Parents with children at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit will be able to check up on their small wonders from the comfort of their home — or wherever they have Internet connection.
Thanks to the hospital's brand new NICView camera system, parents can feel close to their premature babies and see them getting care and attention in real-time.
New mother Jennifer King, whose son Archer was born three months premature and has stayed at the hospital since May 13, will be returning to work soon with the peace of mind that she can continue to monitor her baby's progress while she is away from the hospital.
"I had a birth plan, but I didn't plan on having my baby early and in the NICU," King said in a Facebook post on the hospital's page. "Getting to see him while trying to pump my breast milk makes me feel more connected with him and it is hugely comforting to know I can see him whenever I want."
Cameras mounted close to the patients' hospital beds give parents a wide-angle camera view of their child, with each parent receiving a unique username and password that allows them to log into a secure website to see images of their infant. Users can access the streaming video through any device that is connected to the Internet, such as a phone or an iPad.
The hospital has purchased 53 cameras and 47 of them are currently in use, according to Michele Atkins-Young, the hospital's director of children's Services.
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Nurses and hospital staff can also write notes on the system, including how much weight a baby has gained or a reminder for a mother to pump more breast milk.
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Atkins-Young said she is glad mothers can now look at a video of their baby and know they are pumping milk for their child.
"It's a good thing that we can provide this to our families," Atkins-Young said.
She adds the cameras are a good way to communicate and partner up with parents during the patient care process.
PVHMC was able to purchase the cameras entirely through philanthropy, including a $100,000 donation from an annual wine tasting event benefitting the hospital.
