The Sisterhood of Temple Beth El
invites the Public to its
BEHIND THE HEADLINES h
Sinai's Quints
Continued from preceding page
FIRST ANNUAL
PARTY PLANNING SHOWCASE
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 29th
Handleman Hall
Temple Beth El, 14 Mile and Telegraph
A Unique, First-time Event in the metropolitan Detroit Area
Ask Questions, Consult and Preplan your next Special Occasion with a
Myriad of Participating Exhibitors including:
Florists
Bands
Limousine Companies
Caterers
Confectioners
Room Decorators
Party Planners
FREE ADMISSION
An Ideal Time for Planning Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and Anniversaries
Mucous is suctioned from one of the quints.
discussed, including nursing
requirements, personal
security, media relations and
legal rights. Additionally,
departments to be involved in
Mrs. Wilson's care were
identified.
By the 24th week, a basic
plan existed. By the 26th
week, the plan was corn-
pleted, with refinements in
communications, security and
media relations.
A network of 60 paging
devices was the web which
linked virtually every Sinai
department to the plan.
Twelire nurses from labor/
delivery carried pagers at all
times. Three were on call at
once, with the others reac-
tivated when their turns
came. A similar on-call plan
was instituted for the
Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit, where five nurses, one
for each baby, would be
needed.
Besides Drs. Salesin,
Goldsmith, Schwartz and
Goyert, five -neonatologists
were linked to the network,
as were anesthesiologists, ,
seven respiratory therapists
and four technicians from the
Biomedical Engirieering
Department to assure all
equipment was operational.
Other plan components in-
cluded a Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit "annex" adjacent
to the delivery room. Its con-
tents were removed and five
stations established, each
with equipment necessary for
sustaining the babies. Then,
the room was sealed.
A drill in early December
smoothed the plan's remain-
ing wrinkles. Sinai was ready.
.
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APPLEGATE SQUARE
WINTER CLEARANCE
30% t0 50% OFF
• All Outerwear (Includes leather)
• Sweatshirts (Blanc Bleu, Code Bleu
Bugle Boy)
PLUS
• Selected Shirts, Sweaters &
Slacks
No Charges - All Sales Final
352-4244
28 FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 1989
B
y mid-December, Ma-
ry Jo Wilson was rea-
dy, too.
"She was tired of being
here and was physically un-
comfortable," said Joanna
Copes, a clinical nurse
specialist who coordinated
her care. "It was holiday time
and she was ready, knowing
the Neonatal Intensive Care
Unit (for babies) at 28 weeks
gives you good outcomes.
"She set a goal of Dec. 29 as
a delivery date, having
miscarried previously on a
Dec. 29," she added.
About two weeks prior to
delivery, Mrs. Wilson's con-
tractions increased.
"We were at our limits for
her medically in the dosages
of drugs that we could use
orally," Dr. Goldsmith said.
"We used some other seda-
tions to slow the contractions,
but we knew we couldn't use
them on a frequent basis
either.
"On Wednesday night (Jan.
4), I got a call that she was
contracting every three
minutes. We tried one other
dose of medicine and when
that didn't help, we transfer-
red her to labor and delivery"
Drs. Goldsmith, Salesin,
Schwartz and Goyert conven-
ed and, after consultations,
placed Mrs. Wilson on-
magnesium sulfate in-
travenously to slow the
contractions.
"We were now at 31 weeks
and needed to know how
much longer we should go
with this medicine. We also
felt that an amniocentesis to
determine lung maturity in
the babies was important,"
Dr. Goldsmith said.
Through the injection of
steroids into Mrs. Wilson
beginning in her 26th week,
lung maturity was ac-
celerated, he added.
At 2 a.m. Thursday (Jan. 5),
amniocentesis was performed
on the fluid in two sacs.
Evaluation of the fluids were
inconclusive and a second
analysis later that morning
showed the key LS ratio
(which measures the relation-
ship between the presence of
lecithin and sphyngomyelin)
was strong, indicating lung
maturity.
"At that time, she was
breaking through the
magnesium sulfate (with con-
tractions) and at about 4 p.m.,
we decided that in view of the
mature ratios, delivery would
be soon," Dr. Goldsmith said.
"Nature was telling us
something."
Nature was telling Drs.
Goldsmith, Salesin and
Sinai's staff in more ways
than one.
Ominous forecasts warned
of _a mammoth ice storm
heading Detroit's way. Freez-
ing rain, sleet and snow could
arrive by 6 p.m. glazing
streets and sidewalks and
downing power lines.
"We wanted to base our
decision on a medical need —
what is good for this patient,"
Dr. Goldsmith said. "Secon.
darily, we did think about the
time of day from a staffing
point of view. Yes, there was
a winter storm warning, but
we felt there was still plenty
of time to get people to the
hospital."
At 4:30 p.m., the network of
pagers beeped. After weeks of
seeing test patterns on the
readout, the pagers flashed
the magic "55555."
S
howtime!" Dr. Salesin
quips at 5:50 p.m.,
just before entering
the delivery room, where
anestheologist Dr. Rob Tuwill
and senior resident Dr. Brian
Brown are preparing for the
epidural Mary Jo Wilson
would receive. Elsewhere in