Donation funds equipment that safely transfers infants to NICU

Monument Health’s Rapid City Hospital is more prepared for an infant COVID-19 patient thanks to a donation that facilitated the purchase of a new piece of equipment.

The nearly $20,000 donation from the Monument Health Foundation’s Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) will allow Rapid City Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to purchase a GE Healthcare Giraffe Shuttle.

The shuttle is a transportable power source that will allow our caregivers to transfer infants from the delivery room to the NICU in the safety of an enclosed warmer bed. This piece of equipment allows access not only to power but to auxiliary equipment and medical gas during the transfer. The ability to transfer our smallest patients this way can not only improve outcomes for the patient, but it also increases the safety of caregivers.

“As Monument Health faces new challenges in the battle against COVID-19, the Foundation and CMN want to make sure our NICU is fully prepared with the equipment it needs,” said Shawn Powers, CMN Program Manager for the Monument Health Foundation. “This shuttle will allow caregivers to safely move infants without removing them from their protected environment, which will be especially important if an infant has COVID-19.”

Monument Health is a Children’s Miracle Network Hospital, which means money from CMN programs and events, fundraisers and CMN corporate partners is used to acquire new medical equipment and patient comfort items. The funds are stewarded by and distributed through the Foundation.

“During this challenging time in our state and within the Black Hills, it is important for the Foundation to respond to health care needs that will enable physicians and caregivers to meet the urgent needs of patients we serve,” said Priscilla Romkema, Ph.D., President of the Monument Health Foundation. “Thanks to our generous Foundation donors, we can fund the purchase of vital equipment that keeps patients and caregivers safe.”