Dakota Home Care helps babies with medical needs come home

BISMARCK, N.D. ( KXNET ) — There’s a need for at home care in North Dakota. Especially when it comes to at home pediatrics.

“She’s definitely a fighter,” said Casey Rupp, Bismarck mother.

“She’s stubborn. That’s for sure,” said Colton Rupp, Bismarck father.

Riley Rupp was born on March 28th, 2024, with a vocal cord dysfunction. This is where the vocal cords close and cut off airway. Riley then had to get a tracheostomy tube.

“We knew it was going to be a little bit of a road ahead of us as far as finding nurses to take care of her. How long she’s going to have this trach kind of things like that; how to take care of a kid with a trach,” said Colton Rupp.

Dakota Home Care offers a variety of services like at home care for those on hospice, help with dementia patients, and they also offer services like at home care to babies just like Riley.

“We always want to get the right caregiver with the right family, and then we do some extensive training with them,” said Amber Cook, a Nurse Supervisor & Pediatric Nurse Case Manager with Dakota Home Care in Bismarck.

After 7 weeks in the hospital, Riley and her family were able to go home with the help of Dakota Home Care, and that’s when Kirstie Fueller came into their life.

“Because of her diagnoses, she needs suctioning, possible oxygen, and she could have difficulty with feeding. So, a part of my job is to supplement feeds, if necessary, with her G-tube, and take care of that site, and listen to her lung sounds and make sure she’s doing okay,” said Kirstie Fueller, an RN with Dakota Home Care.

Fueller also cleans out her tracheostomy tube to make it clear and useable since that’s Riley’s only way to get air. However, Fueller’s connection to Riley is more than just making sure she’s healthy.

“That’s been a good thing the connection to the people who have helped us come home. I think is my biggest thing,” said Casey Rupp.

“Even seeing Riley’s connection too… She’ll just light up. She’s stand-offish to family she hasn’t met yet, but she sees the nurses and she beams almost like she’s seeing us,” said Colton.

The Rupp’s say that it was a difficult transition, but Fueller and the other nurses are now like family to them.

“All in all, it’s been a much better process than we thought it would be,” said Colton Rupp. “It took me a long time to come around to just having people around us and not have us taking care of your baby by yourself, but really it’s been a lot better than I thought,” said Casey Rupp.

“Strangers that essentially become like family and friends,” agreed Colton.

Fueller said she enjoys seeing families get to go home, and seeing them thrive.

“To watch parents, gain confidence in doing the skills as we teach them. To watch them do something for the first time and the pride that they take in being able to take care of their baby for themselves. That has really been what brought me here is to get to teach them this special thing and it’s quite a special bond. Not only does a parent get to take care of their child, but they also get all the medical needs they need as well,” said Fueller.

However, there are many more families like Riley’s that are still in need for nurses like Kirstie.

“Seeing the NICU full of patients that potentially need to come home, but we just don’t have the nursing services, it was heartbreaking,” said Cook.

If you would like to learn how you can apply for a job with Dakota Home Care or learn more about their services, head to their website .

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