New Research Review Finds Medically Complex Children Wait a Median 70 Days for Home Nursing After Hospital Discharge

Families of medically complex infants discharged from the NICU wait a median of 70.1 days to secure skilled home nursing, with some waiting more than 14 months, during what researchers identify as the most medically unstable period following a complex hospital stay.

That finding, drawn from a peer-reviewed study tracking 421 infants discharged with a tracheostomy or gastrostomy tube across five neonatology units, sits at the center of a new clinical research report released by Prestige Health Partners, a Georgia-based home health provider serving families statewide.

The report, titled Hospital Readmissions and In-Home Skilled Nursing, draws on peer-reviewed pediatric research, NIH-funded clinical trial data, and multi-hospital outcome studies to give families, clinicians, and policymakers an accurate picture of what the evidence shows, including findings that complicate simple claims about home nursing.

Across broad adult populations, research on general home health care has produced mixed results. A multi-hospital U.S. study found adjusted readmission rates for home health patients ran up to 1.5 percentage points higher than for comparable patients without it.

What does hold up, according to the report, is research focused specifically on children with medical technology dependence. A study published in Pediatric Pulmonology by Sobotka and colleagues identified lack of home nursing as one of the primary drivers of hospital readmission for this population, operating through parental exhaustion and a genuine gap in medical expertise available in the home.

The report also documents active clinical research underway at Brenner Children's Hospital through an NIH-registered randomized trial testing structured interagency collaboration models, with a planned enrollment of 110 children.

Prestige Health Partners serves medically complex children and adults across Georgia, including Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta, Columbus, Macon, and surrounding rural communities, through its statewide GAPP services program.

This release summarizes a research review based on published sources. It does not report proprietary patient data or provide individualized medical advice.