Need help with your pediatric program?
Company is a pediatric care resource
Private duty agencies that either have questions about their pediatric program or would like to establish one have a resource waiting to help.Kaleidoscope Kids in Mt. Pleasant, SC, is a nonprofit organization that serves home care providers working with children who are handicapped, chronically ill, terminally ill, or grieving. The organization is a federally trademarked pediatric hospice program that was founded in 1989.
Kaleidoscope answers about 1,200 requests for pediatric home care information a quarter, says Cyndy Byrne, president and founder.
Topics that Kaleidoscope Kids provides information on include:
• budget development;
• discharge planning;
• pain and symptom management;
• pediatric home care start-up and expansion;
• staff education and development and access to care;
• special needs of the seriously ill child and his or her parents and siblings;
• third-party and other payer statistics;
• pediatric volunteer training;
• children’s bereavement program development.
"We do a lot of over-the-phone consultation, Byrne explains. "We don’t charge for that. We’re here to help providers who are working with children."
The company also has a Kaleidoscope Kids turnkey operation and has licensed 10 providers in the last two years. "These are programs that have made a commitment to provide excellence in standards of care for children — providing supportive and other services that children need rather than looking just at physical care."
Agencies must apply to become a Kaleidoscope Kids provider — some agencies do get turned down. Once the application has been reviewed and accepted by the company’s board of directors, the agency pays a licensing fee — which covers from one to five counties. Kaleidoscope Kids then provides administrative and marketing consultations, as well as staff inservices and education on provision of care.
The company provides support services to the licensed agencies as needed and evaluates them every year through questionnaires and on-site visits. The agencies must pay a renewal licensing fee after each year of operation.
The company also offers memberships to individuals, corporations, and institutions that advocate high-quality children’s health care, supportive services, and education. The fee is $75 for a corporate/professional membership. Membership benefits include:
• membership certificate;
• discount on Kaleidoscope Kids on-site consulting/technical services;
• networking with other pediatric home care providers;
• discounts on Kaleidoscope Kids’ publications, resources, interdisciplinary home care forms, and other materials;
• pediatric statistical data reports;
• periodic newsletter in which members may contribute articles and photos;
• reduced registration fees for workshops and conferences.
[Editor’s note: For more information on Kaleidoscope Kids, call (803) 849-7775.]
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