St. Mary’s Certified Home Health Agency Gets Final Sign-Off From State Health Department

St. Mary’s Extraordinary Home Care to Specialize in Care for Special Needs Patients 

To further enhance the delivery of care to children and young adults with special needs, St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children received final approval for Extraordinary Home Care, the first special needs Certified Home Health Agency (CHHA) to be approved in years by the New York State Department of Health.  Designed to address the growing needs of the emerging population of children and young adults with complex medical conditions, St. Mary’s Extraordinary Home Care will provide short term, intermittent skilled nursing, therapeutic, and personal care services to special needs patients from birth to age 44. 

St. Mary’s Extraordinary Home Care is an integral component of St. Mary’s post-acute continuum of care that provides a cost-effective, family-centered delivery model. The CHHA enables families to receive almost immediate support that addresses a child’s outstanding medical needs post hospitalization, and provides an opportunity for further ongoing treatment through a variety of programs. 

 St. Mary’s Extraordinary Home Care provides a streamlined, centralized point of entry for medically complex patients who require home care services. The CHHA provides children who are in need of skilled services access to a healthcare professional as quickly as 24 hours after referral acceptance. Working collaboratively with physicians, the CHHA nursing team develops a plan of care specifically to meet the care needs of the patient. Should ongoing services be required, the CHHA transitions the patient into the correct program that meets both clinical and support needs, taking the guesswork and confusion out of the equation for patients and families.

“St. Mary’s is thrilled to be able to provide a service that was so desperately needed by families of medically complex children,” remarked Hope Mavaro Iliceto, RN, St. Mary’s Chief Administrative Officer.  “The CHHA will provide intensive therapies and nursing care to help these patients heal and thrive at home, and live as independently as possible.”