Sacramento, Calif.-based UC Davis Children's Hospital installed webcams in its neonatal intensive care unit so families can watch their baby from a computer, tablet or cellphone.
The program, FamilyLink, features a secure web portal and webcam access upon NICU admission. Flexible tripods and webcams are on all 49 NICU beds.
Many parents have to work or care for other children while their infant is in the NICU, according to Kristin Hoffman, MD, a neonatologist at UC Davis and co-creator of the FamilyLink program.
"This is a way that families can still be connected to their baby when they are not able to be at the hospital," she said in a news release.
The webcams were purchased with a Children's Miracle Network Hospitals grant.