Nate Crosland sees a lot of babies in his line of work.
The respiratory therapist (RT) with the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital is a member of the NICU resuscitation team and is often present in the operating room during labour and delivery.
Nate assists with high-risk deliveries, focusing on babies who are born via C-section, are pre-term (less than 36 weeks old or weigh less than 2,000 grams), in potential distress or require respiratory support. If the need arises, he provides non-invasive ventilation for the babies and at times aids with or performs intubations.
COVID-19 has meant some changes to his work.
“There is more manpower and effort required to carry out deliveries for moms,” he explains. If the mother is suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE), cleaning and disinfection guidelines must be met.
And while the priority is to unite mother and baby sooner rather than later, a mother with suspected or confirmed COVID, along with her partner, have to be in self-isolation, away from their infant, until they are symptom-free or cleared via a negative swab result. Babies born to mothers who test positive for COVID are also swabbed.
What’s stood out most for him during the pandemic is the level of collaboration and cooperation across disciplines in the NICU and Women’s & Child Health at the Grey Nuns. “I’ve discussed challenges with staff, my unit and program managers and the medical director. We have each other’s backs and have been very supportive of each other,” he says.
“We are really stronger when we are working together. It’s been encouraging to see collaboration between RTs, nurses, physicians, pharmacists and dieticians — everyone is focused on being collaborative.”
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