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If you’re in any waiting room, hallway
or common area at Tri-City Medical
Center and you hear the first strains
of Brahms’ “Lullaby,” you know
something special has just happened:
another baby was born at Tri-City.
Every new arrival is announced
with the ringing of nursery chimes.
That’s because babies—and their
families—are celebrated.
“The birth of a baby should be a
happy experience,” said Sharon Davies,
director of Women’s and Children’s
Services at the medical center. “And we
have a community at Tri-City dedicated
to making sure women and their
families have an excellent experience.”
The Highest Level of Care
Most babies come into this world
healthy and on time. Some, however,
arrive early or require complex
medical treatment—the kind available
at Tri-City, which has a Level IIIB
neonatal intensive care unit (NICU),
the highest level in North County.
That means the staff of the unit
routinely cares for very premature
and sick newborns. Neonatologists—
doctors who specialize in the care of
critically ill newborns—are in-house
and available around the clock.
One of the many advantages to
having a Level IIIBNICU at Tri-City is that
at-risk newborns can receive lifesaving
care immediately upon birth—without
having to be moved. That includes
babies born by emergency cesarean
section. A neonatologist is in the
operating room for every emergency
c-section performed in case the baby
needs immediate help.
“Having a Level IIIB allows very sick
babies to stay in the hospital where they
were born, without being transferred,”
Davies said. “That makes it easier for
parents to stay close and visit often.”
“The average length of stay for
babies in our NICU is between 11 and
12 days,” said Nancy Myers, RNC-NIC,
who is the NICU manager. “The NICU
is able to keep families together
through one of the most critical times
of their life—the birth of a sick or
premature baby.”
And thanks to the Tri-City Hospital
Foundation, the medical center will
soon have a new technology available
called NICView, which will help
families stay as connected as possible
to their little ones. NICView gives
parents with a newborn in intensive
care the opportunity to check on their
baby at any time through a password-
protected webcam system.
“Our parents are not able to stay
with their baby in the NICU 24 hours a
day,” Myers said. “What better way to
help mom and dad know their baby is
doing OK in the NICU than to be able
to check in visually any time they want?
“To help protect the babies’ fragile
immune systems, young siblings are
not able to visit their new brother or
sister [in the NICU],” Myers added.
“NICView provides that exciting
opportunity for them to see the baby
and watch him or her grow.”
A GREAT PLACE TO
WELCOME BABIES
Tri-City Childbirth Center
6
Healthy You
|
Fall 2012