Star Pediatric Home Care Agency was founded by pediatric nurses with many years of managerial experience in the home care setting. The Director of Nursing and owner of Star Pediatrics, Marina Stengart, has over 30 years of experience working in this field with 13 years experience as a nurse in both the PICU and NICU of a highly prestigious hospital, and over 20 years working as a home care administrator. Together with our team, she is personally involved and dedicated to ensuring that children thrive at home, where they belong, with their families. Through our commitment to quality skilled nursing services we accomplish our mission. Our nurses are qualified professionals who share this vision to achieve each child’s maximum potential through determination, compassion, and a sense of responsibility for providing the highest level of care possible.

We help parents manage the care of their child, such as obtaining medical equipment, navigating through the insurance process, and hand picking highly trained and skilled nurses. If you have a child that is medically fragile, our clinical director will come to your home or hospital, and do a full assessment to fully understand the needs of the child and the family.

We work with everyone involved in the care management of the child.

• We work with discharge planners to facilitate the discharge process as we ensure all orders and equipment are coordinated.

• We are proactive in keeping physician, discharge planners, and insurance providers informed of changes in the plan of care.

• Our specialized and dedicated staff and supervisors are familiar with the stresses associated with maintaining a medically complex child in the home. They use this experience to compassionately assist the family.

• We know the importance of maintaining children at home, allowing them to thrive and remain out of the hospital.

• We are experienced at collaborating with school districts to ensure regular attendance by medically complex children through the aid of an accompanying nurse.

What makes Star Pediatrics different?

With four strategically placed offices in New Jersey, (Teaneck, Lakewood, Mt. Laurel, and Egg Harbor) we are able to service the entire state of New Jersey. We only serve pediatric patients. There is no other population served by Star Pediatrics because pediatric patients are our focus, our dedication, and our expertise. Our patients receive personalized care and individual attention. We use a patient-family-centered approach, recognizing that each child and family is unique. Families have different personalities, life experiences, values and beliefs, religious and cultural backgrounds. Care provided to all patients is equal and flexible so that the needs and choices of the family are met. We are owned and operated by pediatric nurses who understand the complexity of this population. Children have different needs both physiologically and psychosocially. Our nurses are dedicated, passionate, and highly skilled. We provide training, mentoring, and all support necessary to our nurses to ensure they are skilled, compassionate, and ready to care for children. Each child and family will meet with the Clinical Director to address their clinical and social needs. The Clinical Director will then assign nurses best suited for the medical needs of the child as well as the unique needs of the family. Parents will have the opportunity to express their concerns, preferences, and schedule.

When would a family seek our services?

A family may come to us for a variety of reasons but one common factor is that their child needs daily nursing care that goes beyond the needs of most children. Some examples of children who qualify for home-care nursing include but are not limited to:

• Respiratory-compromised children; a child requiring oxygen, C-PAP or BI-PAP, ventilator and/or tracheostomy.

• Cardiac-compromised children; prematurity related, complex medication regimen.

• Neurologically compromised children; seizure, traumatic brain injury, congenital anomalies, cerebral palsy.

• Children requiring feeding tubes or having difficulty feeding.

Again, these are only a few examples of conditions that qualify for home care. If there is any question as to if a child will qualify, speak with our Clinical Director, who will be able to begin assessment on the phone and further asses the child at home or in the hospital.

Many families do not realize that they may qualify for home nursing care or a nurse to accompany a child to school. Navigating the insurance process can be daunting. Coordinating all of the doctor’s orders, medical equipment, and other needs of the child can be overwhelming. We understand that many families are concerned about allowing someone in their home that is not sensitive to their cultural, religious, and customary routines. At Star Pediatric Home Care we are experienced in working with the religious Jewish community and can help you through the process, ease your concerns, and become a partner in caring for your child. Star Pediatric Home Care Agency can help you get the services you need, and help your child thrive at home.

Star Pediatric Home Care—our goal is to help children shine, one at a time.

By Michael Jenkins