The 2018 celebration of Nurses Week at Loma Linda University Health, May 6–12, focuses on how nurses inspire, innovate and influence. Erin Hoch, a nurse in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, exemplifies these qualities — especially innovation.
Hoch got her start in nursing at Children’s Hospital more than 12 years ago, when she was hired into the nursing residency program. She now has experience in the pediatric intermediate ICU, nursing research and the NICU.
Last September, Hoch said she found herself thinking about the feeding process and how it could be more efficient, less wasteful and better for bonding.
“The tiniest of our patients at Children’s Hospital need a specific amount of milk each feeding,” Hoch said. “But often, the babies aren’t ready to take an entire bottle. They tire out and need enteral feedings to get the milk they need.”
At that point, the nurse has to take a syringe, draw out the leftover milk from the bottle, and hook up the syringe to a machine that pumps the milk into the child’s nasogastric (NG) tube.
The process is time-consuming and costly, because each feeding requires not just the bottle with a nipple, but the syringe and tubing as well. In addition, the process can waste precious milk that the baby’s mother has pumped.
“I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a more efficient way to provide these feedings, and after some sleepless nights at home, I came up with an idea,” Hoch said.
Hoch’s new process will allow bottles to be converted to a container that delivers the food to the NG tube. It will not only save costs, but will allow a parent who is feeding their baby uninterrupted bonding time. With this new invention, the feeder will be able to change the nipple out and attach it to the NG, allowing a gravity-fed system of feeding.
Hoch’s manager encouraged her to talk to Loma Linda University Health’s n³eight department — an innovative center designed to take research breakthroughs from Loma Linda University Health to the patient bedside. Erik Gosink, manager of Technology Transfer at the center, worked with Hoch to help her obtain a patent lawyer. A prototype was built, and the idea was shared with a manufacturer who will be making a decision in the next few weeks.
Hoch, just one of the many innovative nurses at Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital, encourages her colleagues on a daily basis, saying, “If you have a thought, don’t just leave it as a thought. Do something about it.”