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Chelsie’s pregnancy seemed normal and her son Braxton looked like a healthy baby boy when she brought him home. What appeared to be new mother’s anxiety soon became a harsh reality when Chelsie took Braxton to his doctor five times in the first four days. She knew something was wrong and soon doctors discovered that Braxton had Cystic Fibrosis.

Before Chelsie and Braxton were sent back home, the hospital arranged with Kosciusko Home Care for home nursing visits to provide intravenous line care, draw blood for tests and to educate Chelsie on how to care for Braxton’s feeding tube and his other special needs. Home Care Nurse Kathy not only provided medical training for Chelsea and her family but also researched the disease and provided resources for Chelsie. Chelsie stated, “Kosciusko Home Care has set us up to be successful.”

Braxton has had several surgeries and numerous visits to Riley Hospital for Children during the past 18 months.

“Kathy helped me select and perform the best medical treatments so I could keep Braxton home and out of the hospital most of the time,” said Chelsie.

Braxton is a beautiful, bright little boy with lots of energy and is also a little mischievous. He finds humor in pulling out his feeding tube when he is with his grandmother. The panicked look on her face makes him giggle.

In a recent study and program launched by Duke University. The study concluded that for every $1 spent on home nursing visits for newborns, $3 is saved in overall healthcare costs. The home visit program more than pays for itself within the infants’ first six months of life. These types of programs can help limit the use of emergency medical care facilities for infants and represent a cost-effective way to help young families get off to a good start while caring for their infants.

Compared with estimated average costs of $423 per emergency outpatient visit or $3,722 per hospital night stay cited by this study, the Durham Connects program costs $700 per family. Participating families had lower rates of maternal anxiety and safer home environments than other families, and they showed more positive parenting behaviors, such as comforting or reading to their child. Further study details can be reviewed at http://today.duke.edu/2013/12/homevisit.

For questions or more information about Home Health Care for infants with special medical needs contact Kosciusko Home Care & Hospice at 574-372-3401 or koshomecare.org.