Discussion

Case/care management services many benefit children with special health care needs. A
registered nurse care manager will access and determine the needs of each child. They may then
make referrals to specialists, counselling and social workers or community resources. They may
also suggest and provide educational materials that may be used by the parent and the children,
depending on their unique abilities and needs. Further, children with special needs require home
follow up and care managers will organize on how this will be done. Parents to such children do
not need to travel to the hospital now and then to have their children checked. Children benefit
from the quality and coordinated care. They have access to medical care even when at home, and
this helps improve their general health. Parents also get a chance to monitor their children’s
progress with the guidance of a care management nurse.
Care management nurses will facilitate the discharge of children with special health
needs and those who are technology-assisted from hospital to home. They will also be involved
in the coordination of the variety of services that are necessary for optimal psychosocial, social
development of each child (Okumura et al., 2017). Further, the care management nurses will also
ensure that services and tools required for the child’s educational development are availed and
that they are being used rightfully. Overall, the role of the care management nurse is to ensure
that the child is located and then monitored while at home. They coordinate the provision of
continuous quality care to the child and containment of medical costs for the family. They
provide a more humane choice for families that need to provide medical care to their children but
at a lesser cost.

References

Okumura, M. J., Knauer, H. A., Calvin, K. E., & Takayama, J. I. (2017). Pediatricians’ comfort
level in caring for children with special health care needs. Academic pediatrics, 17(6),
678-686.