Results show how personalized and integrated pediatric value-based care delivers more Safe Days at Home for children with special health care needs

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Pediatric emergency departments nationwide are overwhelmed, and 14.5 million children with special health care needs continue to face fragmented care. New results from Imagine Pediatrics, one of the largest pediatric medical groups delivering 24/7 virtual and in-home care for children with special health care needs, point to a different path forward.

In less than three years, Imagine Pediatrics has helped deliver more than 8,350 Safe Days at Home — days when children with special health care needs are clinically stable and caregivers feel confident managing care. The organization has also prevented more than 5,000 unnecessary emergency department and urgent care visits, with 80% of those children requiring no additional acute care in the following month. These results are examined in a new white paper announced today, Personalization in Pediatric Value-Based Care: A Path to More Safe Days at Home, demonstrating why personalization and continuity are essential to improving outcomes, experience, and access for this population.

Children with special health care needs represent a vulnerable and highly heterogeneous population with a wide range of medical, behavioral, and social needs. While pediatric value-based care is increasingly recognized as a path to better outcomes, the white paper argues that its full promise will only be realized when care models are purpose-built around the lived realities of children and families, rather than episodic systems that are not designed to support children's evolving, longitudinal needs.

Drawing on real-world experience delivering pediatric value-based care, the white paper explores where traditional models fall short and what truly personalized care looks like in practice. It highlights the importance of empaneled, multidisciplinary teams delivering both acute and longitudinal care, while working in close partnership with families, existing providers, and community resources.

Personalization Requires Continuity and Partnership
"Children with special health care needs don't experience care in isolated moments; they live with it every day," said George Boghos, CEO of Imagine Pediatrics. "Imagine Pediatrics is proving pediatric value-based care works when it is truly personalized and continuous, and built around the child and the family. We're demonstrating that when care teams know families, stay engaged over time, and can respond proactively across medical, behavioral, and social needs, we see more Safe Days at Home and greater confidence for caregivers."

Personalization in pediatric care goes beyond customization. It requires a deep understanding of each child's medical needs, developmental stage, home environment, caregiver capacity, and access to resources — all of which can change over time. Every child presents a unique constellation of needs, and every family brings its own strengths and challenges that call for a personalized response. When caregivers are treated as partners and care teams remain consistently involved, children are less likely to experience preventable crises and will have greater stability at home.

Technology serves as the infrastructure that supports continuous, family-centered care, keeping the focus on children and caregivers while working in the background to support care delivery. When designed around the needs of families and clinicians, technology reduces fragmentation, simplifies communication, and turns data into actionable insights that guide proactive, timely next steps.

Real-World Impact
The white paper also highlights results from delivering personalized, continuous pediatric value-based care at scale:

• For children: Greater stability at home and fewer preventable emergencies. More than 5,000 emergency and urgent care visits have been avoided through timely interventions, and 80 percent of those children required no additional acute care in the following month.
• For caregivers: Reduced burden navigating fragmented systems and greater confidence in managing care. Families report high satisfaction, reflected in a Net Promoter Score above 86, far exceeding the industry average of 20 to 60.

Defining "Safe Days at Home"
Safe Days at Home is a family-centered benchmark that reflects what success truly looks like for children with special health care needs. A safe day at home is a day when a child is clinically stable, engaged, and supported — and when caregivers feel confident and supported managing care, with a low risk of crisis. Safe Days at Home centers on the family's lived experience. It reflects quality, continuity, and trust in care, offering a more meaningful way to evaluate pediatric value-based care across outcomes, experience, and cost.

The white paper concludes with a call to action for providers, health plans, and policymakers to align care delivery, payment models, and quality measures around personalization, continuity, and access — ensuring pediatric value-based care is designed to meet the needs of children with special health care needs and their families.

The full white paper is available to read here.

About Imagine Pediatrics
Imagine Pediatrics is a tech-enabled pediatric medical group that delivers 24/7 virtual and in-home care to children and youth with special health care needs through value-based care arrangements. Its multidisciplinary care teams provide integrated medical, behavioral, and social care designed to expand access to personalized pediatric care for children with special health care needs. The result is fewer hospital stays, more safe days at home, better outcomes and experience for families. Learn more at www.imaginepediatrics.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. 

Media Contact: 
Supreme Communications on behalf of Imagine Pediatrics 
imaginepediatricsPR@supremecomms.ai

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SOURCE Imagine Pediatrics