The grant funded a portable fetal monitor for Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital
The device helps keep tabs on the health of pregnant patients who are in the emergency department or ICU
Medical emergencies during pregnancy represent a huge challenge for rural care providers. But thanks to Kosair for Kids, Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital now has an improved toolkit for those challenges.
This year's grant funded a new portable fetal monitor. It's a device that checks the vitals of pregnant patients, including fetal heart rate, in a non-invasive way. Doctors use them to tell if fetal distress is occurring, among other things. This makes them critical during medical emergencies. Although the hospital already had several, they belonged to the OB unit. Checking them out for use elsewhere caused frustrating delays, especially during emergencies.
The new fetal monitor is for exclusive use in the emergency department and ICU. This goes a long way to eliminating delays. Now, when a pregnant patient arrives at the hospital due to medical emergency, care providers can assess the fetus right away. For example, the emergency department recently admitted a pregnant patient having a seizure. Because the fetal monitor was on hand, staff monitored the baby as they stabilized mom. This is just one way the device can help keep both patients safe.
We want to express our gratitude to Kosair for Kids for selecting Mercy Health - Lourdes Hospital.
