JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News of a big delivery for some tiny recipients. And it comes during CPR Awareness Week.
Wolfson Children’s Hospital and families of its smallest patients are benefitting.
A life-saving gift from the American Heart Association to Wolfson Children’s Hospital: 75 infant CPR training kits.
“Duval County has double the national average of infant mortality rate. 9 out of every 1,000 infants and live births, unfortunately, don’t continue,” said Amber Wilson, Executive Director American Heart Association.
Nurses are thrilled and said families can take the kits home once their baby heads home from the neonatal intensive care unit.
“So in the event they need to utilize CPR for a baby who’s having an event or choking at home, they can utilize the skills that they learn... all contained in this box,” said Jennifer Southhall, Prenatal Nursing Director.
And CPR is different for newborns than for other children.
“It is different... infants it’s significantly about airway..for our infants and clearing their airway.. a lot of our infants have choking events, so there’s a lot of focus on choking for our baby,” Southhall said.
And for parents coming home at last, after a long stay at the NICU, it can be daunting.
“I feel like this kit will help them not just for themselves but as we spoke about, a nanny at home, or a grandparent, someone who’s stepping in. I think this will really help them to provide some extra education for them and provide a little more assurance for the family,” said Nicki Brobst, nurse manager.
The kit includes resource cards, step-by-step instructions and a 20-minute interactive video.
Wolfson nurses say it’s a perfect way to get comfortable with CPR for your baby, but they do provide in-person training for parents with babies who go home with more complex health issues.
The American Heart Association says it’s placing nearly 300 kits across the community at all the hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Units so families feel safe when bringing their babies home.