June 26, 2013 - Staff and medical providers at Tuality Healthcare have a new tool to turn to when a newborn infant is in crisis. Legacy Tele-Baby Resuscitation is a Skype-like high definition telemedicine robot that allows Tuality staff to communicate with expert neonatal nurse practitioners at Legacy Health’s Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel in Portland.
If a baby is having an emergency, Tuality doctors and nurses may use the robot to connect with neonatal nurse practitioners in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Randall Children’s Hospital to confer on the baby’s best treatment options.
“It’s an exciting time when we can team with pediatric experts at Randall Children’s Hospital and use technology to help save lives,” said Joan Townsend, Tuality’s director of women’s services. “We’re delighted with this partnership because it will mean better services and better outcomes for our patients.”
Tuality staff members are currently undergoing training on how to use the new robot. The start date for the program is scheduled for Wednesday, June 26.
Here’s how Legacy Tele-Baby Resuscitation works: if a newborn in Tuality’s Birth Center is anticipated to need resuscitation, or shows signs of distress after birth, nurses and doctors will be in contact with a neonatal nurse practitioner at Randall Children’s Hospital within seconds via the robot. It allows both sets of practitioners to determine the diagnosis and condition of a newborn in real time. The caregivers, based on the newborn’s color, breathing and other conditions, then make an informed decision on the baby’s care and whether he/she needs to be transported to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
“These are literally life-saving moments. They are critical times at a family birth center,” said Lauren Rose, M.D., medical director of Newborn Nurseries at Randall Children’s Hospital.
The robot is a state of the art remote presence device with a video camera that tilts and zooms, microphone, and liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. Two way video conferencing allows both sites to collaborate on the newborn’s care.
Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Portland has successfully used Legacy Tele-Baby Resuscitation 25 times since May 2012.
About Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel
Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel is one of Oregon’s largest providers of pediatric inpatient and trauma services and opened its new home in February 2012. Randall Children's Hospital has a medical staff of more than 600 physicians, including pediatric medical and surgical specialists, sub-specialists, hospitalists and community pediatricians. Randall Children's Hospital receives nearly 100,000 patient visits per year. The Children's Emergency Department is Oregon's busiest, with more than 21,000 visits in 2012.
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Maegan Vidal, MPA | Public Relations Specialist | Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel
2801 N. Gantenbein Avenue | Portland, OR 97227 | [email protected]
phone (503) 276-9127 | cell phone (503) 680-7008
