipment suppliers, and therapists. This team approach to providing care helps to keep the child and their family where they are most comfortable…HOME.
The agency will provide and staff nurses and/or attendants, depending on the level of care your child needs. A home health agent should be on call and available by phone to answer questions and concerns 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
The process for receiving in-home care begins with your physician. Collaboration between physician, family, and patient’s health insurance will determine if the patient is eligible to receive in-home care. Once eligibility is determined, the family will choose the home health agency to provide nursing services. Hospital case managers will provide a directory of the local agencies to choose from. The nurse will provide specialized care as well as serve as a liaison between parents, physicians, and home health providers.
The designated office location in your area will send out a clinical supervisor to perform an initial assessment and fill out the required paperwork. This paperwork includes all of your child’s medical information and insurance information.
The office will then connect you with your nurse(s) by scheduling a meet and greet. This is a 30-minute meeting in your home where you are able to learn more about your nurse and discuss the patient’s needs. This is where you can decide if the match is a good fit.
The office will build out a schedule for your child and keep you updated with any changes. The nurse(s) will start their shifts and begin to provide nursing care to your child. They will help coordinate and communicate with other healthcare providers, and provide any necessary teaching to the family on how to care for the patient. The nurse will also be charting on their tablet for the entirety of their shift, and the parent/guardian or next reporting nurse will need to sign-off on these nursing notes.
Financial services can include private insurance, federal programs such as medicaid, or waiver programs such as MDCP (Medically Dependent Children Program). Hospital case managers can provide information on these financial services.
Children with special needs often require various forms of assistive technology and/or durable medical equipment (DME) in order to keep their ability to function in everyday life. The family will choose the DME agency to provide necessary equipment and supplies. Hospital case managers will provide a directory of local agencies to choose from. The DME agency will provide, set-up, maintain, and service the medical equipment.
