Pulmonary Habilitation Program

Frequently, children with serious or long-term illnesses also have breathing-related needs. Typically, they need ventilator machines to help them breathe, sometimes for months or years. However, these children often become medically stable enough to be safely cared for at home on their ventilators.

Many pulmonary habilitation program patients come from neonatal or pediatric intensive care units throughout the Midwest. Children are eligible for our program if they are medically stable for home care, family members want to take the child home and are willing to learn home care, and the child has housing that can accommodate the ventilator.


The Lurie Children's Difference

Our program is the largest of its kind in Illinois and one of the largest in the nation. The goal of the program is to return children to their homes and keep them as active as possible in family, school and community activities. Families are provided with some home nursing support in order to help them with their child’s care.

Our staff members are experts in mechanical ventilation, understanding technical issues, coordinating the complex process for going home and understanding the needs of families. Our program currently coordinates the care of more than 50 children at home on ventilator support. We manage ventilator care for some of the most complex cases in the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

Make an Appointment

To contact the program’s specialists, call 312.227.6867.

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