Imagine you were just told that you were having a baby. While news of a new addition to your family is truly exciting news, often that excitement also comes with the fear of the unknown. One concern being, what happens if my baby is born early?
This was a fear for Adam and Jessica when they learned of the new additions to their family. Jessica gave birth to twins at just 34 weeks into her pregnancy, requiring that the babies be admitted into the Betty Jane France Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Halifax Health Medical Center. In the NICU both mom and dad were initially afraid to even touch their babies afraid of disrupting any of the tubes and wires connected to the twins. They were then comforted by the team members in the NICU.
“The nurses are so wonderful and teach you so much,” Adam and Jessica said. After spending 10 and 16 days being treated in the NICU, Lucy and Nora were sent home – all thanks to the care and medical attention received at the Betty Jane France Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Halifax Health Medical Center.
Thankfully, after the twins were born, Adam and Jessica did not have to worry about there being enough room for their babies in the NICU at Halifax Health Medical Center because it had been recently updated, enlarged, and refreshed.
Approximately 1 in every 10 births requires the services of a NICU and when the unit was first constructed it contained only 9-beds. With the few number of beds, the unit was consistently at capacity. A common myth about a NICU is that it is just for premature births but this is not the case. The Betty Jane France Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is also able to treat placental abruptions, prolapsed umbilical cords, and neonatal sepsis. These conditions are only just a few of the reasons why a child may be checked into the facility.
In addition to an increased bed count, the renovation also improved the layout of the unit to provide the staff with a more open and efficient environment to provide the much-needed care they offer. For example, the medication area was moved to a central location. This allows the nursing staff to access the life-saving medications faster from any area within the NICU.
With the improved layout, a new cardiac monitoring and new breast milk refrigerator/freezer were also added. The cardiac monitoring system allows the nurses to monitor all infants within the unit, including the emergency area within the well-newborn nursery. It provides a faster response time which is critical to protecting the lives of their patients. The new refrigerator/freezer allows mothers to pump and provide their infants with their breast milk or “medication” that only they can provide.
The Betty Jane France Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is a legacy left by Founder of The NASCAR Foundation, Betty Jane France, to provide infants with the care they need. She saw a need in Volusia County and provided the resources needed to open the unit. Without it, infants would have to wait to be transferred to either Orlando or Jacksonville, this takes time and puts the infant at risk.
