Not long ago we visited Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami to train their pediatric nurses on the use of the IVEA. While we were there, we sat down with Clinical Nursing Director Deborah Hill-Rodriguez to talk about her decision to purchase a dozen IVEAs for use in multiple hospital departments.

The first thing we wanted to know was how she learned about the IVEA. Debbie, who also heads up the international Humpty Dumpty Falls Prevention Program™, explained that one of her nurses had seen it on social media, and at about the same time, several of them had seen it at the ANCC Magnet conference. They were intrigued and decided to buy one unit to try out.

An early opportunity to put the IVEA to use came when an 8-year-old boy arrived on the surgical floor, after spending several days in the ICU recovering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He was an active kid, and his nurses knew that the best thing for him would be to get up and move. But with multiple pumps, IVs, a wound vac, PCA, Foley catheter, two chest tubes and oxygen, that was a daunting challenge.

Enter the IVEA. Loaded and at the ready bedside, the IVEA made it possible for just one caregiver to ambulate this young patient. The little boy was thrilled to be up, and his mom loved the fact that she was able to help her son walk without caregiver assistance.

In our interview, Debbie related that at one point the boy was put on bedrest for 24 hours. When he got a green light to walk, the first thing he wanted was to use his IVEA.

“This made a really compelling case,” Debbie recalled. “Once the nurses saw how it worked, they were hooked, and not only that, the patient was hooked and his mother was hooked.”

Success with one IVEA led to a call for more. So with a little help from us, Debbie put together a presentation for the hospital’s foundation and successfully secured funding for 12 more units.

On our visit to Nicklaus, the nurses’ enthusiasm for the IVEA was palpable. The biggest benefit, they said, was that now patients could ambulate with the help of just one caregiver or family member rather than a team of two or three. If you’d like to see how the IVEA can help your pediatric patients, contact us by phone or email to schedule a product demonstration. (970) 472-5323, [email protected]

And watch Deborah Hill-Rodriguez talk about the IVEA at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital.