Medical Home Finds Real Estate in a Children’s Hospital

Abstract

The Center for children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia is one such model and has grown steadily over the last 10 years. The medical home model embraced by the Center for CYSHCN focuses on care coordination, patient- and family-centered care, and integrated communication tools (such as care plans and medical summaries). The vast majority of CYSHCN treated at the Center during this study ranged in age from 6 to 12 years. Of those children, 82% had public insurance, 17% required home-nursing services, 24% required mobility aids, and 16% required enteral nutritional/feeding tubes. The most common diagnoses included developmental delay, intellectual disability, and cerebral palsy. When compared with CYSHCN enrolled in a statewide medical home program, the severity of the medical conditions of CYSHCN cared for at the Center was statistically significantly higher/more complex.