title: Planning an outing from hospital for ventilator-dependent children.
abstract: Returning ventilator-dependent children to the home environment has become a well-accepted occurrence. The success of a home program depends on careful pre-discharge planning in order to ensure the child's medical safety, and adequate preparation to ensure the child's and family's adjustment to an active community life after discharge. To achieve this, involvement in community activities must begin while the child is still in hospital. As part of a complete rehabilitation program, nine ventilator-dependent children were taken on an inpatient outing to Disneyland. The planning and goals of the outing are described.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Southern California Medical School, Downey.
authors.forename: I S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Gilgoff
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Helgren
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006701:Home Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009468:Neuromuscular Diseases / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010348:Patient Care Team; D010351:Patient Discharge; D012931:Social Environment; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012122:Ventilators, Mechanical; D014910:Wheelchairs