Posts Tagged ‘pediatric home care’

Celebrating Tube Feeding Awareness

Wednesday, February 13th, 2013

Our dietitians ready to talk with staff about blenderized diets

Blend Your Brunch

Feeding tubes play a big role in the lives of many of our patients, giving them the nutrition and strength to live their lives to the fullest extent. So when we heard February 10-16 was Feeding Tube Awareness Week, not only did the dietitians get excited – our whole office joined in on the fun and partook in “Blend Your Brunch”, where we enjoyed fruit smoothies while learning about feeding tubes and the blenderized diets that our dietitians assist PHS patients with. Check out pictures from the event here on our Facebook page!

Passport to Feeding Tubes

We don’t just focus on feeding tubes one week a year – our dietitians spend time leading all of the new PHS private duty nurses through an interactive, hands-on class called Passport to Feeding Tubes, where participants spend time learning about different types of feeding tubes, from enteral to nasal. With each type of tube representing a ‘country’ that they get a stamp in their passport for visiting, they will soon have a full book and a better understanding of the different types of feeding tubes they may work with in our patients homes. And that kind of learning ensures our nurses are the most confident in their skills, which leads to the best care for our patients.

Nutritional Resources

If you’re looking for ways to talk with your child about their great feeding accessories, we were recently introduced to a fantastic activity book that Abbott Nutrition has put together for children who are tube fed. Tube Feeding at Home talks to kids who have feeding tubes, with each page including an activity your child can do as you read stories about Emma, her family and her friends. Print this book out for some fun learning and coloring!

Abbott has also put together a resource packet for parents filled with general information on tube feeding at home, covering topics like the feeding process, types of formula, methods, and infection prevention. Of course, your PHS dietitian is always the best resource for any questions or concerns you might have, but this provides great tips and general processes related to tube feeding at home.

Added 2/26/2013: The parENtalk Program, which was created to provide an educational resource for parents and caregivers who are new to the tube-feeding journey, has created a parENtalk kit. This kit includes a tube-feeding guide, nutrition guide, tube-feeding at home DVD, and a children’s book about a tube-fed child. To learn more, you can visit the parENtalk website where there are additional resources and support from other parents of tube-fed children, or call Nestle HealthCare Nutrition at 1-800-315-9795.

All of us at PHS are thankful for the amazing opportunities that feeding tubes afford our patients. What opportunities has your child had thanks to their feeding tube?

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The education continues long after the 16th annual SMA Conference

Friday, July 27th, 2012

Wednesday June 20- Saturday June 23 were dedicated to all things SMA. The Twin Cities were lucky to be the hosts of the 2012 National Spinal Muscular Atrophy Conference. With over 1,100 attendees the conference was a great success and was  jam packed with fun and learning, PHS was excited to be there every step of the way.

SMA, spinal muscular atrophy, bloomington mn, national conference, families of sma, type I type II type III

PHS Respiratory Therapist, Carrie, shows conference attendee's an electronic percussor

There were many sessions, events and activities keeping attended busy over the 4 day conference, including:

  • 40 Vendors, a record number for the conference. PHS was happy to participate as a vendor discussing services, technology, equipment and cares for SMA patients.
  • The first ever SMA Family and Research Dance Party! (The kids sure were exhausted the next day)
  • 38 workshop sessions for SMA families and professionals.
  • The Meet-N-Greet where families connected with one another at the very start of the conference.
  • A Family Fun Fest with over 30 carnival games for all of the children.
  • Over 200 SMA Researchers who attended the 16th Annual SMA Research Meeting, joined in the Researcher Relay Race where SMA Researchers raced in manual wheelchairs with some of the children.
  • The Children’s Program, which allowed parents to attend workshop session and where over 250 children enjoyed activities, movies, games and craft projects.
  • A Researcher Q and A session for parents to hear about the most up to date research news.

Believe it or not, the weekend was not only about fun. There was a lot of learning that took place as well. We recently received the link to all of the presentations that have been posted online thus far from the conference. So, if you weren’t able to attend, or if there was one workshop you couldn’t make it to, now is your chance to watch what you missed. Click here to be taken to the Families of SMA website where PDFs, PowerPoint presentations and videos of the sessions have been posted.

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Posted in Help for parents caring for sick kids | View Comments

Troubleshooting your humifidier

Friday, October 7th, 2011

We understand it can be frustrating and at times, scary when there is an alarm sounding from a piece of equipment that you rely on to help care for your child. That’s why we are here to help with video how-to resources that will have your equipment back up and running in no time.

In the video below PHS Clinical Education Manager and Respiratory Therapist Bruce Estrem, BA, RRT-NPS, LRT shows families caregivers and other healthcare professionals a couple basic troubleshooting tips for a humidifier that is used to keep the airway warm and moist.

Heater Wire Alarm

Heater Wire Alarm will sound if pigtail is not connected or not working, or if the heater wire button is turned off. The heater wire consists of the pigtail and the wires that go into the tubing to keep the air warm.

  1. Make sure the pigtail is connected to the wires in the tubing, if its not, your humidifier will give you the heater wire alarm. Resolve this by checking and securing the connection, if this does not solve the problem; replace the pigtail with the back-up in your yellow mesh bag.
    *Note- please call PHS at 651-642-1825 to exchange your non-working pigtail for a new back-up that will be kept in your yellow mesh bag.
  2. Make sure the heater wire button is turned on (button is on the unit) if it is not turned on you will get the connector alarm.

Temperature Alarm

Temperature alarm will sound if the heater is too hot or too cold.

  1. First thing you want to do is make sure you have airflow going through the circuit.
  2. If airflow is not the issue, the next step is to then take the temperature probe out at the elbow of the unit, wipe it down with an alcohol wipe and put back in place, you will want to do the same with the probe at the patient connection. That should resolve the temperature alarm
  3. If these steps still do not resolve the temperature alarm, replace the non-working temperature probe with the back-up from your yellow mesh bag.
    *Note- please call PHS at 651-642-1825 to exchange your non-working temperature probe for a new back-up that will be kept in your yellow mesh bag.

As always, if you have further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact PHS at 651-642-1825.

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Posted in Home health care tips from experts | View Comments

The role of immunizations in the health of children

Friday, September 16th, 2011

With the winter season fast approaching and kids back in school, we thought it would be a good idea to sit down with PHS’s Medical Director, Roy Maynard, M.D. to discuss immunizations and most importantly now, the flu shot. Watch the video below to see what he had to say.

In the past 50 years vaccine preventable diseases have decreased by 90% through the use of vaccine preventable diseases.

There are still diseases out there that are vaccine preventable such as the whooping cough, chicken pox, invasive haemophilus influenzae and influenza disease, but in order to avoid these, children must be vaccinated.

Claims have been made that the Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR) vaccine cause autism, that is not true. It has been disproven and vaccines are safe. Parents who elect not to use vaccines do so by placing their children at risk in the population.

AAP promotes vaccines, and have a routine immunization schedule. PHS supports the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy on childhood immunizations.

Some children with immunodeficiency syndrome should check with their physician or health care provider prior to immunization especially if they have concerns with live vaccines and their children.

Now that children are back in school and fall is approaching, the risk for infection increases. It is a good idea to take a look at your child’s immunization schedule and consider a flu shot for you and your family.

Another important way that can help you and your family keep infection free during this flu season is with proper hand washing. Contact PHS for your free copy of our hand washing otherwise feel free to print a copy from our PHS Resources page here.

Immunizations can be a hot button topic for some. Are you planning to get a flu shot this fall for you and your children? Why or why not? We’d love to hear from you.

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The hunt is on with the kids from the Oley Foundation

Friday, July 8th, 2011

The Mall of America was taken over on Wednesday by Sharing Care volunteers and the kids from the Oley Foundation. Oley’s national conference was held in Bloomington, MN this year and PHS knew we had to be involved. We arranged for the kids to come to the Mall of America where we split into friendly (yet competitive) teams. Our mission was to take photos throughout the mall with various predetermined objects for points. The team with the most points at the end is the winner! We wrapped up the day with a trip to Sea Life MN before heading back to the conference.

PHSers had so much fun spending the day with the Oley kids! Check out some of our scavenger hunt pictures in the video below.

The Oley foundation was founded in 1983 by Lyn Howard, MD, and her patient Clarence “Oley”Oldenburg. The Oley Foundation is a resource for children and adults dependent upon home parenteral nutrition (HPN) where solutions are infused directly into the bloodstream via IV, and enteral nutrition (HEN) where formula is delivered by tube into the stomach or intestinal tract.

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Living in harmony with your kids’ special needs helpers at home

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

When children with special medical needs come home from the hospital, they don’t come alone.

In addition to equipment and supplies, your kid’s special needs typically require the services of a variety of medical staff, including nurses who may be coming and going, or even in the home 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

That may take some getting used to.

Here are some tips from PHS staff and parents on how to live in harmony.

Communicate expectations
Make sure nurses understand what you expect of them. Decide on boundaries early on and keep communicating (things like where nurses should park their vehicles, can they use the refrigerator or should they bring lunch in a cooler, can they use kitchen appliances, or a separate bathroom). If something isn’t working, make changes so the family can maintain some level of privacy.

Take notes on kids special needs
Try using a “Communications Book.” You and the nurses write comments in the notebook throughout the day and are able to communicate through notes left in the book. As nurses change shifts, they read through the book to see how the child is doing that day or if anything has changed since they were last in the home. This keeps everybody on the same page.

Parents can also use the book to communicate an otherwise uncomfortable situation (for example, if one nurse is bad at cleaning up, the parent can write a note asking all nurses to please be better about cleaning up after themselves. That way, the parent doesn’t have to call out a specific person, but rather lets all nurses know they need to be careful and conscientious when they are in someone else’s home).

Make a list
Give the nurses a list of “need to know” situations, such if you wished to be awakened for fever or other signs or symptoms of an impending illness during the night or when to be called during the day.

Don’t let things fester
Address any concerns before they jeopardize your relationship. This is where a communications book comes in very handy, but if you are uncomfortable directly or indirectly confronting a nurse over a certain issue, talk to her/his supervisor.

Understand that personalities may clash. You may be able to overlook that, but if there is a nurse in your home you know will not work with your family, ask the nursing agency for a replacement.

Help the nurses help you
Don’t expect the nurses to know everything about your child. You are the expert; orient them as much as you can and let them be helpful to you.

How do you cope?
How does your family deal with having extra people in your home? Can you share any tips on how to maintain privacy and normalcy?

We’d love to hear from you.

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Posted in Independent living with in-home health care | View Comments

Join the community

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Welcome to PHS Thrive, Pediatric Home Service’s blog on all things related to pediatric home health care for medically-fragile children.

Do you have a child with a complex medical condition? Are you and your family facing the challenges of caring for a technology-dependent child at home? Would you like to share a success story about the rewards of caring for your medically-fragile child? Are you a health care professional providing services for technology-dependent infants, children and adolescents?

This is a forum for you.

Learn and contribute

We encourage you to visit often to:

  • Hear advice and insight from pediatric home health care experts,
  • Get news ranging from the latest research to equipment updates to health care legislation,
  • Connect with other families facing similar challenges by sharing information and providing support, and
  • Share the joy you experience caring for your child with special medical needs.

In addition to sharing advice, solutions and news, this is a place to celebrate the achievements of children who overcome enormous medical obstacles to live full and happy lives at home, with their families. Children like Tana.

Meet one of our patients

Born with spina bifida and other illnesses, Tana has fought for life, but loved every minute of it, says mom, Jill.

Her advice: “Don’t be afraid to bring your child home. Don’t be afraid to encourage your child to live a normal life with whatever medical condition they have.”

Read more about Tana.

Share your stories

Do you have a child like Tana? Or a story to share, a question to ask, or a comment to make?

Are there particular topics or issues you suggest we address in the PHS Thrive blog?

We’d love to hear from you. What’s on your mind?

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