First Case in Nagano: Long-Hour Home Care Realized for a Child Requiring Medical Care. Nationwide Track Record of Long-Hour Care for Severely Disabled Children Under 18 Surges to 63 Cases

U-Style Laboratory Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Nakano-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Ken Ohata), a provider of care for individuals with severe disabilities and intractable diseases, is pleased to announce that it has commenced the "long-hour provision of home care" for a child requiring medical care for the first time in Nagano Prefecture. Including "mobility support" (community life support business), this is the first case in the prefecture to support a family's entire day.

It is estimated that there are over 20,000 children nationwide, known as "medical care children," who require daily medical support such as ventilators, gastrostomy tubes, and sputum suctioning, with approximately 600 of these children residing in Nagano Prefecture. Children requiring medical care often need 24/365 care, such as sputum suctioning every 15 minutes and monitoring of medical devices. As a result, many parents face chronic challenges such as "caregiving burden," "lack of sleep at night," "burden on healthy siblings," "difficulty in continuing employment," and the institutional "18-year-old wall."

Severe visiting care services, which allow for observation care of 8 hours or more, cannot be utilized by severely disabled children under the age of 18 due to systemic regulations. Therefore, the primary disability welfare services available to children requiring medical care are short-term welfare services like standard home care or visiting nursing.

However, in response to the significant burden placed on families of children requiring medical care, our company has been promoting the provision of "long-hour care" regardless of age since 2017. As of May 2026, our track record of providing long-hour care (6 hours or more) to severely disabled children under 18 has reached a total of 63 cases nationwide. The number of cases has been surging rapidly across the country in recent years, indicating a high need for long-hour support among families of children requiring medical care.

The illnesses of our users vary widely. The high need for long-hour support among families of children requiring medical care nationwide is evident.

Background: The "Sibling" Challenge Faced by Families of Children Requiring Medical Care

S-san, a 9-year-old girl who began receiving support from the U-Style Care Nagano Severe Visiting Care Office in April 2026, suffers from Alexander disease, a progressive and rare condition. She requires "medical care" such as nasogastric tube feeding and sputum suctioning, in addition to dealing with involuntary muscle movements, dysphagia, motor impairment, and communication difficulties. Her father's work involves night shifts, making it difficult for him to participate in childcare during the day. While the mother managed the care alone, S-san's younger brother entered elementary school this spring. The brother was looking forward to joining the basketball club upon starting school, but the mother faced a dilemma: she could neither leave S-san home alone nor take her along to drop off and pick up the brother or attend weekend games. The mother's distress grew deeper by the day, as she felt, "I want to treat both my children fairly. I don't want either of them to have to endure hardships."

Features of This Support: "Hybrid Use" of Home Care and Mobility Support

Initially, the consultation was about getting accustomed to the service early on so the mother could receive support with peace of mind in case she fell ill. However, through interviews conducted by the consultation support specialist and our company, the aforementioned challenges and needs came to light. To address these concerns, we combined "long-hour use of home care" and "mobility support" services available to 9-year-old S-san, establishing a long-hour support system that allows the family to go out safely.

Long-hour at-home support through "Home Care"

Saturdays 10:00 - 14:00 17:00 - 18:00

Outing accompaniment through "Mobility Support" (Community Life Support Business)

Saturdays 14:00 - 17:00

By initially providing support from 10:00 to 18:00 one day a week, including mobility support, the mother is now able to cheer on her son's club activities up close, and S-san is able to spend time outside the house with her family.

Comment from the Mother

Until now, I had to play with my son while physically supporting my daughter. But with the U-Style staff supporting my daughter physically, the three of us—my son, my daughter, and I—can now play together. Additionally, because the staff pushes the wheelchair, I am able to walk alongside my son and hold his hand. We are now able to do things we couldn't do before.

Comment from Yamato Komatsu, Service Manager, U-Style Care Severe Visiting Care

S-san tells us that the time she spends doing origami and taking walks with our staff is "fun." We want to continue standing closely by S-san and her brother through our support, ensuring they can grow up with peace of mind while receiving plenty of love from their family. In regional cities, there have been many cases where long-hour use of home care for children requiring medical care was not approved due to a lack of precedent. However, this time, thanks to the flexible response of the municipality and the enthusiasm of the consultation support specialist, we were able to realize the "ordinary family time" that the family had desperately desired.