Chronic illness
Approximately 13 – 18 percent of all children (9 – 12.5 million) have special health care needs. A special health care need may result from premature birth, illness, injury or congenital conditions. Approximately 90 percent of children and youth with special health care needs now survive into adulthood with conditions that were once fatal as result of medical advances. Many children will require life sustaining technology, extensive treatments and medications throughout their lives.
Accordingly, the hospital is providing leadership to launch and support life trajectories that will strengthen their capacity to reach their fullest potential and become integrated members of society. Areas of collaboration in support of children and youth with special health care needs include:
-
Chronic Illness Transition Team: This initiative includes broad medical collaboration among primary and sub-specialty care providers within the medical center to prepare adolescents with medical complexities (and their families) to transition from pediatrics to adult care. It focuses on the gradual transfer of care management from the parent to the adolescent as part of this process.
- SAILS (Supporting Adolescents with Independent Life Skills) Program: The SAILS program addresses life skills development to support independence among youth with medical complexities. Areas addressed include self-advocacy, healthcare skills such as making physician appointments and filling medication prescriptions, adult health insurance, educational and vocational planning, employment and socialization. A separate track for parents provides complementary instruction and skills development on how to support their adolescents' transitioning process. Learn more about SAILS »
- Consortium of home health care agencies: This initiative has organized home health care agencies from throughout the state of Illinois to facilitate timelier discharge of medically complex children from hospital to home care in collaboration with La Rabida Hospital, the state Title V Program, Illinois Home Health Care Council and other advocacy groups.
- School nurse education and training on integration of management of technology-dependent children in Chicago Public Schools (system-wide) and suburban schools
- School-based education on management of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. See the hospital's Child and Adolescent Psychiatry department.
- Collaboration with Chicago Public Schools to strengthen “oral classroom” instruction for children with cochlear implants and support for the Children’s Memorial Auditory-Verbal Summer Programs. Learn more about the hospital's cochlear implant program.
- Epilepsy manual for management of children with epilepsy and other seizure disorders in Chicago Public Schools (system wide) and suburban schools
- A hospital-based fitness program for children with spina bifida, cerebral palsy and other musculoskeletal disorders.
- Project DOCC (Delivery of Chronic Care) curriculum for pediatric residents in collaboration with the Office of Medical Education
- Leadership in state and national initiatives and research collaborations to develop best practices, care guidelines and financing recommendations to support youth with medical complexities from childhood to adulthood
- Legislative policy on behalf of this special population of youth. Learn more about the hospital's policy.