Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers

AllOne Charities awarded a $25,000 grant to Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers (WMCHC) in support of its NEPA Bili Baby Program to treat jaundice newborns. The program expedites treatment through prompt bilirubin level testing and providing newborn phototherapy blankets (bili-blankets).

The concept for WMCHC’s NEPA Bili Baby Program came from Board-certified Pediatrician Apurva Jain, MD who collaborated with colleague Larryl Damon, Jr., DO. Both physicians, who treat patients at the Sterling Pediatric Center in Lake Ariel, identified a need for improvement in diagnosis and timely treatment within a rural area offering limited resources. Dr. Jain described the need to screen babies for elevated bilirubin levels seeing one case a week.  Additionally, the challenges of locating and paying for the bili-blankets presented more barriers. Bili-blankets are normally rented from medical equipment companies but there are only a few within the service area and a limited quantity of blankets per supplier. Parents were sometimes forced to travel 40 miles or beyond with no guarantee a blanket would be in stock. Additionally, fees of between $75 to $125 per day could be incurred.

The grant allowed WMCHC to equip its four pediatric offices with transcutaneous bilirubinometers, providing a non-invasive method for measuring serum bilirubin with dependable results in seconds rather than hours or days. Additionally, WMCHC purchased three bili-blankets to be offered to their patients more readily and at no cost.

Although the blankets have only been in service less than a month one baby did not have to travel far to be hospitalized. 

WMCHC is a federally qualified health center clinically affiliated with Wayne Memorial Hospital, Inc. For information on call of WMCHC’s services and office locations, visit www.wmchc.net.

Photo (left to right):  WMCHC Chief Development Officer Erica Brown; Board-certified Pediatrician Apurva Jain, MD; WMCHC Chief Executive Officer Teresa Lacey, RN; John Cosgrove; Board-certified Pediatrician Larryl Damon, Jr., DO and WMCHC Pediatric Centers Practice Manager, Jennifer Allison, LPN.