Thanks to the Kingston General Hospital Auxiliary, the last of the four pediatric critical care unit rooms on Kidd 10 is now fully equipped with a new cardio-respiratory monitor.

The monitor provides continuous information to the care provider without having to disturb a resting child. Information includes the child’s heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure and oxygen level in the blood.

“And it’s completely portable,” explains registered nurse Rhonda Kelly. “A separate piece can be easily removed and is small enough to place on the bed when we take a patient for tests. This way, we don’t have to transport the entire monitor system on wheels. We just detach the one part and take it with us.”

Rhonda adds that the monitors are also programmed to display vital signs of patients in other rooms when an alarm goes off.  Staff can quickly assess the situation by checking the vital signs of any patient in the unit on the monitor where they’re located.

The monitor cost $24,000 and was purchased through funds raised by the KGH Auxiliary.

“This type of technology supports quality patient care,” says Pediatric Program Operational Director Kellie Kitchen, “The donation is an incredible support for this new unit and gives us the resources we need to care for our youngest patients. We are very grateful to the Auxiliary.”