Receive individual care at the University Children’s Hospital in Austria
For parents with tube fed children, the University Children’s Hospital Graz (Austria) offers you possibility to wean your child during a 3-week intensive tube weaning program at the Clinic. It is offered either as an Inpatient or an Outpatient treatment and is run by the interdisciplinary medical team at the University Children's Hospital Graz, Austria. You and your child participate in daily play picnics and receive specialized individual care throughout the program, while senior medical doctors supervise the weaning process. Over the past 20 years, more than 1’600 children have been weaned successfully through this interdisciplinary program. The success rate is 80% for the last three years, the other patients improved their oral skills and could be weaned partially.
How does the In-/Outpatient program work?
You can register your child online on our platform and fill out a medical questionnaire. Based on this questionnaire, the NoTube team together with you will decide, whether the In-/Outpatient treatment or Netcoaching is advisable. Should the In/-Outpatient treatment be chosen, you will participate in daily play picnics and receive specialized individual care 24/7 (Speech pathology, swimming lessons, occupational therapy) throughout the program at the Medical Hospital Graz.
Senior medical doctors will conduct visits and assess your child’s progress twice a day. Based on these visits, further steps will be agreed on together with you, which will make it possible to wean your child off its feeding tube in only 3 weeks time.
Difference between In-/Outpatient
During the day all children receive the same amount of therapeutic sessions, whether In- or Outpatient. The difference between the In- and Outpatient program is the special care after business hours (3pm - 8am). Inpatients stay at the hospital and therefore receive 24/7 care by the medical staff, while Outpatients stay on their own outside the hospitals premises.
Key benefits of the In-/Outpatient program for you
- We will arrange all necessary appointments for you (speech pathologist, swim therapy etc.) and guide you through the tube weaning process.
- Our most senior medical experts (Marguerite Dunitz-Scheer, MD or Peter Scheer, MD) will be seeing you twice a day during the intensive phase of the tube weaning process
- 24/7 medical support from medical doctors and nursing staff
- Specialists can perform a wide range of medical examinations, helping your child unleash its full potential
- Through our expertise we can treat almost any age or severity of feeding disorder. Our patients age ranges from birth to adolescence – their developmental status from age appropriate to severely handicapped.
Step-by-step guide to receiving the In-/Outpatient treatment
Over the past 20 years, we have constantly refined the process of coming to Graz, making it the easiest it ever was. Parents can just follow the steps below:
- In order to come to Graz, we will need your personal information. You can easily provide us with this information by registering on our online platform here.
- Once you have registered and paid the required assessment fee (see costs for further explanation), we will conduct an assessment of your child’s suitability for our tube weaning program in Graz or for netCoaching. Note: This is a standard procedure in order to reduce the risk of a non-successful weaning at the University Children’s Hospital in Graz.
- After the assessment, we will advise you on whether netCoaching or the program in Graz is more suitable for your child’s specific needs.
- If it is necessary for you to come to Graz, you can re-login to your personal area on our online platform and find out more about the details of the treatment program and your stay in Graz.
- Once you have arrived in Graz, our experienced medical staff will welcome you and your child.
Costs
For detailed information on the costs involved please visit costs.
Further Information
A compiled list of further information on In-/Outpatients can be found here.
