flodo

Thank you for your responses. They were all very helpful. I just wonder how common it is for nurses to do this procedure in the home. I suspect that home mechanical ventilation is not that common. We currently have 5 patients. One family does the trach change. The primary nurse and I have changed the tube for one pt. I'm not sure what is going on with the others.

I am trying this question a second time from a different perspective. I have been asked to change out the trach tubes for adult ventilator dependent pts. ( new cuffed tubes every month). I am a little uncomfortable doing this in the home with the minimal support available. The RT from the DME company is not authorized to change out the tube. How many of you have changed out trach tubes as part of your home health nursing practice? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated! Signed, A reluctant home health nurse

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Do nurses in your agence change out the entire trach tube in the home?

Thanks, but I am the one trying to write the policy for our agency. I am curious as to what other agencies are doing. Is there another place on this website that I could post this question?

I am a Pulmonary CNS and need more information re: home health nurses changing adult trach tubes in the home. Does anyone have a home health policy for this procedure? I have mixed thoughts about doing this in the home. Most of our home vent patients are sent home with no instructions about how the trach is going to changed, who is going to do it or the frequency. I haven't found any definitive answer in the literature.