If you haven’t had a newborn cared for day and night in Langley Memorial Hospital’s NICU, or brought your child for lung testing to evaluate the severity of their asthma, you may be unaware of the extent of pediatric care available right here at home.
In fact, Langley residents are fortunate to count an extensive pediatric team among the medical staff at their local hospital – expertise that often allows families to seek care right here in Langley, instead of making the trek to Surrey or Vancouver.
“It’s incredibly important,” says pediatrician Dr. Colleen Poole, Langley Memorial’s Pediatric Co-Department Head, with Dr. Stephen Noseworthy. “To be able to look after these children right here in our community is a big deal for their families.”
Comprehensive care for all ages
In addition to seeing children and youth in the emergency room, Langley’s pediatric teams treat everyone from newborn patients to those reaching their 17th birthday.
Vital care is provided for newborns, including premature infants born at 35 weeks or later, in addition to those in need of special treatment, such as IV antibiotics, and those who return to their “home” hospital from more intensive care at others, such as BC Children’s Hospital.
The pediatrics team also diagnoses and treats all manner of childhood illnesses and chronic disease, from asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory illnesses to conditions like bacterial pneumonia and infections. Various pediatric day surgeries are also undertaken at Langley’s hospital.
As an alternative to emergency visits – also much easier with the new pediatric area, apart from the main ER – Langley Memorial also recently introduced the Same Day, Next Day Access Clinic for Kids (SNACK). Open Monday to Friday from noon to 6 p.m., the outpatient clinic was created to provide children with access to urgent medical assessment by a physician as well as tests, IV therapy or dressing changes.
To continue delivering vital care for such diverse needs, community donors are key, notes Terra Scheer, Communications and Stewardship with the Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation, sharing some of the essential equipment currently needed:
- Pediatric respiratory testing treadmill – valued at $2,000, the treadmill is the next step in pulmonary function testing and allows the pediatric care teams to gauge the severity of childhood asthma and other respiratory health conditions.
- A portable cardiac monitor – valued at $5,000, this allows care teams to examine and monitor heart health of critically ill children.
- Specialized positioning chair – valued at $14,000, the chair keeps children in position during medical imaging to gently and quickly capture necessary views that lead to important diagnosis and treatment.
- A giraffe care station – valued at $60,000, the station embraces a premature or ill newborn with therapeutic warmth while monitoring vital signs and allowing parents space to safely comfort their child. “It really is the top level of care for sick and premature newborns – you can regulate them a little easier and access them a little easier,” Dr. Poole says.
Langley Memorial Hospital Foundation makes it easy to support close-to-home pediatric care and ensure the medical teams have access to the best possible equipment to treat the hospital’s youngest patients. Visit lmhfoundation.com/donate today or call