Redlands Newborns Receive Life Saving Equipment

Will Rogers Institute Grant Presented to RCH Foundation for New NICU Machines

Left to right: Melissa Valdivia RN, Tenneille Small RN, Angie Reiner, Jeremy Hatch, Lupe Bell, Allan Wolpe M.D., and Lisa Foley RN.

REDLANDS - Redlands Community Hospital Foundation received a grant of $33,363 from the Will Rogers Institute to support the purchase of life-saving equipment for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The funds supported the purchase of a dedicated Neonatal Ventilator Unit and an Infant Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine. Funds were also included for clinician training.

“When the Will Rogers Institute Neonatal Equipment Program announced that funding was available, the Foundation jumped into action,” RCH Foundation President Zack Tucker stated. “Through collaboration with Respiratory Therapy and NICU staff, the opportunity was identified and we were fortunate that our case was compelling enough to get the attention of the Institute.”

Ten percent of the babies born at Redlands Community Hospital are treated in the NICU and 22% of those patients need ventilator support. As the area’s only level 2 NICU, the equipment will help with patient safety, response times during emergencies, and sustain additional options for clinicians when treating the tiniest of patients. Both units will be dedicated solely for the NICU and will always be in a state of readiness for newborns.

Redlands Community Hospital is a 110 year old not-for-profit independent hospital. Its mission is to promote an environment where members of our community can receive high-quality care and service so they can maintain and be restored to good health. With 229 beds, RCH is a general acute care hospital that serves the Inland Empire Region of San Bernardino County including Redlands, Yucaipa, Calimesa, Highland, and the San Gorgonio Pass. RCH is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (TJC) and has been recognized by Healthgrades© as a top 100 hospital in the United States for a number of patient services including spine and joint surgery and general surgery.

The Will Rogers Institute is an organization that perpetuates the memory of Will Rogers by promoting and funding medical research of cardiopulmonary diseases, purchasing neonatal ventilator equipment for medical facilities across the country and by educating the general public on topics of health and fitness. The grant came from the Will Rogers Institute’s Neonatal Ventilator and Pulmonary Grant Program.

Redlands Community Hospital is an independent, not-for-profit, stand alone hospital.