The Culture of Different MKTG_150064494_2018 Service Line Big Book Full_FIN | Page 52

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The Culture of Different
N E O N AT O L O G Y
NICU Tele-Discharge Now
Available for PCPs
For medically complex neonates being discharged
from the NICU, the transition of care from
neonatologist to primary care provider (PCP) is
integral to maintaining appropriate medical therapy.
In 2015, Children’s Colorado neonatologist Jeanne
Zenge, MD, led the launch of a tele-discharge
program using a secure video chat software for
smartphones, tablets and computers.
Now, when the Children’s Colorado NICU discharges
a baby with a medically complex condition, a
multidisciplinary team can interface with the PCP.
Caring for Families with
Difficult Diagnoses
With donor support, nurses in the NICU have
created a palliative care room with a queen-size
bed, artwork, a privacy screen and furniture. It
offers families a home-like setting so they can
bond with their baby for as long as they need.
“It’s a more personal way for pediatricians to
ask questions to neonatologists and other
subspecialists,” Dr. Zenge said. “It’s our way to
supply the pediatrician with as much information
as needed to provide the best medical home
environment.”
Different from hospice, palliative care offers an
emotional, spiritual and psychological support
team reserved for families with difficult diagnoses,
but patients are not necessarily terminally ill.
The goal is to help families find peace during a time
of crisis, which could mean talking them through
difficult decisions or helping them make memories
with their baby.
“ We have some
very extraordinary
teams here and
specialists that can
treat just about any
condition.”
THERESA GROVER, MD
Medical Director, Neonatal Intensive Care
Jeanne Zenge, MD, interfaces with a pediatrician as a patient
and his parents prepare for his discharge.
Cesarean Section with ECMO Standby for Severe CDH
Mothers of infants with severe CDH who have a survival rate of less than 20 percent will no longer undergo an EXIT to ECMO
procedure. Instead, a cesarean section is scheduled with ECMO available in the delivery room for infants that cannot be
stabilized by conventional means.
This takes place in the Maternal-Fetal Care Unit where experts stabilize infants on ECMO prior to transfer to the NICU. With
this approach, survival has improved from less than 20 percent to 80 percent for this subset of infants with severe CDH.
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