Announcing Hunterdon Medical Center’s Newest Arrivals: Expanded Special Care and Well-Baby Nurseries

Pictured  – Perry Foster, RN takes care of Zachary David Visconti of Clinton in Hunterdon Medical Center’s special care nursery.

Published November 23, 2009

Hunterdon Medical Center has expanded its Special Care Nursery to provide expert care for babies who are born up to eight weeks premature or with a medical problem, such as an infection or a respiratory condition.  The special care nursery has expanded from a four-bed to a six-bed space with an increase of nearly 40% per square feet per baby.  Capacity for the special care nursery has increased by 50%. The renovated unit continues to have a neonatologist or pediatric hospitalist available in the hospital at all times.

What’s best, all but the most fragile newborn babies can stay in the same hospital as their mothers. Without this high level of care, infants who are ill would have to be transported to a tertiary care facility more than an hour away. “Sick babies aren’t always able to be with their parents’ right after birth, but the new special care nursery makes it possible for them to spend as much time as possible with their parents,” explained Ardath Youngblood, RN, MN, Perinatal Nurse Educator at Hunterdon Medical Center.  If the mom is discharged, Hunterdon Medical Center offers a courtesy room and meal plan while visiting their baby whenever census allows.

The Special Care Nursery has:
- Six intensive care infant beds equipped with state-of-the-art monitoring technology and white noise machines that emit nature sounds to help soothe the infants. 
- 24/7 Neonatology/Pediatric coverage under the direction of Sutharsanam Veerappan, M.D., Medical Director of the Hunterdon Neonatal and Pediatric Medicine, board certified in neonatology and pediatrics. 
- Picture Archiving Communication System which provides digital imaging so that physicians can view images immediately.

This expansion also means that our well-baby nursery is more spacious. “The well-baby nursery is fully equipped, warm and friendly with plenty of outside light and big picture windows. Evening lighting includes a technology which allows for subtly colorful backlighting to promote infant rest periods.  Parents can look into the Nursery to see their babies sleeping peacefully or receiving professional nursing care,” stated Jeanne Whaley, RN, Director, Maternity and Newborn Care Center.   Mothers have the option to let nurses care for their babies in the nursery while they shower or might otherwise need to have their full attention diverted for some reason.

In addition, Hunterdon Medical Center has added a new layer of security in the Maternity and Newborn Care Center and Pediatric Unit to help ensure the safety of its youngest patients. The hospital recently installed the Hugs® infant protection system to safeguard its infants and children from the threat of abduction.

“Infant protection systems provide an effective deterrent against the abduction of infants,” stated Elizabeth Murtha, RN, BSN, Director of Safety & Security at Hunterdon Medical Center. “The Hugs system has been configured to operate in a number of ways that readily support our existing security systems and our fire detective systems.”

Each infant wears a comfortable and unobtrusive Hugs tag attached by the means of a soft tamper-proof strap around his or her ankle.  The computer console displays floor plans of the facility showing tag locations with monitored areas and doors indicated.   The system can be made to activate other devices such as cameras, door locks, public address systems, pagers, sirens, elevators, or other alarms.

"In the event of an attempted abduction, the Hugs system immediately informs security and nursing staff precisely where the alarm has occurred," says Ms. Murtha.  "This information is vital in ensuring a quick response during an abduction attempt."

The system provides printed reports of all the activity of the Hugs tag.  These reports provide evidence about the abduction effort.  Each infant is uniquely identified within all reports.  Once activated, the only way to remove a bracelet without generating an alarm is with authorized procedures.

Hunterdon Medical Center is dedicated to the safety and security of all patients, especially newborns.  To learn more about the Maternity and Newborn Care Center call 908-788-6667.

Maternity and Newborn Care Center at Hunterdon Medical Center:
- Experienced medical staff
- 20 private LDRP (Labor Delivery Recovery and Post Partum Care) Rooms, which include a pull out bed for dads.
- Two operating rooms
- Outpatient testing area
- Whirl pool for labor comfort
- Well-Baby and Special Care Nursery
- Room Service meal delivery
- Daily lactation support
- Massage services available by appointment
- Choices in pain control
- Many nurses have received multi-disciplinary training and hold advanced certifications.  The Maternity and Newborn Care Center has been recognized by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement and the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses for their efforts in improving patient safety.

Pictured – Crystal Aungst of Whitehouse Station spends time with her baby, Jordyn Aungst, in the special care nursery at Hunterdon Medical Center.  Jordyn was born at 34 weeks and needed to spend some extra time in the hospital so his lungs could develop.  Jordyn was one of the first babies to be cared for in the renovated special care nursery at Hunterdon Medical Center.