Emergency Equipment (Couplet Care)

ladytraviler · Jun 30, 2006

Every place I have been, we have NRB, ambu, suction tubing and yaunkers at the bedside. I can't even think of what my reaction would be if someone told me they were not needed. I think that them being there is more to ward off bad juju, but if needed.........

kelly

Mimi2RN, ASN, RN · Jun 30, 2006

How close is your Neonatal Crash Cart? There should be one immediately available. Our pp has one right in the middle of the unit. For the most part, a problem baby is brought straight into the NICU (it's next door).

mitchsmom · Jun 30, 2006

I'm just starting in a week in the unit where I precepted at, but during preceptorship it was all in each room & I was taught to do a quick check to assure it was all there for each delivery.

RNmommy · Jun 30, 2006

Not L&D, mitchsmom. But at my privious facility, we were requried to check for all emergency equipment qshift and chart on the flowsheet that it was in fact available and operating.

Depending on the room location, the crash cart and nursery could be several hallways away.

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Jun 30, 2006

In my experience and opinion, every L&D/LDRP room should be fully equipped with NRP-recommended equipment, such as O2 tubing, o2/flowmeter, baby ambu-bag, and suction. You really also should have a drawer in the room with laryngoscopes, blades, ETT's, and emergency meds. In my opinion, all L&D RN's should be NRP certified. WHen I am called over stat from nicu, it helps to have the equipment there and ready to go. Also: make sure everyone understands that an apneic blue baby is not going to benefit from blowby.......(I walked in on that once, coming from NICU)

mitchsmom · Jun 30, 2006

Not L&D, mitchsmom. But at my privious facility, we were requried to check for all emergency equipment qshift and chart on the flowsheet that it was in fact available and operating.
Depending on the room location, the crash cart and nursery could be several hallways away.

(we are LDRP so it's in all the rooms)... but yeah that might be unnerving to have equipment so far away... does AWHONN or NRP address this for your case?

unikuelady, RN · Jul 6, 2006

The poster is talking about couplet care, not L&D. In my facility we do NOT have any emergency equipment in the couplet care rooms. We have a fully equiped crash cart that is 2 long hallways away. The crash cart is checked every shift. The only time we have emergency equipment at bedside is if the patient is expected to have problems. i.e. PIH on MGS04 If the baby is anything but completely stable it will stay in the nursery for observation. We attempted several times to equip each room with the bare basics such as o2 flow meter on the wall.......but our equipment always seems to grow legs and walk out of the room! The "clients and or family members" seem to feel that EVERYTHING in the patients room is for them to keep! Much of our unit budget is spent on "replacing" phones, tv's (which somehow become unbolted from the wall), clocks (which we have even tried to bolt to the ceiling), bed linen, computers (which were supposed to help the nurses and donated by the hospital auxillary) and even the infant baby beds. The only way we can KNOW that we have the emergency equipment at hand is to keep it in one place away from the publics hands. Has this led to near disasters/delayed recucisitation........

Does anyone have any ideas on how to remedy this problem?

texas-rn-fnp · Jul 7, 2006

I'm just starting in a week in the unit where I precepted at, but during preceptorship it was all in each room & I was taught to do a quick check to assure it was all there for each delivery.

This is the correct procedure.

The equipment for NRP should be immediately available at the warmer. There is no time to waste getting it from somewhere else.

Check the NRP guidelines on what you should be doing immediately, at 30 seconds, one minute, etc. It doesn't say start rescusitation after you can find your equipment or after you bring the baby down the hall to NICU. Yo start immediately after the baby exits the body, cord clamped and cut, and passes off to warmer.

Think about the way things are done and then think if you would want your family to be a patient there.

texas-rn-fnp · Jul 7, 2006

The poster is talking about couplet care, not L&D. In my facility we do NOT have any emergency equipment in the couplet care rooms. We have a fully equiped crash cart that is 2 long hallways away. The crash cart is checked every shift. The only time we have emergency equipment at bedside is if the patient is expected to have problems. i.e. PIH on MGS04 If the baby is anything but completely stable it will stay in the nursery for observation. We attempted several times to equip each room with the bare basics such as o2 flow meter on the wall.......but our equipment always seems to grow legs and walk out of the room! The "clients and or family members" seem to feel that EVERYTHING in the patients room is for them to keep! Much of our unit budget is spent on "replacing" phones, tv's (which somehow become unbolted from the wall), clocks (which we have even tried to bolt to the ceiling), bed linen, computers (which were supposed to help the nurses and donated by the hospital auxillary) and even the infant baby beds. The only way we can KNOW that we have the emergency equipment at hand is to keep it in one place away from the publics hands. Has this led to near disasters/delayed recucisitation........ Does anyone have any ideas on how to remedy this problem?

Good catch. I didn't pick up on the couplet care part. Yes, I agree with the above. On couplet care (aka mother baby or postpartum) I have not seen any medical equipment in the rooms. on my previousl ost I was referring to L/D.

riw1 · Nov 16, 2009

at my facility we do pp and nusery. the nusery is a long hall way away. NICU is on another floor. we have no resusitation supplies for newborns in the mom's room. after 7 years of working there i finally got management to put an O2 tree in every PP room but we still do not stock with O2 tubing for mother or infant. there is a port for suction. but we have to get suction equipment from med surg when we need it. it is not set up permanatly in rooms. the nusery has O2 and suction available in the nursery. the neonatal code cart is on the floor below in NICU and has to be brought up the elevator if we have a neonatal code. VERY UNSAFE PRACTICE. we are building a new hospital facility and are told we will be transitioning to Mom/baby care. this is fine with me i have worked both ways and i like M/B. many of my co workers do not. i only hope that the new rooms will have proper equipment for both Mom and Baby.

littleneoRN · Nov 16, 2009

at my facility we do pp and nusery. the nusery is a long hall way away. NICU is on another floor. we have no resusitation supplies for newborns in the mom's room. after 7 years of working there i finally got management to put an O2 tree in every PP room but we still do not stock with O2 tubing for mother or infant. there is a port for suction. but we have to get suction equipment from med surg when we need it. it is not set up permanatly in rooms. the nusery has O2 and suction available in the nursery. the neonatal code cart is on the floor below in NICU and has to be brought up the elevator if we have a neonatal code. VERY UNSAFE PRACTICE. we are building a new hospital facility and are told we will be transitioning to Mom/baby care. this is fine with me i have worked both ways and i like M/B. many of my co workers do not. i only hope that the new rooms will have proper equipment for both Mom and Baby.

Scary... :no: