Posts Tagged ‘Pediatric home health care’

Happy One Year to our PDNS department

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Just over one year ago PHS launched our newest service, Private Duty Nursing (PDNS). We are excited to look back over the past year at all that has taken place since bringing our first PDNS patient home on January 18th, 2011. Allowing children the opportunity to thrive at home with their family while still receiving the highest quality and safest healthcare available to them is what makes us tick. Adding private duty nursing to our services has allowed PHS to complete the circle of homecare services for any medically-fragile, technology dependent child and their family.

One phone call can take care of so much. A parent can place a supply order, check on the last lab draw results, troubleshoot any concern with equipment or supplies and schedule the next IV nurse visit, all in one call. The same is true for the healthcare professionals that we partner with daily. One phone call to PHS and we will coordinate all services needed to get a child out of the hospital and to the comfort of their home. Including training the family and any caregivers on all equipment. All the while staying in constant communication with the physician to ensure the everyone always has the latest information.

Here are a few fun facts about the first year of Private Duty Nursing at PHS:

  • Number of field nurse assessments (PDNS Shift and PDNS Seizure)? 9,070!!
  • Number of Patients that have been on PDNS service? 37
  • Number of current field nurses? 110
  • Geographically; where is our furthest patient located? Brainerd
  • How many homes have 2 or more patients in the same home? 2

The picture shows our amazing internal PDNS staff that keep the ship moving, and although they are not pictured, the incredible 110 field nurses round out the PDNS department.  It truly takes a team to take care of the child and we happen to think we’ve come up with a winning team.

We want to take a moment to thank each family that has invited PHS staff into your home and allowed us the opportunity to care for your child. Each one is a blessing and we love partnering with you to keep your children safe, happy and healthy at home- just where they belong.

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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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Take me out to the ballgame with the West Metro Miracle League

Friday, July 1st, 2011

Each summer PHS employees look forward to getting outdoors and playing baseball with the kids on The West Metro Miracle League teams through our volunteer program, Sharing Care. The Miracle League is a charitable organization that provides super special children ages 3-19, with any cognitive and/or physical challenges an opportunity to play baseball.  They play on a very special rubber field with flat bases to accommodate power/push wheelchairs and walkers to ensure not child is left out of the action. You might be saying to yourself “Well this just sounds like too much fun, are there any rules?” Good question, and to that point, here are the “rules”:

  • Everyone hits
  • Everyone gets on base
  • Everyone crosses home plate
  • Everyone wins
  • Everyone can be paired with a 1:1 volunteer buddy (that’s where PHS volunteers come into play)
  • Everyone, including buddies, gets a treat ticket after each game to go to the concession stand (YESSSSSSSS!)
  • Everyone gets a medal at the end of the year

All of those “rules” really just equal everyone having a whole lot of fun! Check out some of the fun PHSers had last Sunday at the nail biting match-up of The Rays vs. The Royals in the video below!

PHS wants to thank the Miracle League for all they do in helping these kids feel a part of the team, we’re blessed to be able to be a part of the fun!

Do you have any volunteer ideas for Sharing Care? Let us know, we’d love to hear from you!

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PHS to conduct clinical study on tracheobronchitis

Friday, September 3rd, 2010

Starting this fall, PHS will be conducting a clinical observational study in its tracheostomy dependent patients. One of the most common medical conditions that occur in pediatric patients with artificial airways is tracheobronchitis.

What is tracheobronchitis?

Inflammation of the lining of the trachea and bronchi is termed tracheobronchitis. Normally the trachea and bronchi are free of infection and inflammation. The presence of a foreign body in the airway such as a tracheostomy tube allows the airway to remain colonized with bacteria. At times these bacteria can overcome the lung defense mechanisms and cause a tracheobronchitis. Symptoms may include cough, increased trach secretions, discoloration of trach secretions, fever and increased work of breathing. Untreated, tracheobronchitis may progress to pneumonia and warrant hospitalization. Treatment often includes administration of either nebulized or systemic antibiotics.

What does this mean for the caregivers in the home?

Very little is known about the frequency of tracheobronchitis in pediatric homecare patients with tracheostomy tubes. Starting this fall, families and caregivers of PHS patients with tracheostomy tubes will be asked to participate in a study being conducted by the PHS clinical staff. Involvement by families and nursing staff is voluntary, will remain confidential and limited to providing information to the RT clinical staff on a monthly basis by questionnaire or phone call. Patients will be followed for one year to determine how often tracheobronchitis occurs in this population and interventions prescribed by their health care providers.

What will we gain from the study?

Information provided will establish a benchmark for the incidence of this disease and the standard of care for its treatment in this community. Potential benefits of this study include identifying risk factors predisposing patients to tracheobronchitis and strategies to mitigate disease recurrence.

Information will be distributed by PHS to tracheostomy dependent families and patients prior to initiation of the study. Further questions can be addressed to the respiratory therapy department or Roy Maynard, M.D., medical director PHS.

Do you have any questions, thoughts, or comments on the study? We’d love to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.

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Worried about taking a sick baby home from the hospital? Help is available.

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Janita McLean is right. Taking a medically-fragile baby home from the hospital is scary. And overwhelming.

Taking any baby home from the hospital – even a healthy one – can be daunting. Lots of fears run through the minds of new parents: will I be able to keep the baby safe? How will I know when the baby is sick? How will I know what he or she needs? Can I do this?

For parents who take a child home with tubes and trachs and vents, those anxieties are magnified many times.

Like Janita, you may know how that feels. When Janita brought home her baby, Emily needed lots of equipment and required 24-hour-a-day care. “We weren’t familiar with how to take care of a child with a lot of medical needs, and having the trach and being on the ventilator – it was scary,” said Janita.

As you saw in the video, Emily was born with lots of problems, including a type of hernia known as omphalocele, underdeveloped lungs, scoliosis, and a small thorax. She spent her first six months in a Minneapolis hospital, a situation complicated by the fact that the family lives in northern Minnesota.

Pediatric homecare in northern Minnesota

The distance between the hospital and home was hard on the whole family, says Janita, including brother Taylor, who was five at the time and didn’t understand why mom was gone so much.

Going home was the best option for everyone. And when they were ready, there was lots of help available to help them make the transition.

Respiratory therapy at home

With education and help from health care professionals, including a PHS respiratory therapist who even spent the Fourth of July with the family making sure they were okay, Emily made a smooth transition home. And continued delivery of supplies to northern Minnesota hasn’t been a problem.

Help is available for families every step of the way, from paperwork to in-home services to responding to that emergency, middle-of-the-night call for medication.

Off the vent

Off the vent sooner than expected, Emily has made amazing progress. Her prognosis is good and her parents hope she will someday be able to stop using any oxygen.

“If you didn’t know her medical history, you would never imagine that she has gone through what she has,” says Janita. “She’s just a normal nine-year-old girl.”

Read more about Emily.

Share your stories

Do you have thoughts to share about taking a sick child home from the hospital? What was your experience like? Do you have a child with respiratory or congenital problems?

We’d love to hear from you.

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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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