Want to improve your babies’ outcomes? Here are five key success factors for a small baby NICU
Here are some tips for achieving a more neuroprotective environment even if you don’t have the budget for a brand new NICU!
By Sandra Carroll, OTR, CLC, C-ELBW, CNT, Clinical Advisor, National Association of Neonatal Therapists® (NANT)
Hospitals across the U.S. have been establishing small baby units (SBU) separate from their main neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to care for infants younger than 28 weeks’ gestation and weighing less than 1,250 grams.
These special spaces have been carefully designed based on clinical evidence, and staffed by a dedicated, multidisciplinary teams of clinicians with expertise in all aspects of extremely low birth weight (ELBW) babies’ physical and neurological care, development and growth.
While most hospitals don’t have the funds to build a brand new unit, there are ways to create a designated SBU that addresses the specific needs of your smallest, youngest and most fragile patients.
Here are five success factors for a SBU on a budget:
- Define a space: If your NICU was built many years ago, you likely struggle with space constraints. Consider a “unit within a unit” approach to your small baby NICU where the SBU is housed within your overall NICU. Avoid placing the babies in high traffic areas, such as entry and exit doors, because they need a quiet, calm, and low-light environment that you can control.
- Establish a team: Select a team of clinicians who want to dedicate themselves to the care of ELBW babies. Provide them with specialized training in caring for the smallest, most fragile preterm And because we are learning more every day about preemie development, be sure they are committed to ongoing education.
- Standardize practice: Task your SBU team with reviewing literature relevant to their practice area and coming back to the group with the specific guidelines for the babies in their care based on credible, clinical evidence. The Engage, Grow, Thrive Small Baby Care Specialist programis a great place to start.
- Select supporting equipment: Pre-term babies thrive in an environment where sound is below 45 decibels with low, cycled light. When caring for ELBW babies within a larger NICU setting, it can be extremely challenging to provide this level of neuro-supportive care. A hybrid incubator can be used to create an individual environment for each baby in the SBU, with controlled heat and humidity and an integrated sound and light monitoring system that aligns with recommended NICU guidelines and best practices.
- Engage with families: Kangaroo Care, where the baby has frequent skin-to-skin contact with his or her mother or another caregiver, has been shown to significantly improve outcomes both short- and long-term. The key to the success of family-centered care is educating parents and other family members on the important role they play in their baby’s development. Help them understand how they are vital members of their baby’s care team and how their touch, voices, and closeness to the baby are as valuable as any medical intervention
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The material presented in this blog represents the opinion of the author(s) and not necessarily the views of Synova Associates. Synova Associates does not endorse any specific products or organizations but strives to connect its industry partners with leaders interested in product/educational innovation.
