Pediatric Specialty Hospital Brochure

Pediatric Specialty Hospital at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center

Pediatric Specialty Hospital at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center

The Pediatric Specialty Hospital—the only hospital of its kind in Pennsylvania—provides family-centered care in a home-like atmosphere.

Licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the Pediatric Specialty Hospital (conveniently located on Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh) offers a transitional setting to bridge between hospital and home for infants, children, and their families.

Philosophy The Pediatric Specialty Hospital offers a hospital experience like no other. Special medical needs of infants and children are addressed in a comfortable, home-like environment. We support families by providing teaching and dedicated spaces for them to learn, adjust, and spend time together with their child. We welcome siblings and encourage the entire family to be together at The Children’s Home during the patient’s stay.

Services Four hospital units make up the 30-bed Pediatric Specialty Hospital at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh. The Pediatric Specialty Hospital cares for patients birth to age 21 who are transitioning from the hospital to home.

The hospital meets each child’s medical needs while supporting family members through: education, nesting, and discharge planning.

Your child’s health and the well-being of your family are at the heart of everything we do at The Children’s Home & Lemieux Family Center. We will do all we can to make things easier for you, to make you feel comfortable, to reassure you, and to guide you in the care of your child so you can transition home when you and your child are ready.

Medical Team The Pediatric Specialty Hospital maintains a low nurse to patient ratio.

This ensures that nurses address the individualized needs of each patient and their family, and parents and caregivers get to know the medical team well, too.

Your child’s physician or one of our physicians on staff will oversee your child’s care throughout their stay at the Pediatric Specialty Hospital.

Each patient’s plan of care is continued seamlessly from the referring hospital to the Pediatric Specialty Hospital, further helping children and families prepare for the next transition in care.

In addition to Registered Nurses, the Pediatric Specialty Hospital is supported by a team of medical professionals including: Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, Social Workers, a Pediatric Development Specialist, Discharge Case Manager, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Respiratory Therapists, Physical Therapists, and Patient Care Technicians. Parents and family caregivers are also seen as an integral part of the care-giving team for their child and are encouraged to participate whenever possible.

“When we arrived at The Children’s Home, the staff was amazing and still are on our discharge date. Everyone goes out of their way to make you feel at home and comfortable and it’s all genuine. They took care of not only my child, but also me and my family. They accommodated us in every way, shape, and form. Thank you for caring for us in our time of need with a newborn needing to be in a medical setting.

This is by far a phenomenal place with great people.”

-Pediatric Specialty Hospital family

The Inpatient Experience Education At the Pediatric Specialty Hospital, each unit is staffed with a low nurse to patient ratio, allowing the nursing staff time to educate parents with hands-on training, while providing high-quality medical care to the child.

Our goal is to help parents become confident caregivers to their child before transitioning to home.

We strongly encourage parents to take an active role in their child’s care, knowing that the nurses are there to guide and support them 24/7.

Participation may include bathing, giving medicine, feeding, hands-on training (including the use of all home-based equipment), and any other kind of care that is unique to their child.

Nesting Families have the option of staying overnight at The Children’s Home while their child is at the Pediatric Specialty Hospital. We call this nesting.

We offer nesting at the bedside in some of our private patient rooms, or families can stay overnight in one of the private bedrooms in the Lemieux Family Center.

In addition to saving travel time, we believe that nesting helps families feel comfortable, safe, and relaxed in a place where they can care for, nurture, and spend time with their child.

“I cannot express enough how wonderful this facility was.

The nurses and staff were amazing, always very helpful and informative. If it wasn’t for The Children’s Home, I wouldn’t have been able to stay around the clock and care for my daughter. At the Pediatric Specialty Hospital, we were able to receive the medical care we needed and I was able to stay with my daughter, bonding and taking care of her like we were at home.”

-Pediatric Specialty Hospital family

Lemieux Family Center The Lemieux Family Center is designed to be a home away from home.

Families are given the opportunity to spend one or more nights in a private bedroom with their child. The Lemieux Family Center also includes full kitchens, living and dining areas, bathrooms with spacious showers, free laundry, and Austin’s Playroom. While nesting, families can practice providing care on their own. Each room is equipped with an emergency call system to provide families with the security of knowing that help from our medical team is available within seconds if needed.

Amenities Families at the Pediatric Specialty Hospital enjoy: • 24/7 visitation for parents, siblings, family members, and visitors • Free overnight stays on-site with access to full kitchen, living room, dining area, and free laundry • Free on-site parking • Quiet and comfortable patient areas • Beautiful outdoor space with an inclusive, accessible playground, garden, gazebo, and walking path • Free WiFi throughout facility • Television and Xbox in each private room • Movie & game lending All services and amenities, including family overnight stays, are covered by your insurance or provided free by The Children’s Home.

Discharge Planning From the time of admission, the Discharge Case Manager and Medical Team work closely with families to plan for the patient’s discharge from the Pediatric Specialty Hospital. Parents and caregivers help decide what milestones guide their child’s plan and can share with our staff a care schedule that will work for them at home.

The discharge plan helps ensure that all necessary care and support services—including equipment, home care nursing, and medications—are in place. Comprehensive discharge planning also includes: meeting with home health providers; scheduling all follow up appointments with doctors, therapists and other professionals; completing a care schedule that is feasible for families to manage at home; and help in locating other needed resources.

Frequently Asked Questions What kind of diagnoses and conditions are treated at the Pediatric Specialty Hospital?

The Pediatric Specialty Hospital serves children up to age 21 with a variety of medical needs. Services include, but are not limited to: premature infants (including multiple births); children who need medical therapies they can’t receive at home; children preparing for or recovering from surgery or prolonged illness; children receiving specific medical observation; or children adjusting to new medical equipment and/or treatments that families must learn prior to discharge. For specific inquiries about your child or patient’s diagnosis, condition, continued care or treatment, contact our Clinical Director, at 412-441-4884.

Will my insurance pay for my child’s stay at the Pediatric Specialty Hospital?

Yes. All services, including family overnight stays, are covered by your health insurance, you will not receive a bill from The Children’s Home.

What is the nurse to patient ratio at the Pediatric Specialty Hospital?

Each hospital unit is staffed with 1 nurse for every 3-4 patients, allowing the nursing staff time to educate parents with hands-on training, while providing high-quality medical care to the child.

Can my family and myself stay overnight while my child is in the hospital?

Yes. Families may spend one or more nights in a private bedroom with their child to practice their care-giving skills. We offer overnight stays at the bedside in some of our private patient rooms, or families can stay overnight in one of the private bedrooms in the Lemieux Family Center.

Where will my family eat when I am at the Pediatric Specialty Hospital?

Patients and breast-feeding moms are provided meals for free. Meals can be ordered through our catering service for other family members.

We also have Help Yourself Cupboards in our Lemieux Family Center which are stocked with food which can be easily prepared in our kitchens, and Aldi’s gift cards are given out to families who would like to purchase and prepare their own meals.

What are your visitation hours?

Anytime. The Pediatric Specialty Hospital has no restrictive visiting hours.

Parents have access to their child 24/7. Family members may visit at any time, either at the child’s bedside or in the nesting rooms. Siblings are also welcome for visiting and overnight stays.

Where can I park while my child is in the Pediatric Specialty Hospital?

Free and on-site parking is available at The Children’s Home for all families and visitors.

Do you offer pediatric hospice and palliative care?

Yes. The Pediatric Specialty Hospital offers pediatric hospice and palliative care, allowing families to have the option to spend their most difficult moments in a comfortable atmosphere with support services and staff on-site 24/7.

Are you capable of meeting mine and my child’s breastfeeding needs?

Yes. We have plenty of hospital-grade breast pumps to help breastfeeding moms. We also have Lactation Consultants on staff who are accredited Certified Breastfeeding Counselors.

“Everything at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh exceeded our expectations. We were welcomed in with open arms and treated like family from the first day. The nurses were very helpful and willing to teach us so we were comfortable with going home.”

-Pediatric Specialty Hospital family

Referrals and Admissions Are you interested in the Pediatric Specialty Hospital for your patient or your child?

(Parents and caregivers, you may let your child’s doctor know if you are interested in transfer to the Pediatric Specialty Hospital at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh.)

Contact us. The Pediatric Specialty Hospital has an administrative staff member on-call 24/7 to answer questions and take referrals at 412-596-2568. You can also contact the Charge Nurse at 412-345-7981.

Tour. We welcome parents and family members to tour the Pediatric Specialty Hospital prior to a child’s admission. Please contact us to make travel arrangements if you need help getting to our facility. If visiting is not possible, you can take a VIRTUAL TOUR of the Pediatric Specialty Hospital and The Children’s Home’s entire facility at www.ChildrensHomePGH.org.

We are also available to answer any questions you have by phone.

Insurance Approval. The Pediatric Specialty Hospital is a participating provider with more than a dozen health insurance companies in the greater Pittsburgh area, including Medical Assistance. Our admissions staff or the referring hospital will contact your child’s insurance company in order to obtain approval prior to their transfer to the Pediatric Specialty Hospital.

Charitable care is also available as needed.

Transfer. A child can be transferred to the Pediatric Specialty Hospital at The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh when their physician determines they are medically stable. Transfers to the Pediatric Specialty Hospital can occur any day of the week, including weekends. Hospital to hospital transfers occur by ambulance and the child is accompanied by a trained healthcare professional. One parent may also ride along.

Take a virtual tour at www.ChildrensHomePGH.org

5324 Penn Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15224 phone: 412.441.4884 toll free: 800.595.3440 fax: 412.441.0179 e-mail: info@chomepgh.org www.ChildrensHomePGH.org Follow Us! @ChildrensHomePGH

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