A unique care facility in Lafayette County is helping families with medically complex children by offering skilled nursing care, therapy services, and educational support in a safe and structured environment.

Opened in 2023, Lafayette Pediatric Extended Care is licensed by the Mississippi Department of Health as a skilled nursing facility. It provides weekday care for children from birth to age 21 who require ongoing medical support but are stable enough to leave home.

“We are a PPEC, which stands for prescribed pediatric extended care,” said owner Maureen Gallagher. “We provide skilled nursing care Monday through Friday for children who are medically fragile.”

Gallagher, whose background is in early childhood education, said she was inspired to open the Oxford location by a neighbor who had previously worked in a similar facility in Florida. In addition to the Lafayette County center, Gallagher operates two other PPECs in DeSoto County and in the Delta.

Many of the patients at the facility have conditions such as cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, feeding tubes, tracheostomies and complications from premature birth.

“And then the infinite possibilities of different chromosomal disorders,” Gallagher added.

The care center serves 26 patients and operates from 7:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, with many children staying all day. The facility includes two therapy rooms, a sensory room, a gym for gross motor skill development, and an outdoor playground, which was donated by the Junior Auxiliary last year.

Administrator Amanda Bilbo said the facility works closely with Northwest Mississippi Outpatient Therapy Services, bringing in speech, occupational, and physical therapists to provide services on-site.

“This is great, because parents don’t have to run around trying to get to yet another appointment,” Bilbo said. “The therapists love it because they have all the equipment here. They’re not trying to haul it around.”

The staff includes nurses trained in pediatric advanced life support, a required nurse-to-patient ratio, and nursing assistants who are trained to respond to emergency situations, including seizures.

“We have a crash cart. We have all the meds in case we need it,” said Caillon Edwards, director of nursing. “A lot of our nursing assistants are trained to recognize seizures and know what to do.”

Services require a doctor’s order and are Medicaid-funded. Enrollment is limited to patients with qualifying medical, not behavioral needs, such as autism; however, some patients may be diagnosed with autism along with having a medical need.

LPEC also maintains partnerships with Oxford and Lafayette County schools, allowing older children to split their days between school and the care center. Some students also receive homebound education on-site.

“Once school starts, they’ll go half-day to school, and then they’ll come here in the afternoon,” Bilbo said. “Some parents will pick up at 5:30 so that way they can get their therapies, and mom and dad aren’t having to take off work.”

Inside the building, children are divided by age and care needs, each room with its own schedule.

“Typically in the mornings, family members or caregivers drop their child off, and we start getting vital signs,” Edwards said. “When speech therapists come in, they start collecting the kids and taking them to therapy. We’ll put them in different modes of equipment, depending on their need.”

The structured care allows parents to work, pursue education, or simply rest. 

“Some parents have other family members to take care of, or they may just need respite,” Gallagher said. “A parent needs to take care of themselves in order to take care of these children.”

For Bilbo, the work is also deeply personal. 

“I have a son who had medical needs when he was younger, including a feeding tube. I didn’t have a place like this when he was younger, and it would have been so helpful,” she said. “So this is really meaningful for me to work here.”

Lafayette Pediatric Extended Care is located at 2891 South Lamar Boulevard. For more information or to inquire about enrollment, call 662-371-0750.