Treatment in the comfort of your home
Any child who stays in the hospital or has a condition that requires ongoing medical care might be a candidate for Children’s Minnesota’s home care program.
A child may receive home care services for conditions such as:
- Cancer — Many kids with cancer require ongoing supportive care such as IV fluids or antibiotics, blood draws, injections and more.
- Infectious diseases, such as Lyme disease or joint infection — may require IV antibiotics, which a home care nurse can teach you to administer.
- Newborn jaundice requiring phototherapy.
- Type 1 or type 2 diabetes — A home care nurse helps make sure you’re monitoring your child’s blood sugars correctly, administering medications properly and helping your child eat a healthy diet to control blood sugar levels.
- Hemophilia — A skilled home care nurse can help you learn how to start an IV, which is often needed to administer medications for this condition.
- Wounds that require dressing changes — Whether due to an injury or surgery such as an appendectomy, children may have open wounds that need to be packed or dressed.
- Premature birth — Very small babies discharged from the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) need to have their growth and development monitored, and parents sometimes need additional support managing their care at home. Babies can also go home on oxygen, apnea monitors or feeding tubes, and parents need to be taught how to provide these cares safely. Nurses work with the parents of NICU graduates so they understand and adapt to their baby’s developmental changes. And, they help parents understand when they should call the doctor for concerning symptoms.
- Cardiac conditions — a nurse will teach you how to monitor your child’s growth and oxygen requirements.
- Other ordered skilled care needs appropriate for the home setting.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about home care services
How do I know if my child can qualify for home care services?
Your child could qualify for home care services if the following are met:
- Have a referral from a health care professional
- Health insurance benefits are checked to ensure they cover home care services.
- Your child lives in Minnesota, within the 7county metropolitan area.
- Your child has a skilled care need in the home (i.e. – needs special medical treatments). These treatments can include things like wound care, managing a feeding tube, learning about their diagnosis, or getting medicine through an IV or any of the conditions listed above.
- Your child’s medical needs can be safely met in the home setting.
- You make a commitment to learn and do the medical care as appropriate in the home setting for your child.
- The parent or an assigned adult is present in the home for each home care visit.
- Your child must be under the age of 18, unless your child meets certain criteria and will be admitted on a case-by-case basis.
- If Children’s Minnesota home care team can meet your child’s care needs, we will evaluate your child’s diagnosis and determine if we can provide the right care to make them feel their best.
How do I know if my child can qualify for home care hospice services?
Hospice patients are cared for under the home care program. The program is licensed by the state of Minnesota but is not certified by Medicare for hospice care. To qualify for hospice care services, your child needs:
- Meets the Home Care admission criteria, listed above
- A certification of terminal illness, meaning a life expectancy of 12 months or less, signed by their primary doctor and a Children’s Pain and Palliative Care team doctor.
- DNR status is required.
- Proof that you and your family understand the diagnosis and prognosis, and that you agree to hospice services. This is shown by signing the service plan and the Hospice Bill of Rights Acknowledgment form.
- If a Children’s Minnesota Hospice team can meet your child’s end of life needs in the home, we will determine your child’s eligibility for Hospice services.
Even if your child is admitted for hospice care, they can still receive various treatments based on their individual needs, as decided by their doctor.
Integrated pediatric home care with pharmacy services
In addition to visits from a skilled pediatric registered nurse, Children’s Minnesota home care program provides families with infusion medication through our home care pharmacy. This is a separate department through the Children’s Minnesota pharmacy that works exclusively with home care staff for children needing IV therapies at home. The pharmacy dispenses all infusions and IV treatments that Children’s home care patients receive.
Our pediatric pharmacists also monitor children’s lab tests once kids have gone home to ensure that kids are responding well to treatments. Our pharmacists frequently collaborate with physicians and home care nurses. If a doctor or home care nurse notices a medication needs to be adjusted or a child is having a reaction, such as a rash, to a certain medication, he or she will contact the home care pharmacy to make the appropriate adjustments. In addition, the home care pharmacy team partners with our dietitians to help with any feeding or nutrition concerns.
