The New York City Health and Hospitals
Corporation (HHC) today unveiled the first of 11 neonatal intensive
care units (NICU) that will be specially designed to mimic the
nurturing environment of the mother’s womb, reduce the stress of the
NICU experience and help the immediate and long term health of
premature babies.
"We want to improve the quality of care and health outcomes of the
littlest New Yorkers by dramatically reducing stressful external
stimulation and nurturing them as if they never left their mother’s
womb prematurely," said HHC President Alan D. Aviles. "Loud noises and
bright lights interrupt babies' sleep patterns and interfere with the
healing and developmental process that occurs during their sleep. We
know that premature babies who receive developmental care which
eliminates external stimuli can feed on their own quicker, go home
sooner and ultimately have better short and long-term outcomes than
babies who don't."
HHC’s Queens Hospital Center NICU has been retrofitted with high
tech incubators and monitoring devices to control excessive light,
noise and room temperatures, which have been proven to impact a
preemie’s ability to wean from oxygen support, reach desirable weight
and be discharged from the hospital sooner. In addition to eliminating
harmful external stimuli in the NICU’s, HHC’s new $3 million
Developmental Care Initiative also:
- adopts the consistent use of swaddling the babies in a womb position;
- uses modern multi-function beds that convert from radiant warmers
to incubators with the touch of a button to eliminate the stress of
moving fragile preemies;
- encourages breastfeeding and skin–to–skin bonding between the baby and their parent known as kangaroo care;
- clusters all the clinical care activities around the baby;
- develops care and intervention plans tailored to each baby;
- offers training and education to new parents.
"The number of at-risk pregnancies continues to climb, especially
pregnancies affected by obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. All
of these factors increase the risk of preterm birth. The NICU redesign
ensures that Queens Hospital and HHC’s other neonatal intensive care
units are the best facilities for at-risk mothers-to-be and their
infants in New York City," said Dr. Ivan Hand, Director of Neonatology,
Queens Hospital Center.
HHC’s 11 hospitals treat a disproportionate number of the City’s
high-risk pregnancies and delivered more than 23,000 babies in 2007.
Last year nearly 24% or 5523 babies were born prematurely or critically
ill, and required treatment in the NICU’s. According to the March of
Dimes, prematurity and low birth weight is the leading cause of
neonatal death within the first month of life among babies born in the
United States.
"Implementing developmental and family-centered care as a best
practice in the public hospitals will have enormous measurable impact
in the areas of public health and maternal child healthcare including
long and short term outcomes, length of stay, parental bonding and
coping, staff satisfaction and hospital costs," said Dr. Randi
Wasserman, Developmental Care Initiative Principal
Investigator/Co-director, Bellevue Hospital Center Regional Perinatal
Center. "Our program is unique and innovative and will serve as a model
for other NICU’s across the city, state and country."
Studies published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association, attribute unnecessary external stimuli with poor health
outcomes in premature infants. Once fully implemented system-wide in
2009, every HHC NICU will be equipped with state-of-the-art clinical
monitoring equipment, bedside computers and sound monitors that flash
warnings to staff when the noise level exceeds the established limit of
45 decibels – ensuring the preemies are able to get the quiet rest they
need.
"The Developmental Care training provided by the nursing staff
allows new parents and caregivers to quickly become comfortable and
confident in handling the baby. Since the babies’ hospital stays are
shorter, developmental care unites families faster and is
cost-effective," said Leah Smith, RN, AED, Women’s Health Services.
All HHC hospitals are designated by the State Department of Health
as Perinatal Centers, with two - Jacobi Medical Center and Bellevue
Hospital Center - designated as Regional Perinatal Centers that treat
the most critically ill babies. The babies are cared for by highly
qualified NICU nurses, board certified neonatologists and certified
neonatal nurse practitioners. Additional team members include
developmental specialists, lactation consultants, registered
dieticians, occupational/physical therapists and social workers who
create a nurturing environment for premature babies and their families.
"Childbirth should be one of life’s most joyful moments but for many
mothers who deliver preterm it’s a time of worry and sorrow," said
Antonio D. Martin, Executive Director, Queens Hospital Center. "Our
effort to reduce premature birth starts at the first prenatal visit.
Mothers with high-risk pregnancies or those with preemies can rest
assured that their infants are cared for in new modern settings, by
staff trained in medicine’s best practices - ultimately ensuring a
better health outcome for their child."
HHC's Developmental Care Initiative has also been funded by the New
York State Health Department, and the Ambrose Monell Foundation through
the HHC Foundation. The Developmental Care NICU upgrades are scheduled
to be completed by the end of 2009.
The New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the
largest municipal hospital and health care system in the country, is a
$5.4 billion public benefit corporation that serves 1.3 million New
Yorkers and nearly 400,000 who are uninsured. HHC provides medical,
mental health and substance abuse services through its 11 acute care
hospitals, four skilled nursing facilities, six large diagnostic and
treatment centers and more than 80 community based clinics.
