Description
Telephone 905 813-2200 ext 3945
Special Care Nursery is a 21+ bed Regional Advanced Level ll nursery providing family-centered developmentally supportive care to infants who are premature or have other health care needs according to the criteria of Child Health Network of Greater Toronto. www.childhealthnetwork.ca
The SCN is equipped and staffed to care for the infant that requires ventilatory support, oxygen therapy, medications, phototherapy, and assessment and continued monitoring.
During every infants stay in Special Care Nursery our heath care team consisting of Paediatricians, Nurse Practitioner, Registered Nurses, Dietitian, Lactation Consultants, Pharmacist, Occupational Therapist, Respiratory Therapist, Social Worker and Psychologist participate with the family in the plan of care.
The team believes in a family centred approach to their care. Parents are encouraged to be present and participate in their baby’s care as much as possible and including healthy siblings is also encouraged.
For some infants, specialized feeding is required to support the infant’s growth including continuous or intermittent nasogastric feeding or intravenous nutrition. This is included as part of the individualized feeding plan customized for each infant.
Breastfeeding support is provided by SCN nurses as well as referrals to our registered lactation consultants as required. Breastfeeding support following discharge is provided by referral to the on-site breastfeeding clinic.
Ongoing care of infants born at The Credit Valley Hospital requiring “special care" or infants transferred from other facilities is provided in isolettes or cots as appropriate and electronic monitoring of infant's vital signs is provided on an individualized basis.
High risk deliveries and caesarian births are attended by a team from SCN comprised of a paediatrician and/or Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Respiratory Therapist and SCN nurse to provide initial stabilization and care as needed.
Infant Hearing Screening is provided on site by a registered nurse according to The Central West Infant Hearing Program.
ROP Clinic (Retinopathy of Prematurity)
The outpatient clinic provides eye exams for babies from Credit Valley and the rest of the region. Eye exams are performed in this clinic bi-weekly and provide infants residing in the Peel region with care closer to home. Inpatient eye exams are performed on site by an ophthalmologist.
RSVP Clinic (Respiratory Syncytial Virus Prophylaxis)
This clinic operates weekly throughout RSV season (typically November to May) providing referred infants meeting specific criteria with monthly prophylactic treatments for RSV.
Neonatal Follow-Up Clinic
Neonatal Follow-up Clinic was awarded the Cal Gutkin Quality Award in June 2001.
This multidisciplinary clinic operates twice weekly providing assessment of physical, motor and cognitive development at scheduled intervals up to 24 months (corrected age) for infants from Special Care Nursery and physician's practices who meet the specific regional follow-up criteria developed by the Neonatal Task Force of the Child Health Network of Greater Toronto. Referral to community services and professional consultants are made on a case by case basis resulting in communication and coordination of services across the continuum to enhance care closer to home.
Links
The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto – www.sickkids.ca
Canadian Paediatric society – www.cps.ca
American Academy of Pediatrics – www.aap.org
Peel Early Years – www.peelearlyyears.com
Peel Public Health – www.peelregion.ca
Peel Infant Development – www.peelinfant.ca
Kids Health – www.kidshealth.org
Caring for Kids – www.caringforkids.cps.ca
Today’s Parent – www.todaysparent.com
Invest in Kids – www.investinkids.ca
