For the past several years now, the nursery in OB units all across the USA are getting re-purposed to allow “Rooming-In”. According to Wikipedia, rooming-in is defined as "The practice followed in hospitals where the baby's crib is kept by the side of the mother's bed. This arrangement gives an opportunity for the mother and father to know their baby. The bond between the parent and the child is well established with roomed-in babies. There is a better chance of success with breast-feeding for roomed-in babies. Parents do not have the fear of baby-switching while roomed-in." This shift in having the baby at the mother’s side 24/7 creates a shift in workflow responsibilities. What was once done in the nursery is now done in the mother’s room resulting in a new workflow.
As a result of shifting workflows, new tools were created to help clinicians with efficiency and safety. Solutions like the Bathinet, the Compact Bassinet and even a Scale Cart were derived to alleviate concerns hospitals have.
Bathinet: As the concept of Immersion bathing emerges more mainstream, IMS has been at the forefront working 
with our vendor to design an in-room mobile bathing unit called the Bathinet. This bathing cart makes infant bathing in-room an efficient part of the workflow. There are reports that say immersion bathing has been controversial, and clinical staffers are hesitant but there is also lots of emerging documentation that this is quickly becoming a leading initiative.
Compact Bassinet: Bassinets specially designed to assist with “rooming-in” and fall risk avoidance while having a non-clinical aesthetic. One thing we heard in the OB was the fall risk of pregnant women and new mothers. Pregnant women statistically show a higher fall risk percentage than even persons 70 years and older. The compact bassinet is lower in height than the traditional bassinet so when new mothers are in bed, and the bed is in the lowest position, reaching their newborn does not require them to get out of bed.
Scale Carts: Weighing the infant in the room is needed to create a more efficient workflow. The scale cart helps accomplish just that: weighing the newborn while gathering relevant vitals at the same time without leaving the mother’s bedside.
Innovative Medical Systems worked hand in hand with our manufacture and hospitals to develop cost effective solutions to resolve the new challenges that OB Departments face since rooming-in. Solutions that make the clinician’s job simpler because they align with a new workflow. Our relationship with the OB Departments over the years is one of practical solutions that protect, transition and expedite workflows yet maintain room aesthetics and maximize infection control.
