The Rebecca Ava Rabinowitz Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory Granted August 24, 2007 The University of Maryland Hospital for Children and the R Baby Foundation join forces to dedicate a new laboratory devoted to the development of new and improved diagnostic tests for infectious diseases afflicting babies and children in the United States and around the world. Learn more about the Rebecca Ava Rabinowitz Molecular Diagnostic Laboratory »
	R Baby Foundation is seeking private and institutional contributions and will be applying for grants in order to: Fund fellowships for pediatric trained physicians in emergency rooms Fund NICU and ICU improvements including upgraded monitors, respirators and other equipment Fund scientific-research individual or teaching-hospital-based fellowships researching viral infections in newborns Develop educational programs on infectious diseases for pediatricians, nurses and parents Create training materials and programs for hospital and clinic staff Deliver support and educational programs to parents with babies in NICUs Fund conferences about viral infections in newborns to present at hospitals Please contact us if you are interested in funding or applying for a grant.

Six Lifesaving Grants
Improving Pediatric Emergency Care One Step at a Time

As 2007 came to a close, R Baby Foundation’s Granting Committee and Medical Advisory Board reviewed numerous proposals submitted by hospitals across the Northeast wishing to improve medical care for infants. Six new grants were chosen to receive funding in January 2008 at $500,000 in total. While all focus on pediatric emergency care, the plans seek to improve medical needs across a broad spectrum of areas, including training, equipment, education and communication. Initially these programs are estimated to impact hundred of thousands of babies a year – with millions affected over time.

These six grants are all different ways to improve emergency health care for infants. They are R Baby’s first steps in an ongoing process to evaluate programs and publish materials that will save babies’ lives and change the way urgent care for infants is viewed. We look forward to working with the hospitals to raise awareness on the need for better care and will also partner to track the results of each program so we can continue to invest in making our programs as successful as they can be. Our granting cycle will continue to be January and June. Check back soon for updates on grants we've given.

1. Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian »
2. NYU/Bellevue »
3. The Mount Sinai Department of Emergency Medicine  »
4. Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical »
5. Goryeb Children’s Hospital at Morristown Memorial Hospital »
6. Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago »

Aimed at helping children cared for in community emergency departments that lack pediatric emergency expertise, this program will provide general emergency medicine physicians with the training necessary to bridge the gap between the care given for babies and children at pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) and general emergency departments (EDs). Specifically, R Baby Foundation will fund the establishment of a pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) phone consultation service, staffed 24/7 by PEM specialists.

In emergency situations, there is no room for error. Better training and equipment is needed to train providers caring for critically ill infants and children in emergency situations. This grant focuses on providing highly skilled resuscitation teams high-fidelity simulation technology that will allow them to perform optimally and with minimal errors. A robotic infant attached to a monitor will be used to simulate a “real-life” resuscitation experience in which the pediatric provider will enhance their knowledge and skills for real-life resuscitations. By enhancing exposure to appropriate “code” situations, providers can perfect resuscitation skills and gain real-life experience through this grant’s funding of high-fidelity simulation technology and training for faculty and residents.

The R Baby Foundation Fellowship will support the challenging clinical and academic training of a talented individual as a pediatric emergency medicine specialist focused on infectious diseases. The fellow will conduct a research project on pediatric infectious disease emergencies, lecture and train over 100 physicians. She will also work with New York City EMS to develop a training program to aid in recognition of the diseases that necessitate emergency management. In addition, the grant will support an R Baby Lectureship, which allows for an infectious disease/pediatric emergency medicine expert to educate over 300 physicians on the optimal management of neonatal and pediatric patients who are critically ill due to infectious illness.

This grant aims at ensuring that any infant or child requiring emergency care in the Hudson Valley has access to pediatricians and emergency departments that are specifically equipped and trained in recognition, initial stabilization, and transfer or referral for pediatric emergencies. The hospital will share its pediatric expertise through education and by developing guidelines for optimal emergency care. An Emergency Department (ED) Certification Program will educate the community about the preferred locations at which to seek urgent medical care for babies. An ED will only gain the certification after the equipment and training requirements are met.

Learn more about the Emergency Department Appropriate for Pediatrics program »

Throughout the U.S., many children (and adults) die each year due to medical errors. Ineffective communication can result in poorly documented or lost medical information, and mistakes can be made with the failure to understand patients’ or families’ perspectives. This grant is aimed at optimizing communication between healthcare professionals and patients. By eliminating inefficient communication, a model of family-centered care rather than a provider-centered approach will allow for an environment with true collaboration, better exchange of ideas and shared decision-making. Specifically, R Baby Foundation will fund the training to promote better communication, reduce medical errors and save lives beginning in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and the Gagnon Pediatric Emergency Department.

In 2007, R Baby Foundation gave a grant to the Department of Transplantation Surgery at Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital to aid in the addition of an Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) with a background in clinical research to the department’s surgical team. A full-time APN will develop educational and advocacy programs at the community level on the symptoms of liver disorders acquired during infancy and childhood, establish programs and resources for their network of families with children affected by liver disorders, facilitate education with their network of 1,100 community pediatric specialists to enhance the knowledge of diagnosing viral infections in infants, and assist with promising clinical research and patient care initiatives.