Presentation Information

It Takes a Team: Improving Survival for the Extremely Preterm Infant

• Speaker: Debra Armbruster , PhD, APRN-CNP, NNP-BC, CPNP-PC, C-ELBW, C-NNIC
• Presentation Type:
• Duration: 60 Mins
• Credits: 1 CERP, 1 Nursing CEU, 1 CME

Abstract:

Once thought to be impossible, infants as young as 22 weeks’ gestation are now surviving not only delivery but through to discharge from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). These infants however, have mountains to climb to survive beyond the immediate neonatal period. It is imperative that the approach focus on reducing the morbidities and mortality commonly associated with this vulnerable group.
Teams dedicated to caring for this at-risk infant group in daily practice provide hope for families. Effective communication and teamwork are the pathways to reducing morbidities and the mortality of this at-risk infant group. Extremely preterm infants require a multifaceted, multidisciplinary comprehensive team approach to medical care. The medical team and the family should work in tandem to provide an articulated systems approach that fosters not only the infant’s survival but also promotes family and the future.