Life-saving tech for KGH

Photo: Contributed

Baby Cole Britton was born with a life-threatening heart condition.

Thanks to the generosity of the Mr. and Mrs. P.A. Woodward’s Foundation, Kelowna General Hospital will acquire four brand new cardio respiratory monitors to support the hospitals new neonatal intensive care units’ (NICU) most vulnerable little patients. 
 
In March 2016, KGH opened an expanded perinatal and neonatal intensive care unit to support the needs of a rapidly growing regional population.  Over the past 20 years, the number of pre-term births has also continued to grow.  The expanded NICU at KGH represents a giant leap forward for healthcare in the Southern Interior, providing the most advanced neonatal care unit outside the Lower Mainland.
 
The Woodward’s Foundation grant, totalling over $68,480, will add to the KGH neonatal care team’s capacity to monitor the smallest and sickest babies.  With a total of seven monitors already funded, the Woodward’s Foundation gift of four new devices allows for each crib in the newly expanded NICU to have a dedicated monitor.
 
Each year, over 1,600 babies are born at Kelowna General Hospital.  When complications arise, state-of-the-art medical equipment and neonatal care become the miracle that can save a baby’s life. 
 
“The neonatal cardiac respiratory monitors are an integral piece of technology for us,” says Bonnie Wilkie, a Nurse Educator in the NICU.  “They allow us to have a constant view of the infant’s vital signs including heartbeat and breathing.  When a baby is in distress, the device alarm activates and alerts us immediately so that we can rapidly respond.  These monitors save lives.” 

The Kelowna General Hospital Foundation is an independent, volunteer-driven charitable organization committed to enhancing the delivery of healthcare to the patients of Kelowna General Hospital and its associated facilities.