Support Services — making a difference in the lives of PHS families

We offer wide range of support services for children with special medical needs.

To provide support for the special needs of medically-fragile children, PHS offers a variety of support services for health professionals, children, and their families.

Education for professionals and families

A few hours in the classroom can make the difference of a lifetime. The more skilled and safe a person is with a piece of equipment or a therapy, the better the care they can provide. At PHS, we develop a safe plan of care though clinical education and technical support, and we provide a variety of educational tools to help the families, health professionals, and PHS staff who are taking care of children with special needs.

These tools include:

  • Respiratory and infusion classroom instruction based on the most current Standards of Practice
  • Teaching handbooks tailor-made for a child’s needs
  • Clearly written instructions on using equipment and medicine
  • One-on-one caregiver training in the home or in the hospital immediately before discharge
  • Competency testing for professionals

Specialized nutrition services, designed for kids

Nutrition is of special importance for the successful growth and development of children with special needs. Our Registered Dietitians provide nutritional assessments and follow-up for patients in need of nutritional monitoring and intervention due to medical conditions or treatments compromising optimal nutrition.

Our dietitians work hand-in-hand with PHS pharmacists, infusion nurses, and respiratory staff to provide advice and assistance on a variety of topics including formula, feeding tubes, and feeding pumps. The dietitians also work closely with health care professionals outside of PHS to ensure continuity of care for patients moving from hospital to home.

Commonly asked questions include:

Can a PHS dietitian help my child?

PHS dietitians help children who need partial or complete nutrition support.

  • Doctors refer patients to the PHS Nutrition Department.
  • Any PHS patient caregiver can phone the PHS Nutrition Department with nutrition-related questions.

How can a PHS dietitian help my child?

Dietitians help PHS patients by:

  • Coordinating communication between your family and the medical team about your child’s nutrition support needs
  • Conducting nutrition home visits (in the Minneapolis/St.Paul metro area) for children receiving nutrition support
  • Providing advice to improve your child’s tolerance of formula
  • Conducting one-time visits for allergy education, weight gain education, or weight loss education
  • Answering nutrition-related questions or concerns by the phone
  • Providing written education materials on various nutrition topics

A PHS dietitian follows my child’s nutritional needs. What should I expect from this relationship?

Your child’s PHS dietitian will follow up with in-person visits or phone calls based on a set schedule that is planned out when your child begins working with the Nutrition Department. This schedule can adjust as your child’s condition changes.

When contacting a PHS dietitian you can expect a response within 2 business days. 

What if my child’s doctor said we need to have a scale in our home?

Ask your insurance company if your policy pays for a scale. In most cases, your insurance will not pay for the scale, so you may have to purchase a scale for checking your child’s weight at home.

How do I connect with a PHS dietitian?

Call 651-642-1825 and ask for a dietitian (outside the metro: 800-225-7477; TTY: 651-638-0683)

Medical social work

Taking care of children with special needs sometimes includes supporting a family’s emotional and social needs. Our medical social worker helps families manage the many issues related to acute or chronic health conditions.

A PHS medical social worker may attend care conferences and meet with the family to ensure they understand how we can help. When ordered by a physician, our medical social worker will follow up and assist with any unresolved issues related to care and stay involved with home visits as long as needed.

Commonly asked questions include:

Can a PHS medical social worker help my child?

A PHS medical social worker may become involved if a family needs resources such as transportation, housing, furniture, financial assistance, clothing, or telephone service. The medical social worker may also become involved if there are questions about abuse or neglect, the ability of a caregiver to provide safe care, lack of supervision or an unstable living situation for the child.

How can a PHS medical social worker help my child?

Our services include:

  • Community resource identification and referral
  • Consultation with a medical team during discharge from the hospital
  • Emotional and social support and counseling
  • Crisis intervention

How do I connect with a PHS medical social worker?

Call 651-642-1825 and ask to speak with the medical social worker (outside the metro: 800-225-7477; TTY: 651-638-0683)

Customer support

PHS clinicians work with our customer service team, billing specialists, warehouse staff and equipment technicians – as well as the patient’s doctor and family – to ensure a smooth move from hospital to home

Customer service:

An admissions team works closely with families and referral sources during the PHS intake process to ensure uninterrupted service. Taking home a special needs child: how we help.

Third party billing:

PHS billing specialists work closely with families to answer their questions about insurance coverage and assist them whenever possible with payment plans and Medical Assistance. Paying for a special needs child: how we help.

Equipment and supplies:

Home medical equipment today is increasingly more specialized and sophisticated, as are the skills and processes needed to maintain the equipment. All equipment technicians in our Biomedical Department are required to have technical degrees and certifications, plus we have Certified Biomedical Equipment Technicians on staff.

  • A PHS team of clinicians, educators, and equipment technicians ensures all the products we provide safely meet the needs of our patient population.
  • All equipment, new or used, is inspected by our certified electronic technicians and meets both manufacturers’ specifications and PHS quality and safety standards.
  • The PHS on-site warehouse is stocked with more than 35,000 products. We also special order non-stock products to meet unique patient needs. Product and DME needs: how we help.

Getting started with PHS »

Additional Information

Our clients say:

"I would like to take time from the everyday crazy life we live and say we are very thankful for PHS and its staff! Whether it is the nurses who come to our house, phone calls regarding questions we may have or that PHS has for us, ordering supplies or getting lab results sent to us, they are always top notch. Hats off to the PHS staff for the wonderful services they provide. Thank you!"
Maria R.

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