WEDI Podcast: More Safe Days at Home – Closing the Care Gaps for Medically Complex Children

Dr. Patricia Hayes, Chief Medical Officer of Imagine Pediatrics, joins the WEDI Podcast with host Michael McNutt to unpack what it really takes to close pediatric care deserts for the 14.5 million children in the U.S. with special health care needs. The conversation challenges the standard, map-based definition of a care desert, showing how families can live minutes from a pediatric provider and still have no one to call when a child’s condition turns at 5pm on a Friday. Dr. Hayes discusses why telehealth, remote monitoring, and workforce growth each help but fall short alone, how interoperable data and an always-available multidisciplinary care team change the moment a crisis starts, and how shifting from fee-for-service to value-based care improves outcomes for children with special health care needs.