| Abstract: | For case managers who provide services to the preterm infant and family after hospital discharge, the challenges can be numerous. The key to successfully meeting the varied needs of the smallest clients who may present the largest of problems is preparation. Knowing the route that many of these infants and 0262 0125 families must take as they begin life after0262 the NICU and enter the early intervention realm will be immensely helpful toMeeting the management needs of the infant and family at home and successfully infant and family at home and successfully linking them to the available community resources and viable support systems are necessary to reduce their stress, strengthen their family bonds, and assist them in providing the most nurturing and appropriate environment for the infant who has joined their family ahead of schedule.Unquestionably, professional and personal satisfaction come from supporting parents at the starting point of arriving home (with their terror of the clinical, technological, and parental complexities of caring for this special infant) to the point at which their confidence in their abilities and mastery of systems grows and enables them to manage the needs of their family without continual case management intervention. |
