Bringing NG Tubes Home
Summary
This episode explores Children's Hospital Colorado's innovative home nasogastric (NG) tube feeding program, designed to overcome a common barrier to discharge for medically fragile newborns. Expert neonatologists detail how this initiative provides comprehensive care at home through a telehealth model, including remote monitoring and integrated specialist support. The program aims to improve patient outcomes, reduce NICU stays, and ensure equitable access, while empowering families with essential training.Episode description
Over the last few decades, there have been many incredible medical advances in newborn care. At Children's Hospital Colorado, we're launching an exciting new initiative to take another step forward in care for our tiniest patients.
For newborns who need to be hospitalized, getting home as soon as possible is critical for their successful development. A common barrier for discharge that can keep babies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for additional days or weeks is the need for a nasogastric (NG) tube. Ensuring an infant is receiving proper nutrition is essential to securing a safe discharge. What if we could deliver NG tube feeds at home and provide all the necessary support? That's the game changing idea we explore in this episode with our neonatology experts.
To dive into this topic, we are joined by three neonatologists practicing at Children's Colorado. Stephanie Bourque, MD, Kathleen Hannan, MD, and Danielle Smith, MD, tell us about a new at-home NG tube feed program that the team at Children's Colorado is currently developing. Dr. Smith is the Medical Director of the NICU, Dr. Bourque is the Associate Medical Director of the NICU, and all three of our guests are faculty at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Some highlights from this episode include:
- What the need has been historically for NG tubes
- Model for this at-home program
- What's required to make this at-home model a reality
- The role of the primary care provider in this partnership
- The impact a change like this could have on patient outcomes and family satisfaction
For more information on Children's Colorado, visit: childrenscolorado.org.