171 Ashley Ave.
Charleston, SC 29425
843-792-1414
800-424-MUSC
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May 2007
Letter From Our Chair
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L. Lyndon Key, MD
Professor and Chairman
Department of Pediatrics |
Dear faculty, Children's Hospital staff and other friends,
Recently, I had the opportunity to hear Mrs. Driggers tell about her experiences in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Her presentation documented the journey from improbable survival to the current state of the art where we expect almost every healthy baby, regardless of gestation, to have a chance for life. Playing opposite this warm human interest story, the NICU is staffed by residents, nurses, neonatal nurse practitioners, pharmacists, neonatologists, and many more consultants and support staff. The Children's Hospital has been striving to reduce morbidity and mortality in these very fragile children. However, the model that is being used in the NICU has been a beacon of success:
This graph shows that chronic lung disease has been dramatically lowered from 60 percent to 20 percent since 2003.
A major point of interest nationwide has been the nosocomial (hospital acquired) infection rate. During the past three years, significant progress has been made in decreasing hospital-acquired infections in the very low girth rate infants:
This graph demonstrates a decrease of the infection rate of greater than 25 percent. Much of the improvement in the nursery that has led to improved service has been driven by our team of neonatologists, pediatric nurse practitioners, residents, nurses, respiratory therapists, other support staff, and clerical workers. All have banded together to look for new and innovative ways to reduce infection and shorten the length of stay.
The nursery at MUSC has been a leader in developing programs to improve care in the nursery and is currently funded for research projects that will help neonates (funded by over five million dollars of NIH funds). While we know that our nursery has provided superb care, it is very gratifying to see the results of the many initiatives that have been developed to decrease the length of stay.
Our Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery is a bright spot for the Children's Hospital. This unit is certainly a shining example of the power of everyone working for the greater good of our patients. As we look toward the future, the studies that are ongoing will help to match dietary requirements to each babies' metabolic needs. We will increase the bone density through the use of vitamin D in both mothers and infants-allowing babies to get their vitamin D directly through the mother's breast milk (Dr. Carol Wagner and Dr. Bruce Hollis, PIs). In addition, Dr. Doe Jenkins will be the principal investigator of a new study that could dramatically reduce neurological injury secondary to intrauterine infections. This project has brought together a wonderful group of investigators from the pediatrics department, the obstetrics and gynecology department, and the department of radiology, thanks to seminal work by Dr. Singh's group in the Darby Children's Research Institute.
This is an example of what can be done with basic research and what can be done with quality and safety research projects. The NICU is also training ground for residents who will need to be able to handle the sick neonate and affect transport to a tertiary facility. This is a celebration of the care that is being provided and the wonder of all the new innovations and projects that are improving our ability to take care of sick and/or premature infants. The happiness at the NICU reunion shows us all the reasons for training, patient care and research.
Sincerely,
L. Lyndon Key, MD
Chair, Department of Pediatrics
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