Almost Home Kids

At Almost Home Kids our mission is to provide a bridge from hospital to home for children with medical complexities by:
• Educating and empowering families with the training, skills and confidence needed to care for their child at home
• Coordinating all the community-based medical and social services the child and family will need
• Providing respite care when needed in a home-like setting

Vision: We envision a day when every family, every community and every child with medical complexities has access to transitional care and the unsurpassed standards of AHK .

We believe that every child with medical complexities deserves to grow up in their own homes and communities surrounded by their family, neighbors and friends. AHK provides the families with the skills, resources and on-going support parents need to successfully transition their child from hospital to home and to keep them at home, not in an institution.

The infrastructure to properly care for this segment of children needs to be broadened as there are many gaps in the existing system of care. Another mission of AHK is to continuously identify the gaps and create new programs and services to address those needs. One of the gaps AHK identified is the the need for more physicians to be trained in how to care for children who are medically complex. This population continues to grow 5% each year. Physicians and clinical providers must be prepared to serve this segment of pediatrics across the care continuum. Yet, most medical school students and residents have little opportunity to receive this training and education in a community setting. In 2015, AHK launched the Keith Veselik, M.D. Medical Education Program targeted to medical school students, residents, fellows, and community physicians to help build and support the provider community to care for children with complex medical needs.

Another new program initiated by AHK in 2019 is The Coleman Foundation Scholars Program for Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics, Mental Health and Complex Care for Advance Practice Registered Nurses developed to address the shortage of developmental and behavioral pediatric specialists. Parents and providers have reported that families face 9-12-month delays to see a subspecialist in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics (DBP) for evaluation and treatment interventions and the same is true for children and adolescents waiting to see a psychiatrist for mental health services. This new initiative educates APRNs in the subspecialties of Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Mental Health, and Complex Care. With advanced training, APRN’s will be able to assess, manage, co-manage, and make referrals as needed.

Our annual goal is to raise $2 million budget shortfall and to continue to be able to provide respite and transitional care to children with medical complexities. Additional funding is also needed to support new programs and services.

The clinical outreach team works with area hospitals and physician groups to raise awareness of AHK’s services, help them identify appropriate children in need of our services, and educate them on the referral process. We have received many referrals from these hospitals and physicians over the years. AHK has become a trusted resource for referring physicians.

Our community outreach team meets with organizations to increase awareness of AHK and the work we do. Many of our volunteers joined us as a result of these outreach efforts. Community organizations help maintain the house and add to the beautiful backyard at the Naperville site. Pre-pandemic, many volunteers came to the AHK sites to engage with the children in different activities - reading, playing or just being there with them.

AHK created a new position in 2019, Director of Sponsored Programs, to develop, implement and lead AHK's educational programs, including MEP and APRN Scholars, with additional ones in development.

In order to close the funding gap between revenue and operational expenses, AHK actively fundraises throughout the year to close a $2 million shortfall. This helps AHK continue to provide the transitional and respite care, parent training and care coordination plus additional supportive services such as therapies, sleep medicine and nutrition consultation to children with medical complexities and their families. The Development team works with individuals, corporations, family foundations, donor advised funds and other entities to seek donations and grants to sustain AHK and its work.

To help expand AHK beyond that state of Illinois, AHK’s Business Development team meets with interested children’s hospitals across the country. The hospitals have also shared that there are not any care models such as Almost Home Kids in their market. They acknowledge the value what we have to bring to the children they serve.

We have a Medical Advisory Committee comprising of over 30 medical professions from 17 different Illinois medical centers. Committee members share pertinent information about issues they are facing, new policies and procedures they have implemented and other information relevant to this group. Members have learned from each other and many have taken some new ideas back to their organizations.

Currently AHK raises $2 million annually from the private sector via grants, special events, major giving, direct mail and on-line giving. Our philanthropic support comes from 27% individuals, 27% foundations, 4.5% corporations, 29% civic groups, 8% estates, and 4.5% in-kind. Our Board of Directors is committed to fundraising and AHK has two local President's Councils, a Young Associates Board, and several special event committees who work with our development director, marketing director, a development coordinator and a community outreach coordinator to fund raise and build awareness for Almost Home Kids. We have robust media presence that continues to grow.

Our clinical leadership staff and marketing and communications director work continuously to update our collateral material and make sure it is readily available in physician offices, case management/social worker offices and available for parents and caregivers of children with medical complexities. Our presentations are comprehensive and provide all the necessary information to make transitioning children with medical complexities through our program seamless.

Knowing the number of children that require our services (there are over 14,000 children with medical complexities in Illinois) and having served over 2,200 to date we know our services are vital, and that it is essential that more Almost Home Kids are built to cope with the growing need.

Our expansion plans have resulted in opening an Almost Home Kids in Chicago in 2012 and an affiliation agreement with Children's Hospital of Chicago Medical Center in 2013. In 2018, AHK opened a site in Peoria, Illinois owned by and affiliated with OSF HealthCare Children's Hospital of Illinois. We are currently looking to affiliate with other children's hospitals and healthcare systems across the country wherever the need is high.

We have added new services to our care model including music therapy and sleep medicine. AHK also added new educational programs - Medical Education Program (MEP) and the APRN Scholar program. To date, the MEP has had 600 learners participate and the APRN Scholar program is in year 2 of operations.