Rooming-In
A 24-hour stay to practice caring for your child
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It’s important to have a “home trial” at the hospital before taking your child home so you are better prepared.
What is rooming-in?
Before you go home you will have the opportunity to “room-in” with your child. This means spending about 24 hours in the hospital as the primary person responsible for the care of your child. This “home trial” is a time to practice taking care of your child’s needs as if you were at home without any nurses.
Now is the time to ask questions
Your nurses and respiratory therapists will answer any questions and help you if you have problems. In fact, this is the perfect time to ask questions as you get ready to take your child home.
Schedule a full day and overnight to room-in
Rooming in will happen after you’ve completed all of your education. You can choose the date and time to room in. If there are two or more caregivers who have been taught how to provide your child’s care, talk to your care team to find out if each caregiver should room in separately or at the same time. Please think about what arrangements you will need to make to care for other children or pets at home while you’re rooming in. It is probably best not to choose the night before your child is discharged to room in, so you can be more rested the day your child goes home.
Expect to check alarms, even at bedtime
You may not get the best sleep the night you room-in. Caregivers will be expected to wake up for all scheduled tasks and answer all alarms. If you do not wake up when equipment alarms go off, the nurse will wake you up so you can attend to them. This is a great opportunity to find out if you hear the alarms or sleep through them. Please bring a non-electric alarm clock and set it for your scheduled tasks. Set your final wake-up time at 7 a.m. so you are ready to provide care by 8 a.m. Or, ask your nurse to wake you up. Our hope is that you will have some sleep during this rooming-in process but still be able to respond to alarms.
Your care list of things to do
Please talk to your nurses at the start of each shift so that it is clear what you will be doing and what they will be doing. Here is a list of things you will be expected to do while rooming-in:
- Give all scheduled medicines.
- Provide routine child care such as diaper changes, bathing, dressing, etc.
- Take your child and their essential equipment out of the hospital room for a short walk.
- Reposition oximeter probe every 4 hours.
- Maintain the feeding plan for your child.
- Respond to alarms at all times. Troubleshoot, respond, and resolve ventilator and all other alarms at all times, even through your sleeping time.
For children with a tracheostomy and ventilator:
- Suction the trach tube every 6 hours and as needed.
- Care for trach stoma and change trach ties (with trained partner or staff).
- Clear your child’s airways at scheduled times and as needed using cough assist, CPT, etc.
- Check ventilator and chart every 4 hours.
For children with a new cancer diagnosis:
- Check temperatures.
To Learn More
- If you have questions, please contact a member of your care team.
- seattlechildrens.org/patient-education
Free Interpreter Services
- In the hospital, ask your nurse.
- From outside the hospital, call the toll-free Family Interpreting Line, 1-866-583-1527. Tell the interpreter the name or extension you need.
