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Basic Information
Discharge Planning Process
WHEN and HOW to MEET
When should discharge preparation and transition planning begin?
Who should be at discharge planning meetings?
What are the steps to the process?
How do you define the purpose of the meetings?
And how do you know you've met your goals?
This section provides some guidance on discharge planning timing, discharge planning meetings, and discharge planning goals.

DISCHARGE PLANNING TIMING
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Discharge planning should begin at admission and continue throughout the infant’s hospitalization.

DISCHARGE PLANNING GOALS
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Parents should be an integral part of the multidisciplinary team.

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The discharge team - parents and providers - collaborates to create a timeline of discharge goals, educational objectives, and specific technical skills that must be attained.
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The initial discharge planning meetings should integrate the family in discharge planning process and continue with step-by-step planning as discharge approaches.​
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Education modalities should be flexible to meet the needs of the family.
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Plan ahead (more lead time may be needed because of the potentially more complex logistics)
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Be flexible with timing to allow for scheduling with both parents if they would both like to participate.
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If one of the caregivers is not able to be present, offer remote discharge education, making use of video technology (e.g., FaceTime, Skype, Zoom, etc.) when possible and audio when necessary.
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Providers should provide a consistent, uniform message when communicating the discharge instructions.
DISCHARGE PLANNING MEETINGS
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Routinely include the family in discharge meetings, normalizing the process and helping to ensure consistent messaging to the family. This creates a shared vision for discharge planning between the family and staff.

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Part of the discharge planning meeting is to ensure that the family has a good understanding of where they are in the discharge process, confirm the educational goals, and verify the discharge criteria to allow the family time to prepare, do home environment preparation, obtain home supplies, arrange help at home, and schedule follow up appointment arrangements.
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Give the family enough advanced notice to plan to attend the meetings. Be flexible and family-friendly with the scheduling of meetings (e.g., day or night) to maximize family participation.
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When possible, face-to-face discharge planning meetings are preferred. But offer the family the option of remote participation.
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Allow space for the family to voice their comments/concerns about the discharge plan, then respond to their needs.
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Some families will want to include their preferred support network in discharge planning. Staff should accommodate the needs of the family and not limit the meetings to only the parents, unless that is the family’s preference.

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