When babies need to stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), parents wish they could keep an eye on their little ones, which is now possible at Franciscan Health Crown Point. Thanks to generous donors, Franciscan Health Crown Point has installed the AngelEye Health Live Streaming Camera System in the NICU.
With a fair number of patients coming from outside hospitals to the NICU at Franciscan Health Crown Point, getting to see their babies can be a challenge for parents. When parents live far away from the NICU, as many do, transportation is often an issue. This is especially true for mothers who have recently undergone C-sections and are temporarily unable to drive.
Through AngelEye Cameras, parents and family members can check in on their babies at any time of day or night. After parents sign a consent form to join the AngelEye Program, the NICU nursing staff creates an AngelEye account for them so they can sign in and view a secure live stream of their baby at https://fhcp.angeleyecameras.com.
Once parents have signed up for the AngelEye Program, they can add more family members. Director of the Family Birth Center and NICU Carrie Renschen shared that one set of parents that recently joined the AngelEye Program added 10 family members from all over the country so they could log in and check on how the baby was doing.
Creating this network to keep an eye on their little ones brings peace of mind to both parents and family members.
“In the first weeks of having this, parents expressed how much it gave them a sense of relief to be able to peek in at their baby. If they're getting up to use the restroom, they can take a quick peek, know that the baby's doing okay, and go back to bed,” Renschen said. “We had a mother who was transferred to an outside hospital because of her health condition. She couldn't visit her baby in those first weeks and so this was crucial to her and was the only way she was able to see her baby other than through text messages from family.”
Being able to see their babies also helps mothers stimulate the hormones they need to increase milk supply when they are pumping.
While the Angel Eye Cameras do not currently have audio, parents get to “hear” from their babies through the NICU staff that gives them regular updates on how the baby is doing.
“The NICU staff can send messages to the parents where they'll talk again as if they're the baby,” Renschen said. “They'll say, ‘Hi, Mommy and Daddy. I gained 30 grams today. I'm getting so big.’ or ‘Hi, Mom and Dad. I took my whole bottle at my last feeding.’ The staff will send uplifting and positive messages to the parents. I'm sure it puts a smile on the parents’ faces when they see these cute little messages coming from their baby.”
If parents have concerns or questions about what their are seeing on the live stream of their babies, they can call to check in with the NICU staff. However, since the implementation of the AngelEye Health Live Streaming Camera System, the NICU has received fewer phone calls. Being able to see how their babies are doing decreases the need for parents to call and ask how their babies are doing.
For more information about Franciscan Health or the AngelEye Health Live Streaming Camera System, visit https://www.franciscanhealth.org/.
