by NurseKerry

We have instituted "Quiet Hour" in our NICU. From 1600 to 1700 daily we encourage the staff to keep all
non critical conversation to a minimum and postpone all noncritical interventions with infants, allowing for one full hour of uninterrupted sleep. We are a level III+ NICU. We have 4-6 babes per room with intermingled acuity.

This has been gaining steam since it's inception in January.
Do any of your NICU's have a quiet time?
How is it going for you? I have found the better the candy bribes the quieter the unit. I may break our unit's budget on snickers bars and peanut butter cups!

Re: Does anyone else do quiet hour?

We actually do "quiet time" 3x/day. 1300-1400, 2130-2230 and 0100-0200. Our unit was so successful that the whole hospital now has a quiet hour based on what we were doing. Our staff is pretty good about adhering to it, more so at night than on days, but I think that is simply due to the decreased number of people around.

Re: Does anyone else do quiet hour?

When I first started, in '88, we did have a quiet hour (I forget now, but maybe 1800-1900?) but that went out of voque in the '90s. I would like to have it back--along with making the parents stay out when we are giving report, but the management thinks that makes us look unfriendly!

Dawn

Re: Does anyone else do quiet hour?

We keep parents out during report as we give it at the bedside. My hope is to eventually get several quiet hours during a 24 hour time period. I am looking at doing a study regarding improved feedings related to quiet hour. Have you noticed an improvement in feeding after quiet time?

Re: Does anyone else do quiet hour?

Where I work now there is not a designated quiet hour. I used to work in a NICU that had quiet time from 2-4 am and 2-4 pm each day. During that time the lights were turned down and if at all possible no baby was to be touched... no labs, assessments, tests like ultrasounds, etc. They could do skin-to-skin care during that time though and could receive a feeding if that was due but otherwise they were allowed to sleep and rest. Of course we were all to speak especially quietly during that time as well. It was a very developmentally friendly NICU and I didn't know how great it was until I moved away and began to work in other NICUs.

Re: Does anyone else do quiet hour?

It's always supposed to be "quiet" in our NICU. We have had people come in the past to assess the noise levels in our NICU and since then people are a lot quieter. Even during a code, it's not as noisy as one might think.

Parents are allowed at the bedside 24/7, but we'll just walk to another computer away from the parent to give report; we don't ask them to leave.

Re: Does anyone else do quiet hour?

At my old hospital we also were encouraged to be quiet all the time. Padded wallpaper, sound absorbing ceiling and floor tiles, isolette covers, never give report at bedside, use the isolette as a writing surface or placing anything on top of it, etc. We even had a light in the center of each room which would light up red when any noise in the unit was recorded as higher than a certain number of decibels, so our sound was monitored 24 hours. The purpose of our "Quiet Time" was to allow the babies to have uninterrupted sleep to help their little brains grow and to let them have some time out from all the touching, physical interruptions and general medical care they are subjected to so often.

Re: Does anyone else do quiet hour?

What a great idea, wish most of us would use this one!

Re: Does anyone else do quiet hour?

We use it in our unit. I love it. It not only helps the babies sleep, but it gives the nurses a break from all the stim, too .

Re: Does anyone else do quiet hour?

Thanks everyone. The largest hurdle is the mix of acuity on our unit. We often have an adjusted term, former 25 wkr with an oscillator on one side and ECMO on the other. It gets so hard to meet all their develomental needs. All suggestions appreciated!