Over the past decade as medical technology and chronic care have
improved it has become commonplace for children's hospitals to
discharge children on some form of assisted home ventilation. In
1991 the staff of the Penn State Children's Hospital followed few
patients at home on ventilators. Today the chronic ventilator
service follows over 70 children ranging in age from 6 months to 18
years. Currently the Pennsylvania State Home Ventilator program, a
state agency, lists approximately 200 children at home on
ventilators. Many of these children are intellectually intact and
attend head start programs and regular schools.
There are many camps for children with disabilities (asthma,
cancer, heart disease, diabetes and muscular dystrophy) but, only a
few are for ventilator dependent children. In part this is
due to the critical mass of ventilator children in any geographic
area but, also due to the need for intensive and comprehensive care
to be available to each ventilator dependent camper 24 hours per
day. The needs of ventilator dependent children for supportive care
and wheelchair access not only limit the recreational activities but
define the campsite as well. Thus other camp programs would be
unable to tailor their activities and facilities to fit the needs of
the ventilator dependent camper much less to provide the staff
necessary for 24 hour per day care.
In 1993 under the leadership of Pam Smith a respiratory therapist
at Health South and a small group of professionals, the Pennsylvania
Vent Camp was founded. The camp has now successfully completed
thirteen
sessions. Each year the camp has served an increased number of
children from 14 in 1994 to 30 in 2007. Campers have come from many
states. The qualifications for vent camp include an intellectual
status which permits profiting from the camp experience, a medical
care plan which can be implemented in the camp setting as well as
ventilator dependence.
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