Nurse Leads Development of Breastfeeding App and Outpatient Services for Moms of Babies Leaving NICU

When tasked with the duty of addressing a dramatic drop-off in breastfeeding rates after moms and babies were released from the NICU, Sara Rosenbaum saw an opportunity to build a community of breastfeeding support with outpatient services, including a breastfeeding app for smart phones.

Rosenbaum is Adventist Hinsdale Hospital’s regional obstetrical educator. Adventist has an 85 percent breastfeeding initiation rate at the time of NICU discharge, but the number drops to 21 percent after the mother and baby go home, Advance Healthcare Network for Nurses reports.

With grant money from CREATION Health, Rosenbaum worked with a mobile developer to create a smart phone app in both English and Spanish for new moms whose babies have been in NICU. The app will be able to be used in conjunction with a breastfeeding clinic and boutique on the grounds of Adventist Hinsdale.

Rosenbaum’s app will include reminder timers, a pumping schedule, and the ability to record the amount of milk the baby receives. “Moms can switch from NICU mode to a regular breastfeeding mode where they can track the number of wet diapers, which breast the baby fed from last, etc,” she told Advance Healthcare Network for Nurses.

A question and answer section will also be available on the app, with an appointment feature to book follow-up visits at the breastfeeding clinic and boutique. The boutique will have pumps, rentals, and other breastfeeding supplies available.

INQRI has funded several research teams that have created innovations to improve patient outcomes. Among them is a study led by Tracey Yap that involved developing a protocol to reduce pressure ulcers among long-term care residents. The “Interdisciplinary Mobility Team Approach to Reduction of Facility-Acquired Pressure Ulcers” included using music played at regular intervals to remind long-term care staff to encourage residents to move, or more those who could not move of their own accord, to avoid pressure ulcers.

Nurse Burn-Out and Infections

A new study, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, presents the work of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, who analyzed nurses' attitudes related to their work.  The team compared a hospital's percentage of "burned-out" nurses to its rates of surgical site infections and catheter associated urinary tract infections.  They found that every 10% increase in the number of high-burnout nurses correlated with two additional surgical site infections and one additional catheter associated urinary tract infection per 1,000 patients annually.

The INQRI program has also generated evidence that depression among nurses could have an impact on patient safety.  INQRI researchers Sue Letvak, Chris Ruhm, and their team evaluated the influence of presenteeism (decreased productivity due to health problems) on hospital registered nurses' quality of patient care.  The team found that pain and depression were significantly associated with presenteeism and that presenteeism was significantly associated with patient falls, medication errors and the perceived quality of care.

Of course, INQRI research has also shown that nurses can have a strong impact on keeping patients safe from infections.  Led by David Thompson and Jill Marsteller, a team at Johns Hopkins conducted the first randomized-control trial to reduce central line associated blood stream infections among ICU patients. This study, conducted in ICUs in 12 states, has shown that substantial reductions in infections can be widely achieved and this project did so with nurses leading the infection control efforts.

An INQRI team led by Eileen Lake and Jeannette Rogowski has demonstrated the importance of nurse staffing and the professional practice environment in preventing infection among tiny babies in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Their findings show that babies in units where nurses have less support and limited professional practice are at higher risk of developing infections. Higher levels of NICU experience are associated with better infant outcomes.

It is National Nurse Week!

With Sunday, May 6th kicking off National Nurses Week, we believe it is appropriate to highlight news stories that celebrate this annual week of recognition.

On Sunday, Brittany Tyner, reporting for local CBS affiliate, WLFI 18, highlighted an annual reunion that allows for children who were once cared for in Indiana University Health Arnett's neonatal intensive care unit to meet the caregivers that greatly contributed to their childhood well-being. The annual reunion also allows for the parents of children who were cared for in the NICU to continue to express their gratitude to the nurses and physicians that helped their children start life out on the right foot.

Click here to read more about this great tradition.