AngelEye technology is helping parents connect with their newborn babies. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — When new babies are born early, sometimes they don’t come home right away.
Usually, they need more time in the hospital for care, which can be difficult on mom and dad.
New technology is making a difference and making it easier for new parents — by using their phones.
“We have Colton right on top, and we have Colbie on the bottom,” said new mother Rylee Meyerhofer.
The twins were born three months early.
“I can just hop on my phone and then see them right through the camera,” said Meyerhofer.
Both babies weighed just over three pounds when we met them, and weren’t quite ready to come home.
“It’s just relieving that extra piece of mind that even though I’m at work, and not there,” the twins’ father, Logan Meyerhofer, said. “Here they are. Right on my phone.”
Thanks to this technology, called AngelEye, new parents like the Meyerhofers can still be connected to their babies when they can’t be there in person.
“Yes, it makes it a lot easier. I feel like I don’t have to call in the middle of the night. I can just kind of go on to the camera and check on them,” Rylee Meyerhofer said.
The camera goes on top of the incubator. It gives mom and dad an image of their newborn baby. And this AngelEye technology is the first of its kind in Northeast Wisconsin, and Colton and Colbie were the very first babies to get to use it.
“HSHS looked at this and said, ‘Wow!’ This is an amazing technology that helps with that connection piece. So that parents feel better connected. They feel a better part of this community that we have, and they can watch their baby whenever they would like,” said Jim Burke, NICU manager at HSHS St. Vincent Children’s Hospital.
These cameras are a new addition to St. Vincent Children’s Hospital in Green Bay.
The response from parents has been extremely positive.
“The cameras help tremendously. Making us feel comfortable. Even though we have to leave our babies here,” said Logan Meyerhofer.
“I think it just helps in so many ways, because the parents feel better connected to their baby. They also feel better connected to this whole team,” said Burke.
The Meyerhofers love it and say they peek at their babies several times a day,
So can anyone else, who they share the AngelEye video link with.
“Oh yes, I think grandma goes on that more than all of us combined,” Rylee Meyerhofer said.
But the best part is the peace of mind it brings, seeing their babies on video until they’re ready to come home in person.
There are more than 20 cameras now available in the unit. They were paid for by the St. Vincent Foundation.
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