Little hearts under supervision

Cherkasy Regional Hospital* is one of the key medical institutions in Central Ukraine, providing highly specialized medical care to children and adults from across the region. Its role is particularly important during this period of full-scale war, when Cherkasy has become a safer center for the evacuation of patients from regions under constant shelling.

Over the past two years, the hospital has admitted significantly more patients than before the war. Pregnant women, newborns, critically ill children, and premature babies are evacuated here from frontline and de-occupied territories.

Due to large-scale internal migration, thousands of families from Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions have turned to this hospital for medical assistance. The regional hospital has become a source of support for them and a place where they can receive quality treatment, safe childbirth, and assistance for newborns.

One of the hospital's key departments is the premature and low birth weight infant care unit. Here, babies who are born with a critically low weight of 600-1500 grams, and sometimes even less, are saved.

Such children require long-term, accurate, and continuous monitoring of their condition, as well as high-tech equipment that provides:

- monitoring of vital signs;
- stable oxygen support;
- accurate dosing of medications;
- careful nursing that does not overload their fragile bodies.

The conditions of war have made the work of the department even more difficult.

Due to the constant flow of internally displaced families, the number of premature babies and infants with perinatal complications has increased. Often, babies are born in a state of stress, having endured long journeys, evacuation, or birth under shelling.

In order for every child to have a chance at life, modern equipment is needed to ensure the accuracy and safety of treatment.

Equipment that needs to be purchased: aitecs 2016 infusion syringe pumps (3 pcs.) and Rad 97 pulse oximeters for newborns (2 pcs.)

Infusion syringe pumps – the heart of therapy for premature babies. Premature babies do not have stable regulatory mechanisms, their circulatory system is extremely sensitive, and any excess or delay in medication dosage can lead to serious complications.

The Aitecs 2016 syringe pump provides:

-absolute accuracy in drug delivery – with minimal error, which is critical for children weighing less than 1 kg;
-continuous infusion during transport of the infant to other departments;
-the ability to administer multiple drugs simultaneously, which is standard in neonatal intensive care;
-protection against fluid overload, which is especially important for children with unstable hemodynamics;
-reliability in operation, which is necessary during the stabilization of newborns born in emergency conditions or as a result of military events.

This equipment helps children survive every day – from the first minutes to several weeks of life.

Masimo Rad 97 Pulse Oximeter – The Gold Standard in Monitoring. For premature babies, monitoring blood oxygen saturation is a matter of life and death. Any drop in SpO₂ can lead to respiratory arrest, brain ischemia, or long-term neurological damage in a matter of seconds.

The Rad 97 is one of the most accurate pulse oximeters in the world, providing:

-Highly accurate SpO₂ measurement even with low blood flow (often in infants <1 kg)
-early detection of apnea, bradycardia, and oxygen fluctuations;
-reduced risk of retinopathy of prematurity thanks to controlled oxygen delivery;
continuous 24/7 monitoring;
-compatibility with sensors for extremely small infant hands and feet.

A pulse oximeter is the eyes of medical professionals, allowing them to see dangerous changes in a patient's condition in time and prevent a catastrophe.

The purchase of infusion pumps and pulse oximeters will enable:

- increased survival rates for premature babies in the region;
- ensure accurate dosing of medications needed to stabilize infants;
- detect critical changes in the condition of newborns in a timely manner;
- support children from frontline and evacuated regions, who often face additional risks;
- relieve the burden on the department, which is overloaded with patients due to the war;
- give IDP families confidence that their babies are receiving treatment on par with leading neonatal centers in Europe.

Premature babies are the most fragile patients, and every gram of their weight is a huge struggle.

Every day, the Cherkasy Regional Hospital* saves the lives of babies who were born prematurely or survived the war before they were even born.

In order for doctors to continue this fight and give these babies a chance at life, they need modern infusion pumps and pulse oximeters — equipment without which neonatal care is impossible.

*Full name of the hospital: Municipal Non-Profit Enterprise "Cherkasy Regional Hospital of the Cherkasy Regional Council".