Parents of premature babies born with complex health challenges can take heart that one of the region’s finest neonatal intensive care units is right here in the heart of Tulsa.

The Mary K. Chapman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at St. John Medical Center is a 34-bed, Level III unit that provides a high level of critical care for our tiniest patients. The care team also provides support and education for each baby’s parents. On average, 550 babies are admitted to the NICU each year. With the average length of stay being eight to nine days, some patients require many months of care. Most come directly from the hospital’s labor and delivery unit, but the hospital’s neonatal transport team often consults and brings in patients from Ascension St. John’s regional hospitals in Owasso, Broken Arrow and Bartlesville, as well as other, more rural hospitals as far away as McAlester, Grove, Stillwater, Ponca City, and Tahlequah.

Most infants in the NICU require either Level II or III care. Level II is for babies born 32 weeks or later who are physically underdeveloped and require breathing and feeding support. Level III is for preemies born before 32 weeks with critical illnesses that require sustained life support. No matter what level of care is required, each infant receives the personalized, around-the-clock attention and expertise they need—and so do their parents and other family members.

“Our smallest and most vulnerable patients require close monitoring surrounded by a calm, developmentally appropriate environment designed to ensure the best outcomes,” says Melissa

Rogers, BSN, RNC-NIC, nurse manager of the Mary K. Chapman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. . “We foster a family-centered care environment that encourages families to participate in their baby’s care and routines while in the NICU.”

The NICU team consists of a highly trained, diverse group of medical professionals that includes board-certified neonatologists, neonatal nurses and nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, lactation specialists, physical therapists, social workers and more—all working in tandem to provide the best individualized care possible.

Leading the team is Craig Anderson, D.O., Medical Director of Neonatology at Ascension St. John. Dr. Anderson says some of the most common conditions his patients face are consequences of extreme prematurity and its complications, congenital birth disorders, and intrauterine drug exposure. Anemia, feeding problems, low blood sugar, pneumonia, hyper- and hypothyroidism, and respiratory distress syndrome are among the conditions that the NICU team frequently sees and treats with great success.

And now, thanks to funds raised through generous donors and funding through the Ascension St. John Foundation, the NICU has installed the new, state-of-the-art cardiac monitoring system.

Dramatically (and quietly) improving NICU proficiency.

The new monitoring system is designed to give the care team the most accurate and timely data it needs to help our most vulnerable patients survive and thrive. CARESCAPE ONE provides sophisticated, continuous monitoring from labor and delivery to the NICU and other care areas—a single, seamless monitoring system that supports critical decision-making and future-focused care.

“These new monitors allow much more accurate and precise cardiopulmonary monitoring,” says Dr. Anderson, who has led the Ascension St. John NICU team since March 2013. “They can go on transport with the neonate without any loss of data, and the data is stored in central monitoring for three days post-discharge. Another tremendous benefit of this system is its volume control, which is very important in a NICU setting.”

When a typical cardiac monitor alarm goes off, the sound can be disturbing—not only to the baby being monitored but also to other babies in the unit, as well as the family members present. But these new advanced monitors are equipped with a safety system for alarm response, so alarms go straight to the attending nurses’ phones and are immediately projected—quietly—on the system’s three display screens.

“In a neonate, subtle changes in vital signs can mean the beginning of something significant,” says Rogers. “Having this new equipment to ensure accuracy with continuous monitoring of real-time data is extremely beneficial in helping our team make quick decisions for the best outcomes. This technology provides an invaluable level of safety to prevent delays in treatment.”

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For more information or to make a gift to support the Mary K. Chapman Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Ascension St. John Medical Center visit our donation page.