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A ventilator at home means someone competent has to be awake.

Ventilator-dependent children are the highest-acuity cases in the Georgia Pediatric Program, and the ones the program exists for. Georgia Medicaid covers in-home skilled nursing so your child can be home instead of in a facility.

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The whole point of GAPP is that this care happens at home

The Georgia Pediatric Program exists so a child who would otherwise need hospital or facility level care can receive that care safely at home, with their family. A child on a ventilator is the clearest version of that case.

Because the acuity is high, these authorizations often carry substantial weekly hours. Georgia Medicaid decides the number, based on the plan of treatment your child’s physician signs.

What a nurse actually does in the home

Ventilator circuit checks, changes and troubleshooting
Alarm response, and knowing the difference between the alarms
Suctioning and full tracheostomy care
Pulse oximetry and end-tidal monitoring per your plan of care
Bagging and emergency response if the vent fails
Overnight and awake-night shifts

Ask your pulmonologist or the hospital case manager to start GAPP documentation while your child is still admitted. Vent discharges depend on home nursing being lined up, so the earlier the paperwork moves, the fewer days your child spends waiting in a bed.

What to ask any agency before you pick one

Vent cases are where agencies overpromise. The honest questions are simple: how many nurses on your roster have actually managed a home vent, what happens on a night your nurse calls out, and who picks up the phone at 2am.

Ask us those and you will get real numbers. If we cannot staff your hours in your county, we would rather tell you that than take the case and leave you uncovered.

Vent-trained, not vent-adjacentVentilator competency is verified before a nurse is placed on one of these cases. Clinical skill is the floor, not the finish line.

Coverage and permanence are different promisesWe can often place a nurse from our PRN and float pool the same week once hours are authorized. The permanent primary nurse who becomes part of your family takes longer, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling.

Equipment stays with your DMEWe work alongside your ventilator supplier rather than replacing them. Tell us who they are and we will coordinate.

Questions families ask

How many nursing hours can a ventilator-dependent child get?

GAPP can authorize up to 24 hours of skilled nursing a day depending on documented medical need. What your child actually receives is set by Georgia Medicaid against the plan of treatment their physician signs, so the honest answer is that the doctor drives it and Medicaid decides it.

Can my child come home from the hospital on a ventilator?

That is exactly what this program is for. Discharge usually cannot happen until home nursing is arranged, so the sooner the GAPP process starts, the sooner your child is home. We can begin while your child is still admitted.

What happens if our nurse calls out?

Ask every agency this question. We keep nurses in a PRN and float pool specifically to cover gaps, and if we cannot cover a shift we tell you as early as we know rather than at shift change.

Do you serve outside metro Atlanta?

We serve families across Georgia, with the heaviest coverage in the metro Atlanta counties. Call 678-459-2590 and we will tell you honestly whether we can staff your hours where you live.

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 678-459-2590

Keep reading

HeartPath 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.