MercyOne adds state-of-the-art life-saving technology thanks to a grant from Variety - the Children's Charity

The MercyOne Waterloo Foundation received a special holiday gift in the form of a generous grant from the Variety - the Children's Charity to help improve care in the MercyOne Waterloo Birth Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

The $6,169.00 grant helped fund the purchase of the NeoView Video Intubation System for the NICU. The state-of-the-art NeoView enables video laryngoscopy for tracheal intubation in the most fragile patients. The device can be used for infants weighing less than one kg.

 

Most premature infants require intubation with a breathing tube because of their immature lungs. The NeoView provides real-time video of the infant’s airway. MercyOne Waterloo Birth Center is the only Level III NICU in the area, stabilizing and transferring infants 24-27 weeks gestation to a higher level of care, and can admit at 28 weeks gestation and above. 

“The visualization allows for quicker and more accurate intubations than the traditional intubation process without a camera,” said Erica LeClair, MD, neonatologist at MercyOne.

The NeoView also enables non-invasive surfactant administration. Surfactant is a compound that prevents the alveoli (tiny air sacs in the lungs) from collapsing and sticking together during exhalation. 

“The NeoView allows the physician to deliver the surfactant to the lungs without inserting a breathing tube. The process would be less invasive and decrease the risks associated with intubating infants,” added Dr. LeClair. 

The new technology is a welcome addition to MercyOne, according to Kymm Ehler, MSN, RN, MercyOne director of maternal-child services.

“The addition of the NeoView will significantly impact the birth center's daily operations. With over 950 births each year at MercyOne Waterloo, the new video intubation system will affect more than 20 percent of all births on average admitted to the NICU with lung issues,” said Ehler.

“We are grateful to Variety – The Children’s Charity for its continued support and commitment to serving our community’s most vulnerable,” said Joe Surma, MercyOne Waterloo Foundation chief development officer.

For more information about the MercyOne Waterloo Foundation and its initiatives, please visit www.mercyone.org/waterloo/foundation.