A little help goes a long way annual campaign Neonatal Intensive Care Unit friendsfoundation.ca PlAyINg A CrItICAl role APPeNDIX A for BABIes At rIsk. Births and Admissions to Neonatal ICU For parents and families, the miracle of birth is a Fiscal Year Total Births Neonates Admitted % Admitted to treasured experience filled with the excitement and to Neonatal ICU Neonatal ICU anticipation of seeing their baby for the first time. For some, this can also be a time of great worry 2005-06 1,161 650 56 and stress when the newborn needs specialized 2006-07 1,128 640 57 care because they arrive prematurely with a medical 2007-08 1,209 659 55 complication. 2008-09 1,238 698 56 Tiny and frail, often with underdeveloped organs, 2009-10 1,359 570 42 difficulty breathing and taking nutrition, the premature baby must continue to develop outside the womb. Their growth and development will depend on the What is NNICU? skills of doctors and nurses in the Neonatal Intensive the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit provides Care Unit (NNICU). It also depends on having the specialized care for premature and other special needs infants which means that state-of-the-art tools to ensure our premies survival. premature or sick newborns have a much better chance to survive and thrive. The NNICU at The Moncton Hospital (TMH) is a “We deal with some very ill babies. It is tertiary care service and is one of only three in the extremely gratifying to be able to provide province; Fredericton and Saint John are home to the other the proper care and nurture these tiny, fragile human beings. there is nothing two. The birthrate, which has fallen over the last twenty better than to see a baby thrive and the joy years, is now seeing an increase and close to half of the of the parents when their child gets through babies born in our hospital are admitted to NNICU for some very trying times.” specialized care. Brenda Houser, RN NNIC Nurse Manager “ the Moncton Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is one of 23 hospitals across the country that constitute the Canadian Each baby is important and deserves the best care pos- Neonatal Network which works to improve sible. Some babies stay just a few days while others may research and care in neonatal need intensive care for several weeks. We have some of the intensive care units.” finest specially trained neonatal medical professionals in the Dr. Rody Canning Region. In fact, 2 of the 5 Neonatologists in New Brunswick Neonatologist Chief of Pediatrics are at TMH; Dr. Rody Canning and Dr. Marc Blayney. That The Moncton Hospital being said, our current NNICU is in need of an upgrade to replace aging equipment, as some pieces are over 24 years old and are becoming obsolete. Current technology is During the fiscal year 2009/10, TMH welcomed over required so that our premature or sick newborns have a 1,369 babies representing a 14.5% increase in deliveries in much better chance to survive and thrive. the last 5 years. (SEE APPENDIX A) This increasing birthrate trend is reflected across the country after many years of decline. Of those 1,369 deliveries, 570 were admitted to NNICU requiring varying levels of specialized care. 1 To address this challenge, the Friends of The Moncton “the Women and Children’s Health team is proud of the service provided to the Hospital Foundation has set a $700,000 fundraising goal women and their families who select the to purchase updated equipment required in a NNICU, Moncton Hospital to celebrate the birth allowing staff to provide optimal care for neonates. The of their newborn. We strive to offer the best care, state of the art technology Moncton Hospital is a birthing place of choice for families and supportive environment. However, in our region and beyond. NNICU receives referrals from some of the equipment in the NNICU is becoming outdated and needs to other regions of the province as well as babies from be replaced. the health professionals Northern Nova Scotia, PEI and Quebec. (SEE APPENDIX B) delivering the care to our mothers and Some hospitals in New Brunswick cannot provide care for babies would support such a campaign and be totally energized to continue babies under 30 weeks, therefore TMH NNICU is critical providing the best care for mothers for all New Brunswickers and surrounding areas both inside and babies in our community.” and outside the province. Claire LeBlanc Director, Women and Children’s Health The NNICU is designed to meet every care requirement for Horizon Health Network, Moncton Zone premature and sick babies. TMH believes that exemplary clinical and compassionate care in the right environment is critical to an infant’s growth and development. The APPeNDIX B traumatic impact on new parents, who see their precious Place of residence for Babies born at baby struggle for life, and their feelings of utter powerlessness the Moncton Hospital fiscal year 2009/2010 in the situation, must not be underestimated. HEALTH REG 1 - Moncton Area 1,202 79.1% HEALTH REG 2 - Saint John Area 57 7.6% We NeeD yoUr INsPIrAtIoNAl gIft to HelP Us sAve oUr tINIest AND HEALTH REG 3 - Fredericton Area 2 0.3% Most frAgIle patIeNts. HEALTH REG 4 - Edmundston Area 2 0.3% Mission HEALTH REG 5 - Campbellton Area 7 0.9% The mission of the women’s and children’s health program is HEALTH REG 6 - Bathurst Area 7 0.9% to provide and promote excellence in family-centred care women and children. HEALTH REG 7 - Miramichi Area 15 2.0% NOVA SCOTIA 59 7.8% vision To be the leaders and experts in the delivery of care and P.E.I. 2 0.3% services to women, children and their families. OTHER CANADA 6 0.8% annual campaign Neonatal Intensive Care Unit friendsfoundation.ca oUr BABIes AND tHeIr fAMIlIes accessibility - several people can work on a baby sIMPly Deserve Better. at one time - which is often necessary for the most look at what we will be buying for our neonates. critically ill babies. Babies need to be in a warm and comfortable environment Isolettes to support their development. “We can’t have babies getting (formally known as incubators) cold, as cold can be damaging and makes the babies more An isolette keeps the baby warm with unstable,” says Dr. Canning. A radiant warmer means our moistened air in a clean environment, babies don’t have to be covered which helps when staff and helps to protect the baby from assess the baby. The warmers can also be set to maintain noise. These are small beds the baby’s temperature at a steady rate. Other features enclosed by clear, hard plastic. include a built-in scale that can chart weight trends and a The temperature of the isolette is rotating mattress, so the baby doesn’t have to be moved. controlled and closely monitored because premature infants frequently have difficulty maintaining their body temperature. retCam Holes in the isolettes allow access to the infants so the nurses We will be the first in the province and doctors can examine the infants and parents can touch to have a RetCam; a digital imaging their babies. This equipment provides premature babies the system capable of capturing ophthalmic best fighting chance for a healthy life by helping to prevent images from the smallest premature developmental delay or developmental disabilities which infant to young children. It is a digital could require years of costly therapy, intervention, and camera for imaging the retina of infants medical care. The isolettes are in dire need of replacement that is used by health professionals to obtain photos that can as the technology is changing. In fact, the isolettes be transferred to a network, allowing viewing and analysis presently available in the Neonatal ICU have different by ophthalmologists who specialize in the screening and years of purchase from 1986 to 2001. treatment of Retinopathy of Prematurity which is a leading cause of childhood blindness. It is critical that there be as little noise and light as “retinopathy of prematurity is an possible for our neonates as this is key in the development abnormal growth of the blood vessels of normal brain activity. The new tech equipment is quiet in an infant’s eye and is a potentially devastating disease that necessitates and dimly lit to simulate the womb as closely as possible frequent, intensive screening of premies. ...and this is what we must be able to offer our sick babies. About seven percent of very small premature babies develop retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), and the resulting “Premature babies need a great deal of damage may range from needing glasses special care to survive. Because they lack to blindness. experts know what causes the body fat necessary to maintain their ROP, but oxygen levels (either too low or body temperature, even when swaddled too high) are only one of the contributing with blankets, isolettes and radiant factors. Premature babies receive eye warmers are necessary to keep these exams in the NNICU to check for this babies warm.” condition. this would be a huge boon for the department and for the province as Dr. Rody Canning Neonatologist we will be the first to have one.” Chief of Pediatrics The Moncton Hospital Dr. Rody Canning Neonatologist Chief of Pediatrics The Moncton Hospital radiant Warmers NNICU requires new radiant warmers that are used when babies The digital capability also enables remote image transfer, require any medical procedures to so that the clinician no longer needs to be in the same be done and are designed to keep room or even the same country, as the patient.