Sunshine Pediatric Prescribed Extended Care Center opens in Tyler

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - For the first time in Tyler, parents of children with complex medical needs find relief with a new care facility -- only one of two in East Texas and of six in the state.

KLTV 7′s Willie Downs learns how Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care Centers are making life easier for families.

“This is an exciting new program to the city of Tyler and its immediate surrounding areas,” says CEO of Sunshine Pediatric Day Center PPECC in Tyler, David Maymon. “It’s exciting for the kids; it’s going to be a tremendous resource for the parents and for the guardians of these kids.”

According to Texas Health and Human Services, Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care Centers -- PPECC’s -- allow minors from birth through age twenty who have medically complex conditions to receive daily medical care in a non-residential setting.

Maymon says it’s for kids that need skilled nursing during the day. He says kids come into the clinic with nasogastric tubes, seizures, on oxygen, trachs, vents, and other medical conditions.

“One of the things that has been a major push here in Tyler, much to their credit, is they’re trying to create an ecosystem of healthcare specialists right here where these kids don’t have to go out of town to get the care that they need,” says Maymon. “That’s also what the PPECC is going to do.”

Maymon says PPECC’s are relatively new to Texas, passed by the 2015 legislative session.

“They were brought here because of the need to create an environment for these kids, a place for these kids to come, and before that, really you ask the question, where are these kids at today,” asks Maymon. “Well, these kids are at home, for the most part, and they are in and out of facilities or in and out of hospitals.”

He says this is a place where the kids will be able to come in the morning and get all of their skilled nursing, all their physical, speech, occupational and feeding therapies as well as education all in one place and then go back home in the afternoon.

Sunshine Pediatric Day Center is holding its open house on Wednesday from noon to 7:00 pm for those interested in learning more about PPECC’s.

Copyright 2022 KLTV. All rights reserved.