Cool Kids Equal Warm Hugs at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital’s First Cooling Reunion

October 27, 2014

Babies who underwent therapeutic hypothermia reunite with doctors and nurses who saved their lives.

TAMPA, Fla. (October 27, 2014) – Samantha Latimer will never forget the fear she felt when doctors called a code blue moments after she gave birth to her first child, Titan. Her son’s umbilical cord wrapped around his neck while she spent four hours in labor.

     Titan didn’t make a sound as he entered the world and his oxygen deprivation made him a good candidate for cerebral palsy. Fortunately, doctors resuscitated him and began the process of therapeutic hypothermia.

     Titan was the first baby at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital to undergo this procedure, which involves cooling the baby’s temperature to 92 degrees Fahrenheit for several days and then slowing warming the baby back to normal. This is currently the only medical therapy that reduces brain damage and improves chance of survival.

     Today, Titan is a happy, healthy boy who’s hitting his developmental milestones and getting ready to celebrate his second birthday. On November 1, Titan and the doctor and nurses who saved his life and meet other families that were also treated with therapeutic hypothermia during St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital’s Frozen-themed Cooling Reunion.

     Large clinical trials have shown no adverse effects on the baby and early initiation of therapeutic hypothermia decreased the number of deaths and severe disability caused by lack of oxygen or blood to the brain at birth. 

     A good candidate for therapeutic hypothermia is an infant who:

  • Weighs at least 1800 grams (approximately 4 pounds)
  • Reached at least 35 weeks gestation
  • Has some abnormal finding on exam such as seizures, low tone, breathing difficulty
  • Has a mother who suffered from seizure or pre-eclampsia
  • Suffered a detached placenta

 

     St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital has used the “cooling” technique in the NICU since 2012 and is the second in the state to offer active cooling in their neonatal ambulance and helicopter.

Media Opportunity

What: St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital Cooling Reunion

Where: St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital Pavilion 4th floor classrooms

When: Saturday, November 1, 2 - 4 p.m.

 

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About BayCare Health System

BayCare Health System is a leading community-based health system in the Tampa Bay area. Composed of a network of 11 not-for-profit hospitals, outpatient facilities and services such as imaging, lab, behavioral health and home health care, BayCare provides expert medical care throughout a patient’s lifetime. With more than 200 access points conveniently located throughout Tampa Bay, BayCare connects patients to a complete range of preventive, diagnostic and treatment services for any health care need. 

BayCare’s family of hospitals are: Mease Countryside, Mease Dunedin, Morton Plant, Morton Plant North Bay, St. Anthony’s, St. Joseph’s, St. Joseph’s Children’s, St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, St. Joseph’s Women’s, South Florida Baptist, and Winter Haven. For more information, visit BayCare on the Web at www.BayCare.org.