Helping infants stay warm

Newborn babies who need intensive medical attention are often admitted into a special area of the hospital called the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

The NICU combines advanced technology and trained health care professionals to provide specialized care for the tiniest patients.

CAMC Women and Children's Hospital, home of the highest level NICU available, is in the process of replacing 20-year-old, outdated warmers.

Due to their age, the warmers do not provide the upgraded technology of conductive heat and ambient heat, both of which are essential for maintaining the tiny baby's temperature and preventing insensible water loss and dehydration, an important aspect of care for the neonate.

Because of the age of the current warmers, replacement parts are no longer available.  Our biomedical/clinical engineering department has been taking parts from one warmer to repair other warmers.

Safe, properly functioning infant warmers are vital to the overall outcome of NICU patients. The newer infant warmers are a significant upgrade compared to the outdated beds. The new warmers will provide an improvement in maintaining a warm, quiet and comfortable environment for the sick babies.
An added benefit of the new warmers is that they can be raised up and down, thus preventing possible back injuries for the nurses who care for our babies.

The beds provide focused warmth, even spread of heat, early-warning ThermoMonitoring, a comfortable warm gel mattress, easy-to-spot alarm, ease of use, two levels of light for day and night settings and much more.

The Foundation Board approved a grant request at its April 2009 meeting for the purchase of eight additional infant warmers for NICU.  Total grant approved was $144,000 as a multiyear approval covering the purchase of two warmers by Dec. 31, 2009, three additional warmers to be purchased by June 30, 2010 and three warmers Dec. 31, 2010. 

Each infant warmer bed costs about $18,000.

This project will benefit NICU patients by providing safe, properly functioning infant warmers that are vital to their overall outcome.