CoACH (Coordinating Action for Children’s Health) Care Center: 2003 – 2004

CoACH Care Center’s first family to go through the Transitional Care Program which enables them to spend time outside of the hospital, learning practical skills in caring for their delicate newborn with very unique and special needs, smiles with relief and appreciation (above).

The CoACH Care Center Creates the Link Between Hospital and Home for Children and Youth With Special Health Care Needs by Offering Transitional Care and Training Program at the Center’s CoACH House, Naperville.

The Washington Square Health Foundation approved a grant for CoACH (Coordinating Action for Children’s Health) Care Center to develop a Transitional Care and Training Program at the Center’s CoACH House on their Naperville Campus for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs CYSHCN and their families.

Today, children with complex medical conditions who require medical intervention at home are staying longer than clinically necessary in the hospital simply because services are not available in the community. Our Children’s CoACH House, a Public Health licensed guest house for CYSHCN, offers 24 hour private duty nursing in their Transition Care and Training program for a period of 120 days. The one nurse and one aide for three children ensure quality care and safety while the 12 bed maximum offers the homelike environment families like.

This unique Transition Care and Training program models home health care without the risk of limited or inexperienced pediatric nursing care. It offers nursing agencies time to find trained nursing staff to fill open shifts and prevents hospitals from providing inappropriate care. Funding comes from primarily Medicaid (and some insurance companies) whenever private duty nursing care is ordered by the child’s physician.

CoACH House is fast becoming the link between hospital and home for CYSHCN whose families and providers are seeking alternatives to long hospital stays. In the first six months since the grant was awarded and services began, January 2004, eight children had been transitioned to CoACH House, Naperville.

Thanks to the Washington Square Health Foundation, CoACH Care Center’s Transitional Care and Training program prevented over 150 used bed days throughout Chicagoland hospitals by children who were clinically stable and ready for home. Most importantly, this funding helped children and youth experience a better quality of life outside hospitals and institutions while anticipating their journey home. You can visit them on line at www.coachcarecenter.org.