- Target:
- Pediatric Hospital Administration Staff
- Region:
- United States of America
Operation Hold Me is a petition that would make it the policy of any hospital, with a pediatric unit, to require that the nursing staff both physically and emotionally/verbally interact with ALL infants or young toddlers, less any health risk, during their scheduled feedings regardless of feed type. (Oral AKA Bottle Fed or via PEG/G-Tube/NG-Tubes)
This idea for this petition was conceived during my daughter’s recent 30 day admission at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital. My daughter is 7 months old and has been G-tube dependent since 2 weeks of age. Her feeding schedule is as follows: One 115 ML Bollus (Gravity) feed via syringe to be given over the course of 30 minutes at 9 AM, 12 Noon, 3 PM and 6 PM. From 9 PM to 7 AM she is on a continuous feed During the course of this stay my daughter was not picked up and held by nursing staff during her G-Tube feedings.
When a request was given to my nurse for my daughter to be held in my absence during her feed I was told it would be relayed during reports at change of shift to the next nurse. I tested this by using the Mothers Room to pump (20 minutes) right before my daughter was given a bollus feed. Upon my request to the nurse I was told that they could not guarantee that the staff would have time to hold her during her feed.
The same day, and every day I have spent in the hospital over the past seven months, I have observed the nurse staff getting Oral Fed (Bottle) babies out of their cribs to hold while feeding them. In one instance, the nurse held the infant for no less than 45 minutes, including burping time, to give a feeding. The nurse both emotionally and physically interacted with the child. Meanwhile, my daughter sits in a crib with no interaction whatsoever while a pump puts food into her abdomen via G-Tube.
Sadly, this is not just taking place at one hospital. I have experienced the exact same situation at both Childrens Oakland Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital in Stockton, CA. I have also contacted other parents/guardians of tube fed children throughout the United States of America and my findings, thus far, have also been experienced by other families at those hospitals as well.
This is a severe injustice that must be changed immediately. It is crucial that all babies have positive and nurturing interaction and feeding time should be no different. In fact, it is most often the case that children who are feeding tube dependent have medical conditions that would be greatly benefit from having interaction with other people.
I propose it become the policy of any hospital, with a pediatric unit, to require that the nursing staff both physically and emotionally/verbally interact with ALL infants or young toddlers, less any health risk, during their scheduled feedings regardless of feed type. (Oral AKA Bottle Fed or via PEG/G-Tube/NG-Tubes)
We, the undersigned, call on any hospital with Pediatric Units, to adapt a policy that would prevent future discriminatory treatment of PEG/G-Tube/NG-Tube babies and young toddlers.
We request that a policy be implemented immediately to require the nurse of a PEG/G-Tube/NG-Tube child that is still in a "Crib Bed" be picked up (held) and interacted with during scheduled feeding times provided it poses no serious health risk to the child.
Should the child be on a continuous feed, the nursing staff will accommodate that every 2-4 hours the child is taken out of their crib and picked up (held) and interacted with for no less than 20 minutes.
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The Operation Hold Me petition to Pediatric Hospital Administration Staff was written by Samara Dulik and is in the category Health at GoPetition.