Angel Eye Completes Installation of 10 Cameras in Baystate Children’s Hospital

By Ben Boulden

Using the Angel Eye camera system, parents can see and talk to their baby anytime, day or night, from their mobile phone or computer. Angel Eye represents not only the latest technology, but a total rethinking of how to provide patient- and family-centered care for parents and family members who are away from their babies in the NICU.

“The cameras are a wonderful addition to the family-centered care provided for our infants at the Baystate Children’s NICU,” said Jeffrey S. Shenberger, M.D. “They provide solace and comfort to our parents and foster togetherness during a very stressful time. We have parents dining with their infant, saying good night to their baby, and sharing the child’s journey with friends and relatives at a distance. Every NICU family should have this opportunity.”

Shenberger is a professor of pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine and chief of the Division of Newborn Medicine and medical director of Newborn Intensive Care at Baystate Children’s Hospital.

In Massachusetts earlier this year, Angel Eye installed a total of 52 cameras in two hospitals, and will have a total of 97 cameras in hospitals throughout the state by this fall. Since its founding, the company’s systems have been introduced into NICUs in Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas and Arkansas, including 26 at UAMS. Installations are also pending at NICUs in Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Angel Eye’s technology is an example of the nationally leading role played by UAMS ANGELS (Antenatal and Neonatal Guidelines, Education and Learning System), a program that uses the latest communications technology to provide long-distance care to rural Arkansas parents and their newborns.

UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a northwest Arkansas regional campus; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. It is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,021 students, 789 medical residents and two dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or www.uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

Baystate Health is a not-for-profit, mission-driven, integrated health system serving a population of over 800,000 people in communities across western Massachusetts. With roots dating to the founding of Springfield City Hospital in 1873, Baystate Health has been providing skilled and compassionate health care in the Pioneer Valley for more than 140 years.

Angel Eye Camera Systems LLC was founded in 2013 with the support of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) BioVentures. Angel Eye designs, develops and delivers Internet-based camera systems that allow parents and family members to see and interact with their baby in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). When they are unable to visit their child in the hospital, family members can log into a secure account page using their computer or smart phone and view and speak to their baby in the NICU. Additional features include direct one-way audio, virtual rounding, educational videos, language translation and 24/7 technical support. Angel Eye is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, with offices in Nashville, Tennessee. For more information, visit www.angeleyecameras.com.