Parents Can Now View Their Infants in the Level II Special Care Nursery at Any Time, Thanks to Live Streaming.
Expectant parents long for the moment when they can hold and speak to their newborn child. But what happens when the new baby requires an extended stay in the hospital, and the mother is discharged before her newborn can be? Or a partner must go on travel for work, or is deployed to military duty halfway across the world? What about other family members who can’t wait to see the new arrival?
The Special Care Nursery at Clara Maass Medical Center (CMMC) has answers for those questions. With the newly installed AngelEye camera system, family members can connect via an app to live-streamed video of the newborn, 24/7/365, reports Morris Cohen, MD, Director of Neonatology at CMMC. Loved ones can see a full-frame view of the baby at his or her station, right on their smartphones or mobile devices.
“This technology is a very significant addition,” says Dr. Cohen. “Any time a baby is sick and admitted to a special care or a neonatal intensive care unit, it’s a very unexpected experience for the family, and one that can last anywhere from a few days to a couple of weeks, sometimes longer. There can be a real feeling of separation for parents when they can’t be there.” The ability to view the baby helps relieve stress, research shows.
Beyond viewing, parents can speak to the baby by way of an optional one-way audio feed. “You can even sing to your baby if you want, which is something we encourage,” says Dr. Cohen.
AngelEye can also be used for communication between parents and health care providers, and as a way to access educational videos and information. Instructions for the app are available in more than 100 languages.
Why AngelEye?
The investment in the AngelEye system fit with CMMC’s commitment to support patients and their families and loved ones, Dr. Cohen says. “We focus a lot on what is called family-centered care, where the goal is to have the parents participate as a member of the health care team, to the extent that we are actually inviting the parents to join us on rounds,” he says.
Live streaming in the Special Care Nursery helps cement those connections and involve parents and loved ones in the early development process at a deeper level. “It’s exciting to see new parents access the application to see their baby on camera for the first time,” says Xavier Alvarez, MBA, CPXP, Director of Patient Experience at CMMC. “Their smiles are confirmation that we have created an extraordinary opportunity for new parents: the ability to stay connected and engaged with their new baby—at all times.”
To learn more about maternity services at Clara Maass Medical Center, go to rwjbh.org/claramaass or call 888.724.7123.