Trauma Case Study: Valley Children's Hospital

The patient was discharged on 03/21/17 from the rehabilitation unit at Valley Children’s Hospital. It was instructed that the patient continue to use Neosporin ointment three times a day for the next thirty days for her abrasions. Furthermore, the mother was notified to return to the hospital or contact J.M.’s physician if she became febrile with a temperature of 101.0 ̊ F or more. In addition, she also was instructed to report vomiting and any sudden changes in mental status. Other signs and symptoms that J.M.’s mother was instructed to immediately report included persistent headaches that were unrelieved with acetaminophen, blood coming out from ears or nose, the onset of seizures, sudden changes in vision, slurred speech, loss of sensation,
Her follow-up appointments were scheduled with her primary care physician, neurosurgery, rehab, and neuropsychology. In addition to her discharge instructions, J.M.’s mother was provided education regarding head injuries in children. She was educated on safety and prevention of future head injuries, causes of head injuries, and what to do if another head injury were to occur. To assist J.M.’s mother in retaining the information she was provided with a print-out from Valley Children’s Care Notes regarding how to care for children with head injuries. Lastly, J.M.’s mother was encouraged to reach out to the Pediatric Brain Injury Foundation if needed. The mission of this non-profit foundation is to provide knowledge and support to families of children with brain injuries and advocate for those children (CITE). This foundation also has support groups that are available for those parents in need of support from other families that are going through the same struggles. J.M.’s mom was provided with their contact phone number which is, [phone]. She was also provided with their websites which are, pedsbif.org, and