Special NICU equipment helps families stay connected

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WGAL toured the neonatal intensive care unit at Penn State Health Children's Hospital to learn more about how donations to the CMN Telethon are helping, including a device that helps families stay connected to their little ones.

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"Because we’re a level four NICU, a lot of our babies are born from far away, two-plus hours away, and so, their families need to return to work or need to take care of their other children at home. So, we have these Angel Eye cameras. Through CMN, we’ve been able to purchase one for each bed spot, and the parents can log in and stream their baby and watch them move and grow," said Ashley Fricchione, the nurse manager in the NICU.

Fricchione also said CMN purchased a lot of the incubators in the NICU.

"The nice thing about this bed is it will regulate the temperature of the premature baby. So, when they’re born prematurely, they can't regulate their temperatures like you and I do. So, the bed can heat up and cool down, depending on the baby's temperature," she said. "The other thing this bed does is when they’re born really early, so a micro-preemie born at 23, 24 weeks, their skin is really fragile. And this bed actually will give them humidity to help prevent skin breakdown."

Video below: Meet Pilot, a facility dog at Penn State Health Children's Hospital.