Thanks to our amazing community of donors, Niagara Health has purchased ten new cardiorespiratory monitors for our Children’s Health (CHU) and Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU). These devices track the vitals of our tiniest patients.

“As adults, we have a fairly set vitals range,” explains Laura Harsevoort, Manager for the CHU and NICU. “For children and especially babies, however, it changes very much based on their age and circumstances. For example, a premature baby’s vitals are different from those of a full-term baby. So with these new monitors, we can adjust the ranges and alarm limits; it is very customizable.”

Baby Saskia and her two siblings were born prematurely and her vitals are being tracked with one of the new monitors.

The equipment also enables staff to monitor the patients’ vitals directly from the nurses’ station, where they can simultaneously see every patient’s vitals. Especially at times when the units are full, being able to see everyone’s vitals from one central location is incredibly helpful for the staff.

“While adults usually visibly struggle when their vitals change, with children and babies, it may not always be as obvious,” Harsevoort explains. “With premature babies in particular, sometimes babies will look perfectly healthy and peaceful, but every so often, their stats will drop, which is clinically significant, so it is important that we catch those moments right away.”

Our teams at the CHU and NICU are grateful for every person who supports the purchase of this life-saving equipment with their donations. “The donations are so appreciated,” says Harsevoort. As Niagara’s population grows, she adds, so does the need for neonatal and pediatric care. “We really rely on the community to provide the best quality care. The generosity of Niagara Health Foundation donors has enabled us to buy this equipment.”