Impact of a dedicated neonatal stabilization room and process changes on stabilization time.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to evaluate the impact of a dedicated resuscitation and stabilization (RAS) room and process changes on infant stabilization time.

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective quality improvement study was conducted on preterm infants in a tertiary care center. A dedicated RAS room, preresuscitation huddle, infant-isolette-ventilator pairing and improved documentation were implemented. The primary outcome was median time to stabilization and secondary outcomes were illness severity on day 1 and morbidity at discharge.

RESULTS: A sustained reduction in median time to stabilization from 90 min in the preimplementation phase to 72 min in the sustainability phase was observed. All planned and iterative process changes were integrated into the RAS team's daily routine. Time to completion of procedures decreased, illness severity and morbidity remained unchanged.

CONCLUSION: A dedicated RAS room adjacent to the delivery suite in conjunction with process changes improves efficiency of care.