Community Gift Brings Innovative NICU Technology to Valleywise Health

Valleywise Health is bringing a new level of innovation to neonatal care as the first hospital in Arizona to implement the LifeBubble™ Umbilical Line Securement System, an advanced technology designed to provide a gentler, more secure way to stabilize umbilical lines for premature and critically ill infants.

The technology was introduced through the leadership of Valleywise Health’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) clinicians, who identified an opportunity to enhance care for some of the hospital’s most vulnerable patients. Its implementation was made possible through a grant of more than $12,000 awarded by members of 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun to the Valleywise Health Foundation. The foundation then partnered with Valleywise Health NICU nursing staff to bring LifeBubble to patients.

“The addition of LifeBubble technology highlights our ongoing commitment to providing the most advanced, evidence-based care to the infants who need it most. Umbilical catheters are a vital lifeline for our most vulnerable patients, granting immediate access to medications, nutrition, fluids, and other lifesaving therapies during their critical first days,” said Dr. Jodi Carter, Chair of Pediatrics at Valleywise Health.

“Bringing this technology to Valleywise Health further demonstrates our dedication to advancing neonatal care and ensuring every baby entrusted to our NICU receives the highest standard of treatment. We are immensely proud to fulfill our mission of providing exceptional care without exception and are profoundly grateful to the compassionate Valley women whose support made this possible.”

LifeBubble is designed to secure umbilical catheters used in newborns requiring critical care while reducing catheter migration and malposition and maintaining clinician access to the insertion site. Clinical studies conducted at Oregon Health and Science University and Stanford Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, as well as research published in the 2024 Journal of Perinatology, have demonstrated promising results, including reductions in catheter migration and high levels of nursing satisfaction.

“Every improvement we can make for our smallest and most medically fragile patients matters,” said Alyssa Munson, MSN, RN, NICU Developmental Care Coordinator at Valleywise Health. “LifeBubble represents an opportunity to bring an evidence-based innovation to Arizona that may help improve the healthcare experience for both infants and clinicians. We are grateful to 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun and the Valleywise Health Foundation for helping make this advancement possible.”

For 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun, the project offered an opportunity to make a direct impact on patient care through philanthropy. The organization brings women together to pool their charitable giving and support initiatives that benefit the community.

“When our members learned about this technology and how it can improve care for vulnerable newborns, they immediately recognized the difference it could make,” said Pam Stelzer, an emeritus member of the Valleywise Health Foundation Board and member of 100+ Women Who Care Valley of the Sun. “This initiative is a strong example of how local philanthropy can create meaningful change in our community. The women who contributed to this grant should be proud knowing their generosity is helping bring innovative care to Arizona families.”

For the premature and critically ill infants cared for at Valleywise Health, the technology represents another tool to support safer, more advanced neonatal care while demonstrating how local philanthropy can help bring meaningful innovations to Arizona patients. For more behind this Frontdoor, visit 100wwcvalleyofthesun.org.