For Families
Caring for Your Child Without Doing It Alone
When a medically fragile child comes home, the whole family carries the work. GAPP in home nursing can share that load so you can rest, work and simply be a parent again.
Enrolled GAPP Provider
College Park, Georgia
0-21
Ages GAPP covers
What Changes
What GAPP Can Give Your Family Day to Day
The Georgia Pediatric Program (GAPP) is a Georgia Medicaid program, administered by the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH), that provides in home skilled nursing and personal care support for medically fragile children ages 0-21. For parents, the real value shows up in ordinary days and nights.
Nights You Can Sleep
An overnight nurse can watch monitors, manage suctioning or feeds and respond to alarms, so you are not the one waking every hour.
Real Respite
Scheduled nursing shifts give you planned breaks to rest, run errands or see your own doctor while a trained professional stays with your child.
Room to Keep Working
Daytime coverage can make it possible to hold a job or return to one, instead of choosing between income and your child’s care.
Time With Siblings
Brothers and sisters get more of you: school events, homework help and quiet moments that often get lost in a medical routine.
Skilled Tasks in Trained Hands
Licensed RNs and LPNs handle trach care, ventilator checks, G tube feeds, medications and seizure monitoring as ordered by your child’s physician.
Coordination Off Your Plate
Our team handles scheduling, nurse staffing and paperwork with the state, so you spend less time on the phone and more time at home.
An Example
What a Typical Week Can Look Like
This is a generic illustration, not a real family. Every child’s plan is built around physician orders and the hours the state approves, so your week will look different.
Weeknights
A nurse arrives in the evening and covers the overnight hours. Parents sleep, and the nurse shares notes on how the night went at handoff.
Weekday Mornings
The nurse helps with morning medications, feeds and getting ready. Depending on the plan, care can often continue at school or daycare.
Afternoons
A parent is home after work. Personal care support, such as bathing, mobility help or supervision, may be part of the plan when ordered.
Weekends
A respite shift gives parents a few hours for siblings, groceries or rest, with your child in familiar surroundings.
You Stay in Charge
How Parents Stay in Control
Having a nurse in your home should never feel like losing your place as the parent. You know your child best, and the care plan should reflect that.
01
You take part in choosing and matching your nurse, and you can ask for a different nurse at any time.
02
Shift times are planned around your family’s routine, including overnight and respite shifts.
03
You can ask for an update to your child’s hours when needs change, and the state reviews hours periodically.
04
You choose your GAPP provider and may switch agencies if the fit is not right.
Support
It Is Okay to Need Help
Many parents of medically complex children feel exhausted, isolated, or guilty about wanting a break. Those feelings are common and they do not mean you are failing. Accepting support is part of giving your child steady, safe care over the long run.
If you are struggling with sleep, stress or low mood, please talk to your own doctor too. Your health matters to your child. In an emergency, call 911.
Wondering If Your Child Might Qualify?
Eligibility depends on medical necessity documented by your child’s physician, and the child must be Medicaid eligible, directly or through the Katie Beckett pathway. Approved hours come at no out of pocket cost when approved by Georgia Medicaid. See the official GAPP policy manual from Georgia Medicaid.
Common Questions
Questions Families Ask Us
Will a nurse be in my home every day?
That depends on the hours the state approves for your child. Some families have nightly coverage, others have shorter shifts on set days. We build the schedule with you inside the approved hours.
Do I have to be home while the nurse is working?
It depends on your child’s plan of care. Many families use nursing hours to work, sleep or care for siblings. We go over what your child’s plan requires with you before care starts.
What if my child and the nurse do not connect?
Tell us. We will work with you to find a better match, and you never have to keep a nurse who is not the right fit.
We have private insurance. Can we still apply?
Yes. Children with private insurance can still apply, and Medicaid can act as secondary coverage.
How long does it take to start care?
First call and intake happen in the first week, and paperwork and physician orders follow over roughly the next two weeks. The state’s review usually takes up to about 30 days after a complete packet, and most families start care about 30 to 60 days after the first call. We cannot promise a date. See how the GAPP process works.
What should I have ready before we talk?
It helps to have your child’s Medicaid information if you have it, the name of your child’s physician, and a short list of the care tasks you handle each day and night. If you do not have everything yet, that is fine. We help you gather physician orders and records as part of intake.
Who decides what my child's nurse does?
Your child’s physician orders the skilled care, and the nurse follows that plan of care. If something about your child’s health changes, talk to your child’s doctor so the orders can be updated.
How do I reach your office?
Call 404-905-8332 Monday to Friday 7am to 7pm, or Saturday and Sunday 11am to 5pm. Our web form offers 24/7 online support.
Get Started Today
Let's Talk About Your Family's Needs
Find out if GAPP could bring skilled nursing support into your home.