Even after the completion of caregiving training by hospital staff, not many parents or guardians feel ready for the daunting challenges that lay ahead. Hiring a stranger to provide home care to your child is not affordable or an appealing option for many.
Whether prepared or not, parents have to face the future and accept the challenges. An effective way to reduce anxiety about safe pediatric home care is to plan important things that need to be done before leaving the hospital.
4 Essential Requirements For Safe Pediatric Home Care
Once the child has come home from the hospital, the primary carer takes control of the child’s care. Although you have learned the skills from hospital staff, it is only natural to have doubts and consider yourself not competent enough to be in the command seat.
First off, it is important to make quick notes of whatever you have learned from the therapist, nurse, or technician. Ensure to have a list of important documents, the child’s prescription, and known allergies.
Prepare the Living Space
Prior to the ventilator patient’s discharge from the hospital, the living space needs to be modified to accommodate the child. The first step to in-home care is to perform safety assessments so that the household is prepared for specialized child care.
First off, conduct a market evaluation to ensure necessary medical devices can be set up including bedside ventilators and travel ventilators. Preparing for an adequate nursery is critical to safe pediatric home care.
Family members should also be ready for the new change and learn to use the new medical equipment. Moreover, home health care nurses should help families dealing with in-home care.
Hiring Caregivers
In-home care services have trained and experienced staff prepared for this challenging responsibility. In extreme cases, children require 24/7 care from trained healthcare professionals and family members to recover.
Registered nurses from homecare agencies receive frequent training related to ventilator care in a home setting.
Identifying Home Care Challenges
Ventilators are complex medical devices, difficult to set up, and require ongoing maintenance. It can be challenging for the family members and in-home care team to keep up with the continual updates.
Any member of the family should step up and get training from the in-home caregivers on how to use the medical equipment. In some areas, power outages are quite common, therefore, a portable ventilator should be fully charged to deal with such emergencies.
Communicate With The Care Team
A parent can request to schedule a team meeting with the care team and hospital staff to provide updates on care and discuss the future plan of care. Ask the caregivers and the doctor about the items needed for home care and ensure they are available when the child gets home.
Also, make a list of questions that you have been wanting to ask the healthcare professionals about the child’s health. Expect realistic and honest answers and be prepared as the answers would not always be what you want to hear.
