Home › Conditions we care for › Hydrocephalus
A shunt works perfectly until the day it does not.
Hydrocephalus care is mostly watchfulness, punctuated by episodes that move fast. Georgia Medicaid covers in-home nursing for children with shunts through the Georgia Pediatric Program.
What a nurse is actually watching for
Shunt malfunction and shunt infection are the two events that define hydrocephalus care at home. Both can present quietly at first: headache, vomiting, unusual sleepiness, irritability, a change in feeding, fever, or redness along the shunt tract.
In an infant the signs are subtler still, and a bulging fontanelle or a change in head circumference may be the first real clue. Somebody who sees your child every day is far more likely to catch it early than somebody who sees them every three months.
What a nurse actually does in the home
- Daily neurological observation against your child’s own baseline
- Watching the shunt tract and site for redness, swelling or fluid
- Head circumference and fontanelle checks in infants
- Post-operative care after a shunt placement or revision
- Medication administration and timing
- Feeding, positioning and the rest of your child’s daily care
Keep your child’s shunt card, the make and model, and the date of the last revision somewhere a nurse can find them fast. In an emergency department at midnight, that information saves real time.
Revisions are normal, and they are exhausting
Many children with shunts will need revisions, sometimes several, sometimes unpredictably. Each one is a hospital stay, a recovery, and a family knocked off its routine again.
In-home nursing is what keeps the rest of the household functioning through that cycle, and what makes the post-operative period safer at home rather than longer in a bed.
Questions families ask
Does hydrocephalus qualify a child for GAPP?
It can, particularly where the shunt sits alongside other needs such as a feeding tube, seizures, or significant assistance with mobility and transfers. Georgia Medicaid assesses the total daily hands-on care need rather than the diagnosis.
What are the warning signs of shunt malfunction?
Commonly headache, vomiting, unusual drowsiness or irritability, vision changes, or in infants a bulging fontanelle, rapid head growth or poor feeding. Any of these should go to your child’s neurosurgery team promptly. This page is not medical advice and your child’s own team should give you their specific list.
Can nursing help right after a revision?
Yes. The period straight after a shunt revision is one of the most useful times to have skilled care in the home, and it is often what lets a child recover at home rather than staying admitted.
How do we start?
Call 678-459-2590 or use the eligibility check on this site. We will tell you honestly whether your child looks like a GAPP fit, at no charge and with no obligation to choose us.
Ready when you are.
Tell us about your child and a real person will walk you through what comes next. No cost, no obligation.
Check eligibility Call 678-459-2590HeartPath Home Care is an approved provider for the Georgia Pediatric Program. We are not a government agency, and this page is not medical advice. Georgia Medicaid decides who is approved, which services are authorized and how many hours. Talk to your child’s physician about your child’s care.