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Hi, it’s Patrik Hutzel from intensivecareathome.com where we provide tailor-made solutions for long-term ventilated adults and children with tracheostomies at home and where we also provide tailor-made solutions for hospitals and intensive care units at home whilst providing quality care for long-term ventilated adults and children with tracheostomies at home, otherwise medically complex clients, adults and children at home which includes Home BIPAP (Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure), Home CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) ventilation, home tracheostomy care for adults and children that are not ventilated, Home TPN (Total Parenteral Nutrition), and home IV potassium infusions, home IV magnesium infusions and IV antibiotics. We also provide port management, central line management, PICC (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) line management as well as Hickman’s line management at home, and we also provide palliative care.

We also have sent our critical care nurses into the home for the Western Sydney Local Area Health District for emergency department bypass services for the in-touch program there.

So. today I have an email from Nick who says,

“Hi Patrik,

I have a ventilator and tracheostomy that I use around the clock. I have been in a nursing home for two years trying to get back home to be with my family. I’m 36. I have a sound mind and even a degree. So, I’m aware of everything.

I have Duchenne muscular dystrophy. I always lived at home until I was 34 and now, I’m two hours away from any family. I really want to change that and get my life back on track. I used to work from home and contribute to society and I know going home would save a lot of money.

I have tried many avenues and talked to many agencies and programs but keep hitting a roadblock. Every time I get my hopes up, I get denied or told another lie. I’ve been on waiting lists for months and after that, I get told the program I applied to cannot help me even though I tell them all my conditions and medical necessities upfront, they contact me later saying I need more help than the program can provide.

A ventilator and tracheostomy should not be a life sentence to be served in a nursing home. We have landed on the moon, for goodness sakes. Surely, there is a solution in the year 2024. I just know there is. Can Intensive Care at Home help?

Please contact me if you receive this message.

I truly hope to get some good news.

From, Nick.”

Well, Nick, I am very sorry to hear about your situation and it sounds to me like even though you’re not specifically mentioning that in your email, it sounds to me like you have received the ventilator and the tracheostomy, were in the hospital, no one could take you home. That’s how you ended up in a nursing home, it’s probably a very bad place. I’m surprised a nursing home is happy to look after you, but it sounds like you’re in a very negative situation here.

Of course, whoever you spoke to the state programs and agencies you spoke to, they don’t want to know about your situation because it is a very unique and specialized skill to take someone home on a ventilator with a tracheostomy. That is a very unique and special skill that very few, if any, services have. But you have come to the right place here at intensivecareathome.com because that’s pretty much all we do. We are highly specialized on looking after adults and children at home on ventilation with tracheostomy.  So, you have come to the right place, and I would really like to have a conversation with you next, because there are avenues of taking you home. It is not really a matter of funding in this situation, someone is paying for your nursing home stay anyway; it is a matter of the right service for you and for your situation, and I believe we are exactly that service because we are looking after many clients at home in very similar situations, Nick.

So, what should you be doing? We should be getting on a call or on a video call as the next step, and we should be talking about funding. I’m not sure of your location.

With Intensive Care at Home, at the moment we are operating all around Australia in all major capital cities as well as in regional and rural areas. We are a NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) approved service provider, TAC (Transport Accident Commission) in Victoria, WorkSafe in Victoria, iCare in New South Wales, NIISQ (National Injury Insurance Scheme) in Queensland, and we’re also a DVA (Department of Veteran Affairs) approved service provider all around the country.

So, if you qualify for any of those insurances, we can help you. But for example, if you don’t qualify for any of these, you might have private health insurance and then, private health insurance will probably pay for your Intensive Care at Home. So, there’s definitely options for you. I just think it’s not a funding issue, it’s a case of the right service provider.

We are the only service in 2024 in Australia that has achieved third party accreditation for Intensive Care at Home nursing. There’s no other service in Australia that has achieved that level of accreditation. So, you’re coming to a quality service and all our services are evidence-based. Have a look at the Mechanical Home Ventilation Guidelines on our website at intensivecareathome.com, you will see that our services are evidence-based and accredited.

Now, we’re also providing Level 2 and Level 3 NDIS Support Coordination which is critical for most NDIS participants and would be critical in your situation, Nick, as well. I do believe that with what you shared in your email, that you do qualify for at the NDIS.

If you are at home already, maybe in a similar situation and you don’t have enough support or you’re stuck in a nursing home or stuck in an ICU and you need the help for your family member or for yourself, if you’re at home, you’re going back to hospital all the time, you have an instability on your roster, you have people not showing up, I encourage you to reach out to us. You can contact us again at intensivecareathome.com. Call us on one of the numbers on the top of our website or send an email to info@intensivecareathome.com.

If you are a NDIS support coordinator watching this and you’re looking for nursing care for your participants, please reach out to us as well. If you’re looking for funding for more nursing care, I also encourage you to reach out to us. We can help you with the advocacy. We also provide specialist NDIS nursing assessments.

If you are a critical care nurse and you’re looking for a career change, we are currently offering jobs for critical care nurses in the home in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, in Albury, Wodonga, Bendigo, Victoria, as well as in Warragul, Victoria. If you have worked in critical care for a minimum of two years ICU, pediatric ICU, ED, and you have ideally completed a postgraduate critical care qualification, we want to hear from you.

We are offering a tailor-made solutions to our clients which includes regular staff. Our clients want to have the same staff coming over and over again because they are so vulnerable and it’s all about building those crucial relationships and having regular and stable teams. So, if you’re looking for agency work where you can come and go, this may not be the right fit for you. But if you are interested in a long-term engagement with us and long-term engagement with our clients, and building those crucial relationships, then this is a win-win situation for everyone.

If you are an intensive care specialist or ED specialist, we also want to hear from you. We are currently expanding our medical team.

If you are an intensive care specialist, ICU consultant or ED consultant, and you have bed blocks in your ICU or ED, we want to hear from you because we can help you take the pressure off your ICU and ED beds. In most cases, you won’t even pay for it.

If you’re a hospital executive watching this, you may also be interested in taking the pressure off your ICU and your ED, so please reach out to us.

Lastly, if you’re in the U.S. or in the U.K. and you’re watching this, we want to hear from you as well. We can help you there privately.

Once again, all of that you get at intensivecareathome.com. Call us on one of the number one of the numbers on the top of our website or send us an email to info@intensivecareathome.com.

If you like my videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel for regular updates for Intensive Care at Home and for families in intensive care. Click the like button, click the notification bell, share the video with your friends and families, and comment below what you want to see next, what questions and insights you have.

I also do a weekly YouTube live where I answer your questions live on the show and you will get notification for the YouTube live if you are a subscriber to my YouTube channel, or if you are a subscriber to our email newsletter at intensivecareathome.com.

Thank you so much for watching.

This is Patrik Hutzel from intensivecareathome.com and I will talk to you in a few days.

Take care for now.