When your child is sick or has an ongoing illness or developmental delay, you often just want to be with them at home. Hospital waiting rooms, therapy centers, and infusion clinics—plus traveling there and back—can wear down you and your child.
Even if the healthcare facility you visit is well-equipped with comfortable chairs, offers top-notch snacks and entertainment, and has the friendliest caregivers, it's still not your home, which can make you and your child feel stressed and anxious.
Fortunately, pediatric care at home is an option that can help you make sure your child's care needs are met by qualified caregivers in a place where you're all more comfortable.
What Is Pediatric Home Care?
Pediatric home care(Opens in a new window) allows children to have certain medical treatments, therapies, and wellness checks done at home by a trained caregiver or pediatric nurse(Opens in a new window).
Through pediatric home care, your child can get professional medical care that can be provided in a home setting instead of going to a clinic, infusion center, or healthcare facility. In-home care(Opens in a new window) can be a good fit when your child is well enough to be at home, but the ongoing medical care is too much for you and your usual support system to handle.
Who Needs Pediatric Home Care?
In-home pediatric care can be used for children of all ages—infants to teenagers—for receiving therapies, medication administration, feeding help, infusions, and other services. The level of involvement and frequency of visits can be catered to each family's needs, whether it's daily help, monthly check-ins, or periodic respite care for family caregivers.
Common situations where families seek pediatric home care(Opens in a new window) include:
- Recovery from illness or injury
- Heart disease and other cardiovascular issues
- Asthma and other breathing conditions
- Cancer treatment and support
- Musculoskeletal disorders like scoliosis
- Neuromuscular conditions like spinal muscular atrophy
- Seizure conditions like epilepsy
- Nutrition and eating difficulties
- Neurodegenerative diseases
- Developmental or genetic disorders
- Palliative and end-of-life care
Types of In-Home Pediatric Care Services
Pediatric in-home care can involve a variety of treatments, therapies, and support options designed to help children with their medical, developmental, physical, and daily living needs.
Skilled Nursing Care
Skilled nursing care is provided by a certified nurse and may include:
- Intravenous (IV) therapy
- Feeding tube, catheter care, or ostomy care
- Tracheostomy or ventilator care
- Medication administration
- Care and support for children with cancer(Opens in a new window)
- Treatments and therapies associated with:
- Cardiovascular or pulmonary issues
- Chronic illnesses and conditions
- Wound and post-surgical care
- Genetic, congenital, and neurological disorders
Physical Therapy
A trained physical therapist can travel to your house and assist with specially designed exercises and equipment to help your child regain, retain, or improve their physical abilities.
Occupational Therapy
An occupational therapist is focused on helping your child do the things they enjoy or need to do in their daily life. This may include getting to school, brushing their teeth, dressing themselves, or using a pair of scissors.
Speech Therapy
A speech language pathologist—also called a speech therapist—provides assistance not only with speaking clearly but also with swallowing difficulties. This can be helpful with developmental delays or following a brain injury or surgery.
Educational Support
Support often extends beyond meeting the physical needs of your child. Home care workers can use their years of experience to help you access community resources, support groups, and educational tools.
Developmental Activities
Having support from someone who understands your child's developmental needs is a life-changer. This can include specialized emotional and behavioral care(Opens in a new window) for children with autism, Down syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and other special needs.
10 Benefits of Pediatric Care at Home
Pediatric home care services have several benefits(Opens in a new window) for everyone involved:
- Familiarity: Your child has the comfort of being somewhere they want to be, surrounded by their belongings and having some control over the environment.
- Health Precautions: When you don't have to leave home to get medical care, you can limit exposure to the potential health risks involved with visiting a hospital or clinic.
- Caregiver Relief: You can take care of other household responsibilities while knowing your child's complex medical or developmental needs are being met by a trained professional.
- Personal Attention: In-home care is one-on-one. Your child can receive all of the caregiver's attention rather than being one among many people that healthcare workers are trying to serve at once.
- Time Savings: You won't need to account for travel time to and from a facility, and you may be able to coordinate services so that you don't need to take time off work or be away from other family members.
- Cost-Effectiveness: This isn't always the case, and it depends on your child's specific care needs, but in-home sessions may be more affordable than overnight hospital stays or long-distance trips for care.
- Family Involvement: At home, you aren't limited in how many family members can be involved in your child’s care or support—like you would be if you were frequently traveling to receive pediatric care at a healthcare facility.
- Improved Quality of Life: Your child may have more chances for a regular daily schedule that includes family time, school, and extracurriculars. Even small factors, like having their favorite snacks and meals on hand, can bring joy and a sense of control.
- Educational Opportunities: As the in-home caregiver works with your child, they can also teach you the skills you need to manage your child's health condition.
- Continuity of Care: While you still may have more than one caregiver over time, in-home care teams often focus on consistency. It can help to have a small group of people dedicated to high-quality, reliable care who you can get to know and learn to work with well.
Julie, a BrightStar Care in-home LPN, sums it up by saying, "Working in a home, you get to know more about the family. The child is more relaxed, and you know this is their safe space."
What Is the Cost of Pediatric Home Care?
The cost of in-home care(Opens in a new window) can vary depending on the type of care needed and where you live. For instance, a monthly infusion from a registered nurse might be less than $100 while a weekly session with a pediatric physiotherapist could be $125 each visit, for a monthly total of $500. Meanwhile, daily home care by a health aide might be more like $200 per day, or $6,000 per month.
Pediatric home care expenses can add up, but so can inpatient care. One overview of hospital stays(Opens in a new window) for patients aged 0-17 years found the average length was 4 days with an average cost of $8,900.
Considering the wide range of pediatric care needs along with regional cost differences, travel, time off work, and the kind of insurance coverage you have, it's very hard to compare care costs.
To make an informed decision, it is best to consult your healthcare provider and a pediatric home care professional to explore all your options.
How to Choose a Pediatric Home Care Provider
Choosing a pediatric home care provider is a personal decision, considering you are looking for someone to care for your child and come to your house. Finding the right person or organization can take time and patience. Here are five steps to help you get you started.
Ask Your Doctor Questions
Your healthcare provider can tell you whether some or all of your child's medical needs can be met at home, what needs to happen to get in-home pediatric care, and who provides the particular pediatric services you need.
Gather Information About Options
Talk with friends or family members who have used at-home care, or contact a reputable home care agency directly to find out what kind of services you may be able to get in your area.
Check If You Need a Referral
Skilled in-home pediatric care often requires referral paperwork from a doctor, so it’s a good idea to check with your child’s healthcare provider before pursuing home care options.
Talk with Your Health Insurer
Insurance specialists can tell you whether certain in-home services are covered and how to navigate the paperwork and payment options.
Research Care Providers
Before you sign up for services, do some digging and vetting. Find out what training, work experience and credentials staff have. Ask for references and check with others who have used the organization for their children's care.
BrightStar Care® Can Be a Valuable Part of Your Child's Care Team
BrightStar Care caregivers are dedicated to providing high-quality care for children and their families. Whether you're looking for in-home care services(Opens in a new window) for your loved one or a reliable medical staffing(Opens in a new window) partner for your organization, our experienced local care team members are ready to help. Find a location(Opens in a new window) near you, contact us(Opens in a new window) online or call (866) 618-7827 to learn more about how BrightStar Care offers A Higher Standard®.