Research and
Innovation
Children’s Hospital Colorado will
be in the Top 3 for grant funded
Nursing Research
EXEMPLARY PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Creating the Pathway for
Community Partners to Improve
Care for Infants with Cleft Lip
and/or Palate
SHANDRA KIGHT,
BSN, RN, CPN
Level IV, Caritas Coach
Because cleft lip and palate occurs in only about one in every 700 births, most community
providers don’t encounter the condition on a regular basis, if ever. They might not know about
its impact on an infant’s airway, feeding and growth, or how to counsel and direct the family of
newborns with the condition.
But the first weeks of life for babies with this condition are crucial for identifying areas of need
and addressing concerns that require urgent intervention by Children’s Hospital Colorado’s Cleft
Lip and Palate team.
This multidisciplinary team cares for close to 150 infants born with cleft lip and palate every year.
They’re the best team in the region for getting these infants the care they need —but they can’t do
that if community providers don’t know how to serve these patients or where to send them.
DEBRA PAUL, OTR/L
To combat misinformation and lack of consistent education for families, nurses Shandra Kight,
BSN, RN, CPN, Level IV, Caritas Coach, and Debra Paul, OTR/L, created a clinical care
pathway. Developed in collaboration with several clinical experts in the ambulatory and inpatient
settings, these guidelines assist providers in making decisions for infants with cleft lip and palate,
including triage, clinical assessment and interventions or treatment.
This pathway, titled Cleft Palate: Triage and Treatment Process for the Infant, serves as a guide for
hospital and community providers to offer consistent education for families and make sure they
get the care they need.
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