Dominican Hospital Acquires Cutting-Edge Technology For Newborns

Photo: Dominican Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Manager Michele Fahrner using the new ultrasound system to examine the heart of a newborn. The system allows newborns with suspected heart problems to receive cutting-edge treatment close to home.

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News from Dominican Hospital:

Dignity Health Dominican Hospital announced this week that the facility is now offering the most advanced pediatric echocardiography ultrasound system available in the area, allowing newborns with suspected heart problems to receive cutting-edge care close to home.

With the CX50 xMatrix CompactXtreme Ultrasound System by Philips, doctors can more rapidly and effectively detect, diagnose, and treat life-threatening heart issues in newborns admitted to Dominican’s Level 3 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The ultrasound delivers increased diagnostic clarity so that pediatric cardiologists can more precisely monitor the flow of blood to and from a newborn’s heart, and within the heart’s valves and chambers.

The technology, funded jointly by the Dominican Hospital Foundation and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, also benefits the Dominican Birth Center, where it is used to check the quality of the movement of the fetus, including its breathing and tone.

“This advanced piece of equipment is unavailable anywhere else in the county,” Dominican’s NICU Nurse Manager Michele Fahrner said. “We never want a baby to come to the NICU, but when one has to, we can be confident in saying we offer top-of-the-line, best-practice patient care.”