July 17, 2023
Cruz Hopper receives care in the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), the first regional site in Alberta to include neonatal nurse practitioners, who keep the healthcare team and families connected. It also offers neonatal echocardiograms, a vital service for patients who might otherwise have to be transferred. Photo by Shelley Knight-Davies.
Story by Gayleen Froese | Photo by Shelley Knight-Davies
RED DEER — Bringing baby home from hospital is a big moment in a new parent’s life. Some newborns, however, need extra care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) — and parents have to commute to spend time with them.
In these situations, parents truly appreciate having a NICU close to home, while their children are safer and more comfortable when they can receive most or all of their care without having to travel.
For both of these reasons, the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre (RDRHC) is always working to add more capabilities to keep babies safe, warm and close to home.
The RDRHC NICU is the first regional site in Alberta to include neonatal nurse practitioners (NNPs), who keep the healthcare team and families connected. The site also offers neonatal echocardiograms, a vital service for patients who might otherwise have to be transferred. Receiving timely information from these tests helps to rule out cardiac defects and develop effective patient-care plans.
Since 2020, with the support of NNPs, RDRHC has been able to insert, and manage, peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) lines in its NICU, which reduces painful needle jabs and avoids transfers for their fragile young patients.
“We want to keep families together,” says Kristy Lilburn, a neonatal nurse practitioner in the RDRHC NICU.
“We’re guided by the principles of Family Integrated Care and we encourage parents to take an active role with their babies from the start. It promotes bonding and gives parents the skills and confidence they’ll need for when their babies are ready to go home.”
Team members say they’re proud of the work they’ve done to increase capacity — and the difference it’s made for families. With the range of skills and services available in Red Deer, it’s easier for parents to be present and participate in the NICU, which helps to build family bonds each and every day.
Neonatal Intensive Care Manager Amie Mays adds: “This NICU supports a large area — and building the skills of our team to support our community is important.”
