Skagit Valley Hospital (SVH)’s Level II Special Care Nursery was selected to participate in a workshop demonstration on Neonatal Telemedicine Simulation at the Pediatric Academic Society Conference in Washington D.C on May 1.

Dr. Jennifer Taylor, Pediatric Hospitalist at SVH and Skagit Regional Health (SRH)’s Associate Medical Director of Pediatric Hospitalist Services, presented “Telesimulation: Remote Facilitation and Debriefing to Support Pediatric Education and Practice” from Washington, D.C. with Dr. Rachel Umoren, Associate Professor of Pediatric and Associate Division Head for Research and Medical Director for Inpatient Telemedicine at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

As part of the presentation, Dr. Erin Charles, Pediatric Hospitalist at SVH, demonstrated neonatal resuscitation utilizing a Teladoc device remotely from SVH Family Birth Center. Presenting alongside Dr. Charles was Holly Braaten, RNC, Family Birth Center Charge Nurse; Julie Ward, Family Birth Center Surgical Technician; Judy Jones, Respiratory Therapist; and Tammy Ringhouse, RNC, BSN, Clinical Nurse Educator.

The demonstration showcased how telesimulation can be used to provide education, training, assessments and debriefings. “We were given a specific scenario of an apneic, bradycardic, term and meconium-stained baby. We initiated neonatal resuscitation and utilized the telemedicine consult in real-time. We used our video laryngoscope and Teladoc device for the simulation,” said Tammy Ringhouse, RNC, BSN, Neonatal Educator at SRH.

In order to be selected to participate in the conference, a submitted proposal was required. Dr. Umoren submitted the proposal in October 2022 and worked with Dr. Taylor to use SVH Family Birth Center as one of the remote sites. SVH Family Birth Center was one of the pilot sites for a large neonatal telemedicine study of newborn resuscitation, participating over a six-month period in the winter and spring of 2022 with the Mayo Clinic. 

Conference attendees in Washington D.C. were then asked to debrief the telesimulation, providing feedback on the audio, video, skills, equipment and systems. The debrief was very positive, with “You rocked it!” being one of the comments received.

“We are so excited to have participated in this groundbreaking opportunity,” said Ringhouse. “I felt very confident in our team and their neonatal resuscitation skills. We were very honored to be chosen. We take any opportunity to increase our knowledge for our babies.”