URMC / Golisano Children's Hospital / Ways to Give / Attend an Event / Hospital Gala / Fund-in-Need Fund-A-Need This Year’s Fund-A-Need for Golisano Children’s Hospital: Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) Equipment Update! The Fund-A-Need focused on purchasing 20 new NIRS monitors for the Intensive Care Units and Operating Rooms, and thanks to you, we made that goal! The Best Care: Second by Second When Iris Helfner was born on November 11, 2011 at 11:11 a.m., her parents knew Iris’ life would be special. They didn't know she would be born with a rare congenital heart defect that would require close monitoring and valve replacement surgery five years later—or that her heart would stop beating a few short hours after successful heart surgery. We must be able to anticipate what lies ahead in the illness and recovery of our most vulnerable patients, like Iris— whether they are being treated for complex pediatric heart conditions or require brain, lung, kidney, stomach or intestinal monitoring—are pre-term babies whose lungs and brains are not developed fully, or are children who are already on heart and lung bypass machines. Technology like near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can help us do just that. NIRS is non-invasive, specialized imaging that uses light to monitor oxygen levels and blood flow to help health care providers detect and treat problems second by second—far more quickly than conventional monitoring allows—not only saving lives, but improving the quality of life for the children in our community. Today more infants’ and children's lives are being saved than ever before. But hospitalized children also tend to be sicker and have more complicated illnesses. That's why we need essential equipment like NIRS. Each child in our care deserves to have every tool at our disposal to provide the best life-saving care. Please give generously to this year's Fund-A-Need. Today at Golisano Children's Hospital we have only three NIRS monitors; not nearly enough to care for the very ill infants and children who need them. You can help us purchase 20 NIRS monitors at $30,000 each: 12 for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and the Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (PCICU) 8 for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and operating room (OR) What is Near-Infrared Spectroscopy? Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a non-invasive, portable technology which uses sensors to monitor and detect real-time, subtle changes in oxygenation in the brain, muscle, and other organs. It has been used for the past decade by anesthetists in operating rooms, but is rapidly becoming the standard of care to alert health care teams when oxygen is insufficient to meet bodily needs. When your body doesn't have enough oxygen, your brain, liver, and other organs can be damaged just minutes after symptoms start. Traditional monitoring systems often lack the precision needed for the team to make effective clinical decisions that save children’s lives and improve their long-term quality of life. It provides early identification of complications associated with: Low cardiac output Neurological damage Renal failure Shock and seizures It’s accurate, versatile, and portable Support the Fund-A-Need Effort To support the Fund-A-Need or for more information, please contact: Scott Rasmussen, Senior Assistant Vice President for Advancement, Golisano Children’s Hospital Phone: (585) 273-5932 or srasmussen@admin.rochester.edu