"The new technology is amazing,” Adler says. “For new parents, it alleviates fears and provides additional support knowing their baby is OK.”
Upgraded Technology Allows Parents to Better Monitor Babies in Intensive Care
Parents of triplets can literally have their hands full, as Eileen and Donald Sutera-Coder of Forked River can attest. On March 28, they welcomed their daughters Peyton, Madison and Brynlee into the world.
Born eight weeks early, the babies were cared for in the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Monmouth Medical Center (MMC). “Being parents of three babies in the NICU is an emotional and physical challenge,” says Eileen.
One challenge was getting to the NICU—and keeping tabs on progress when visiting wasn’t possible. While tending to her daughters in the NICU during April, Eileen explained the couple’s dilemma: “We visit every day for three to four hours, but [Donald] is working and I can’t drive yet,” she said. “So we are limited in how often we can be here.”
Fortunately, an interactive technology called Angel Eye gave them peace of mind at times when they were unable to be by the babies’ sides during a nearly one month stay in the NICU.
‘Amazing’ Features
The internet-based camera system allows parents and families to see their baby (or babies) in the NICU via live video streaming.
A bedside camera provides a view of the baby 24 hours a day when a user logs into a secure account from a laptop, tablet or smartphone. The system promotes bonding between parents and their premature babies, who sometimes must stay in the hospital for weeks or months.
First installed thanks to a generous donation from the Scire Family Foundation when MMC marked the NICU’s 50th anniversary in 2018, the innovative system received a recent hightech upgrade funded by the Big Steps for Little Feet fundraising walk. The walk is held annually to support the hospital’s NICU, with this year’s October 16 event restoring an in-person format after two years of virtual participation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The system allows nurses to text updates on babies to parents right from an app, says Bonny Adler, Director of Patient Care for the NICU.
“The new technology is amazing,” Adler says. “The feed is much better, and it features advanced night-vision technology so parents can see babies clearly in dim light. For new parents, it alleviates fears and provides additional support knowing their baby is OK.”
“This system helped make the experience easier for us,” Eileen says. “I used the texting function to communicate with nurses when I wasn’t there, and the nurses used it to send us updates at the end of every shift.”
“Nights when we couldn’t make it there, we could peek in on them,” Donald adds.
Eventually, peeking in wasn’t necessary: The couple welcomed Peyton and Madison home on April 18, with Brynlee joining her sisters on April 26.
Follow-Up Care for NICU Babies
A Regional Newborn Extension Program for infants who begin their lives in the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation Regional Newborn Center enables them to be screened and evaluated as they grow. The program provides state-of-the-art developmental screening and evaluation services by an interdisciplinary team of professionals to monitor infants at periodic intervals in all areas of growth and development.
Learn more about the Hirair and Anna Hovnanian Foundation Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Monmouth Medical Center.