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Tom Clapperton holds baby Ethan in the Stollery Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. The NICView camera over Ethan¡¯s bed allows his family to watch him from anywhere in the world.

NICView cameras online 24/7 for families at Stollery unit at Royal Alex

Story & photo by Marni Kuhlmann

EDMONTON ¡ª Parents and families of critically ill infants now have the opportunity to watch their babies in real time, even when they can¡¯t be in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in person.

NICView cameras are now available for every patient in the main neonatal intensive care unit of the Stollery Children¡¯s Hospital at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. The cameras are accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to offer parents and families the chance to view their newborns from anywhere in the world on any device with Internet access.

When Tom Clapperton and Rommel Moseley¡¯s sons Joshua and Ethan were born prematurely, they were grateful for the NICView cameras.

¡°You just worry all the time in these situations.  Being able to check in throughout the day provides those moments of reassurance,¡± says Clapperton. ¡°When we get a little nervous or want a little check, we just pull out our phones and make sure he¡¯s still there, still smiling, still happy and good.¡±

The cameras enhance patient- and family-centred care by providing peace of mind and reassurance for parents and families when they can¡¯t be at the bedside.

Family members can securely access NICView from any Internet connection via laptop, smartphone or tablet, once the parents have been provided with log-in information and passwords.

¡°The NICView cameras have been very popular. On average, we¡¯ve had about 9,000 log-ins per month since the cameras went live in June 2019,¡± says Barb Henderson, a clinical nurse educator at Â鶹ӳ»­.

¡°People have logged on from across Canada, USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Croatia, El Salvador, Columbia, Sweden, Spain, Netherlands, Hong Kong, India, Lebanon, Philippines, Barbados and Africa.  It¡¯s a way for families to be connected, even if they can¡¯t be there.¡±

The Stollery Children¡¯s Hospital Foundation funded the $245,000 project, including initial vendor implementation, cameras, hardware, IT costs and ongoing software and licensing costs. The unit has 72 cameras ¡ª the largest install in North America.

¡°Thanks to our donors, we¡¯re able to continue to fund and enhance family-centred care in spaces like the Stollery NICU at the Royal Alexandra Hospital,¡± says Courtney Gillis, communications advisor for the Stollery Children¡¯s Hospital Foundation.

¡°With 39 per cent of patient visits to the Stollery coming from outside Edmonton, our investment in NICView means families from backyards across northern Â鶹ӳ»­ and beyond can stay connected to their newborn in critical care.¡±

Beds at the Stollery NICU at the Sturgeon Community Hospital are also equipped with NICView cameras.  Â鶹ӳ»­ and the Stollery Children¡¯s Hospital Foundation are exploring options to have NICView cameras installed at the David Schiff NICU at Stollery Children¡¯s Hospital when the newly renovated unit opens in 2021.