Press Release
January 10th, 2006

St Mary’s Improves Care and Quality of Life with New, State-of-the Art Monitoring System for Premature Infants and Children with Serious Illnesses

Bayside NY – As specialists in caring for the most medically fragile children, St. Mary’s Hospital for Children in Bayside is home to many patients who require careful monitoring of their vital signs. The children who arrive at St. Mary’s include premature infants and children with life-threatening illnesses who are surviving and living longer thanks to advances in medical technology. To ensure that these children receive the highest quality of care, St. Mary’s has installed a new, state-of-the-art computerized system to track pulse rates and blood oxygen levels for every patient in the hospital.

The new system, Masimo SET® pulse oximetry, uses innovative technology to accurately measure the critical parameters of children’s hearts and lungs. A wireless, web-based monitoring system, Masimo features continuous tracing of each child’s levels, regardless of their location in the hospital: in bed, in therapy, at play, in St. Mary’s on-site school, and even outdoors. Pulse oximetry is measured using computerized tapes attached to the child’s hands or feet. A centralized monitoring system at the nurse’s station and hand-held devices used remotely allow St. Mary’s expert clinical team to respond immediately to potentially life-threatening situations.

The new technology also enables St. Mary’s to provide tiny infants with cardiac disease with the quiet, soothing environment they need – free from the undue stress of false alarms from older monitoring systems that are unable to differentiate between an infant in trouble and a newborn with cooler extremities caused by poor circulation, a common condition in premature babies. For older critically ill children who require constant monitoring, the new system allows them to be more physically active – thus improving their quality of life.

The Masimo monitoring system was purchased in part with a gift from a non-profit children’s charity, Angels on the Bay. As part of the first installment in a giving plan, the charity donated $30,000 to help St. Mary’s purchase the respiratory system. Angels on the Bay, Inc. is dedicated to raising funds and awareness for chronically ill, developmentally disabled, and physically challenged children. Founded in 1994 by Frank Russo, Jr. and his friends and family, the group describes themselves as the “guardians of dreams for all children in need of a miracle”. The death of a colleague’s daughter from cancer inspired the group to support medical organizations treating children with life-threatening illnesses. More information about Angels on the Bay can be found at www.Russosonthebay.com.