Care of Technology-Dependent Children in the Home

Abstract

Home care for infants and children requiring life-sustaining technological interventions has been a common alternative to long-term hospitalization since the early 1980s. This has created a need for a sufficient pool of competent home health clinicians capable of providing highly skilled care in the home and of supporting family caregivers. The Pennsylvania Ventilator-Assisted Children's Home Program (VACHP) has developed and successfully implemented a 32-hour training program that has equipped more than 300 clinicians with the knowledge and skill level necessary to provide competent care for these children.