May 24, 2013 – At nearly 36 weeks of pregnancy, Christine and Will Knight of Fairbanks, Alaska found out their daughter Kaleigh had a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), which occurs when a baby’s diaphragm doesn’t fully form. In Kaleigh’s case her stomach was above her diaphragm and her heart was pushed over.
After Christine was transported to Portland via air ambulance, Kaleigh was born at Legacy Emanuel and is being treated in the NICU at Randall Children’s Hospital. With family throughout the U.S., the Knights are looking forward to their family members watching Kaleigh real time via the NICVIEW webcam. This new technology may be used by NICU parents and families who are away from their babies while they are being treated in the hospital using any web enabled computer or device, like a smartphone, pad or tablet. NICVIEW is password protected, ensuring security.
The average length of stay for babies in Randall Children’s Hospital’s NICU is three weeks, but some babies are cared for months depending on their condition. Babies treated in the NICU are from Portland, throughout Oregon and as far away as Alaska and California, making this technology wonderful for parents and family members who are unable to be with their baby.
Randall Children’s Hospital NICU facts:
- Number of babies treated in 2012: 534
- Number of babies treated from outside of the Portland metropolitan area in 2012: 40
- Location of baby from the farthest away in 2012: Alaska
- Average length of stay in 2012: 23 days
- Longest length of stay in 2012: 156 days
The NICVIEW was fully funded by the Randall Children’s Hospital Foundation as a result of generous charitable contributions from the community.
The following people are available for interviews:
Will and Christine Knight, parents of Kaleigh. Will is in the U.S. Army and is stationed in Fairbanks. Christine is a registered nurse at an urgent care in Fairbanks. Will and Christine are originally from California.
Dr. Patrick Lewallen, Medical Director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Randall Children’s Hospital
Dr. Fred Baker, Neonatologist
Lora Horn, R.N., Manager, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Sarah Stampflee, R.N., Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, NICVIEW project manager
