The smallest neonatal babies in Far North Queensland can now have breathing support, thanks to a generous donation by Hyundai Help 4 Kids.
The donation enabled the purchase of a special glidescope for the tiniest babies at Cairns Hospital’s Special Care Nursery, through the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation.
Clinical Director of Paediatrics Dr Neil Archer said the $21,000 equipment was already being regularly used to help support babies breathing.
“It enables us to assist respiratory function and administer a medication to their lungs for premature babies or manage their critical illness,” Dr Archer said.
“This involves using a laryngoscope (a handle containing a battery attached to a blade with a light source at the end) to open the jaw, move the tongue and visualise the vocal cords so we can put a tube into the trachea,” he said.
“As you can imagine in a newborn baby, not to mention one born prematurely who is less than a kilo, there is not a lot of 'room' when we are doing this. The video laryngoscope offers an ability to see very clearly what's going on 'down there' as the image is from the tip of the blade and can help in more anatomically challenging intubations or in diagnostic conundrums with airway problems.
“Advances in neonatal care means we must do this a lot less than when I was younger. This is a good thing, however, for those in paediatric training who must develop these skills the opportunity to do so is much less frequent.
“This equipment also allows our registrars to undertake intubations as part of their training with a senior paediatrician who can guide them exactly from the image on screen as opposed to peering over their shoulder into a very small opening and challenging target,” Dr Archer said.
Hyundai and the Northern Region Dealer Network (Trinity Hyundai representing the dealer network) have jointly donated funds enabling the purchase of critical equipment at the Cairns Hospital to help with improving Children’s Health in FNQ.
“This has been enabled through the CSR Initiative “Hyundai Help 4 Kids (HH4K)” which is a program where every sale of a new Hyundai contributes to a fund used to improve the lives of Aussie kids in need,” Hyundai Motor Company Australia Regional General Manager Michael Torrisi said.
Foundation CEO Gina Hogan said the donation was yet another example of the local community stepping up to help others in need.
“We have a very philanthropic community and this donation from Hyundai Help 4 Kids is a great example of businesses going out of their way to help others who might be suffering with a difficult health journey,” Mrs Hogan said.
Photos: Trinity Hyundai Area AfterSales Manager Mandy Bunby, General Sales Manager Colin Milton, Cairns Hospital Clinical Director of Paediatrics Dr Neil Archer, Trinity Hyundai Deal Principal Richard Jaska, Foundation CEO Gina Hogan and Area Sales Manager Jeremy Richards.
