Subject:  Eligibility Determinations for Children Placed on High Humidity Nasal Cannula (HHNC) as a Form of Ventilator Support 

Source:  CJ Hubbard, Assistant Director, Compliance 

Intended Audience:  SPOEs, Service Coordinators, Providers, SICC  

Date:  July 30, 2007 

Due to recent changes in neonatal practices, we have revised the First Steps eligibility and referral Q&A to include the additional modalities of Flow Positive Airway Pressure (flowPAP); Sigh Positive Airway Pressure (SiPAP) and/or Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) as acceptable forms of respiratory support when calculating the required 72 hours a very low birth-weight child is on a ventilator.  Like Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) and High Humidity Nasal Cannula (HHNC), the use of flowPAP, SiPAP, and BiPAP during an infant’s NICU stay may be considered as a factor in eligibility for First Steps.   

Click on /divspeced/FirstSteps/QandA.html#Eligibility_and_Referral to view the related Question and Answer that was just added to the First Steps website under “Eligibility and Referral.”