Pediatric Home Care for Medically Complex Children in Philadelphia
When a child has complex medical needs — post-NICU recovery, a feeding tube, a tracheostomy, cerebral palsy, or developmental disability — A-Team Home Care lets them stay home with the family. Skilled pediatric nursing. Personal care assistance. Respite for parents. ACHC-accredited. PA Medicaid CHC, private insurance, and private pay.
Already Caring For Your Medically Complex Child? You May Get Paid For It.
Parents of children on Pennsylvania Medicaid CHC may qualify to be paid as Direct Care Workers for the personal care they already provide. Spouses and POA holders are excluded by state rule, but parents of adult children and other adult family caregivers may qualify.
Pediatric Home Care for Medically Complex Children
A-Team Home Care provides ACHC-accredited pediatric home care for children with complex medical needs across Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester counties.
Services we provide
- Skilled pediatric nursing (RN/LPN)
- Tracheostomy and ventilator care
- G-tube and feeding support
- Post-NICU transition care
- Respite for parents
Coverage
PA Medicaid Community HealthChoices, private insurance, and private pay accepted. Caregiver placed in 24-48 hours.
Call (215) 490-9994 — Free Assessment
This page provides general information about pediatric home care services. Always consult your child's physician for specific medical advice.
Contact Us
Call us today at (215) 490-9994 to book a free in-home consultation with a member of our dedicated staff and discover all the ways A-Team Home Care can support you or your loved ones.
Irina Rabovetsky
Our team is here to listen, answer your questions, and help you build the right care plan for your loved one — whether you need care now or are just exploring options.
By submitting this form, you agree to be contacted by A-Team Home Care Inc. via email, phone, text message, automated calls, and/or ringless voicemail regarding services, recruiting, or promotions. Message frequency varies. Standard message and data rates may apply. You may opt out at any time.
What Pediatric Home Care Covers
Pediatric home care is the in-home delivery of skilled nursing, personal care, and respite for children birth through age 21 with complex medical, developmental, or behavioral needs. A-Team Home Care is licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as a Home Care Agency and accredited by ACHC. Care is delivered in the family's home by a Registered Nurse, Licensed Practical Nurse, or a state-trained Direct Care Worker, under written orders from the child's physician.
Pediatric home care is delivered along four service lines:
Skilled Pediatric Nursing
RN and LPN one-on-one in-home nursing for medically complex children. Includes tracheostomy care, ventilator management, G-tube feeding, seizure response, medication administration, and post-NICU transition. This is private duty nursing — the nurse is assigned to one child, not a caseload.
Personal Care & Home Health Aide
Hands-on assistance with bathing, dressing, toileting, feeding, mobility, and routine hygiene, delivered by a state-trained Home Health Aide or Personal Care Assistant under RN supervision. Used for children who don't need a nurse but need help with Activities of Daily Living.
Respite Care for Parents
Scheduled in-home relief for parents and primary caregivers. A trained caregiver takes the shift while the parent sleeps, works, attends another child's appointment, or rests. Respite is one of the most-used Medicaid waiver benefits for families raising a medically complex child.
Post-NICU & Hospital Transition
Structured handoff from a NICU, PICU, or pediatric inpatient unit to home. An A-Team RN coordinates with the hospital case manager, attends the discharge teaching, sets up home equipment, and starts in-home nursing the day the child comes home.
Conditions We Serve
A-Team accepts pediatric clients across the full spectrum of medical complexity. The conditions below are the ones our pediatric nursing team supports most often in Greater Philadelphia and Bucks County. A child does not need a confirmed diagnosis from this list to qualify — the qualifier is the child's documented medical or functional need.
Tracheostomy & Ventilator Dependence
Children with a tracheostomy, on mechanical ventilation, or on BiPAP/CPAP at home. Trach care includes suctioning, inner-cannula changes, stoma care, and emergency response. Pennsylvania Medicaid requires private duty nursing for most children on home ventilation.
G-Tube & Enteral Feeding
Children fed through a gastrostomy tube (G-tube), GJ-tube, or NG tube. The nurse manages bolus or pump feeds, medication administration through the tube, site care, and skin integrity.
Seizure Disorders & Epilepsy
Children with epilepsy, infantile spasms, Lennox-Gastaut, or other seizure disorders requiring rescue medication (rectal diazepam, intranasal midazolam), seizure logs, and trained response. The pediatric nurse documents every event for the neurologist.
Autism & Intellectual / Developmental Disabilities
Children on the autism spectrum or with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) who need behavioral support, supervision, and ADL assistance at home. A-Team complements (does not replace) ABA, OT, PT, and speech therapy. See autism home care for the full program.
Cerebral Palsy & Neuromuscular Conditions
Children with cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or other neuromuscular conditions requiring mobility assistance, positioning, suctioning, and respiratory support.
Complex & Rare Conditions
Children with congenital heart disease, short bowel syndrome, mitochondrial disease, chromosomal disorders, or other rare conditions classified as medically complex. The care plan is built around the child's specialty team at CHOP, St. Christopher's, or DuPont/Nemours.
Private Duty Nursing for Children
Private duty nursing (PDN) is one-on-one, shift-based in-home nursing care delivered by a Registered Nurse or Licensed Practical Nurse to a single patient. For a medically complex child, the RN or LPN is assigned to the child for the full shift — 4, 8, 12, or 16 hours — and does not split time across other patients. Private duty nursing is the standard of care for children on home ventilation, tracheostomy, continuous feeds, or with documented frequent seizures.
A-Team Home Care provides pediatric private duty nursing under Pennsylvania Medicaid Community HealthChoices, EPSDT, and most commercial insurance plans. The pediatric nurse follows a written plan of care signed by the child's physician, documents every shift, and coordinates directly with the child's specialty team.
Coverage breakdown for pediatric private duty nursing in Pennsylvania:
Medicaid CHC & EPSDT
Children enrolled in Pennsylvania Medicaid receive pediatric private duty nursing through Community HealthChoices (for dual-eligible youth) or the standard Medicaid managed care plan (Keystone First, UPMC for You, PA Health & Wellness, Health Partners Plans, Aetna Better Health). EPSDT covers medically necessary nursing hours for children under 21 with no annual cap.
Pediatric Medicaid Waivers
Children with intellectual and developmental disabilities may also qualify for a Pennsylvania waiver (Consolidated, P/FDS, Community Living, or the Medically Fragile/Complex waiver) that adds respite, in-home support, and supplies on top of EPSDT nursing hours.
Commercial & Private Insurance
Private duty nursing is a covered benefit on most commercial pediatric plans when documented as medically necessary. A-Team verifies the benefit, secures prior authorization, and bills the carrier directly. Families with both commercial coverage and Medicaid have Medicaid as the payer of last resort.
Private Pay
Families without insurance coverage may engage A-Team for private duty nursing on a private-pay basis at a published flat hourly rate. Rates are disclosed in writing before care begins.
EPSDT and Medicaid for Children in Pennsylvania
EPSDT — the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment benefit — is the federal Medicaid benefit that pays for in-home pediatric nursing, therapy, equipment, and supplies for children under age 21. EPSDT is the reason most families do not pay out of pocket for pediatric home care in Pennsylvania.
Under EPSDT, Pennsylvania Medicaid must cover any service that is medically necessary to correct or ameliorate a child's condition — even if that service is not part of the standard Medicaid benefit package for adults. For a medically complex child, that means private duty nursing hours are not capped by a fixed allotment; they're set by what the child's physician documents as medically necessary.
Who Qualifies
Children from birth through age 20 enrolled in Pennsylvania Medicaid (any managed care plan) qualify for EPSDT. Children with both Medicaid and private insurance still receive EPSDT benefits; Medicaid is the payer of last resort and fills the gaps the commercial plan does not cover.
What EPSDT Pays For
Pediatric nursing visits, private duty nursing shifts, personal care, therapy (PT, OT, speech), durable medical equipment, supplies, hearing aids, eyeglasses, behavioral health, and any other medically necessary service tied to a documented diagnosis. There is no annual dollar cap on medically necessary services for a child.
The Age 21 Coverage Cap
EPSDT ends the day the child turns 21. Adult Medicaid in Pennsylvania transitions to Community HealthChoices (CHC), which uses a different benefit package with prior authorization and hourly limits. A-Team starts the transition conversation with families 6–12 months before the 21st birthday to keep coverage from breaking.
Dual Eligibility
Children covered by both private insurance and Medicaid are dual-eligible. The commercial plan is primary; Medicaid pays the cost-share and covers anything the commercial plan denies as not-covered. A-Team handles both billing tracks in parallel so the family doesn't.
Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Office of Long-Term Living; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services EPSDT policy; National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
How A-Team Pediatric Home Care Works
From first phone call to first in-home nursing shift typically runs 7–14 days when we are billing Medicaid CHC or EPSDT, and 24–72 hours for private pay or commercial insurance with prior authorization already in hand.
1. Free Phone Consultation
Call (215) 490-9994 or request online. A pediatric care coordinator listens to the child's diagnosis, the current hospital or specialist team, and the family's day. We tell you on the first call whether EPSDT, a waiver, or commercial insurance is the right payer route.
2. In-Home RN Assessment
A pediatric Registered Nurse visits the home within 48 hours of the consultation. The RN reviews the child's medications, equipment, plan of care from the specialist team, and the home environment, then writes the A-Team plan of care.
3. CHC, EPSDT & Insurance Verification
A-Team's billing team verifies the child's Medicaid plan, EPSDT eligibility, waiver enrollment, commercial coverage, and dual-eligibility status. We secure prior authorization and submit hours requests directly to the payer. Families do not handle this paperwork.
4. Care Plan & Nurse Match
We match a pediatric RN or LPN to the child by experience (trach, vent, seizure, NICU graduate), schedule, and language. The RN supervisor visits at minimum every 60 days. If the first nurse match isn't right, we replace at no charge.
Pediatric Home Care FAQ for Parents
The questions Greater Philadelphia and Bucks County parents ask most often before starting pediatric home care for a medically complex child.
What's the difference between a Home Health Aide (HHA) and a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) for my child?
Can a family member be paid to be my child's caregiver?
What about school days — does pediatric home care cover school hours?
Can we get overnight nursing for a medically complex child?
Who supervises the home health aide working with my child?
What happens when my child turns 21?
How does Medicaid coverage compare to private insurance for pediatric home care?
Personal Care That Keeps Your Loved One At Home.
ACHC-accredited. RN-supervised. PA Medicaid CHC, Medicare, VetAssist, and private pay. Most clients matched with a home health aide in 24 to 48 hours.
See If You Qualify
Tell us a little about your loved one's situation and a member of our team will reach out within one business day to walk you through the Pennsylvania Medicaid Family Caregiver Program eligibility — call us directly at (215) 490-9994 if you'd rather speak first.
By submitting this form, you agree to be contacted by A-Team Home Care Inc. via email, phone, text message, automated calls, and/or ringless voicemail regarding services, recruiting, or promotions. Message frequency varies. Standard message and data rates may apply. You may opt out at any time.