November 5, 1998

Flushing Hospital Opens First Infant Apnea Management Program

Flushing Hospital Medical almost was forced to close its doors forever a few years ago, but luckily the hospital was given a new breath of new life. The fact that the hospital remains open means the continued existence of many services that the hospital provides to the community. One of the services also knows a thing or two about providing breaths of life.

Flushing Hospital's Infant Apnea Management program was the first program of its kind certified by New York City and still the only one in Queens. The Infant Apnea program is designed to monitor the breathing patterns of its patients by attaching an electronic device to them. That device produces a report that is reviewed by hospital staff upon the infant's next visit. Tracking the infants breathing patterns is very important because infant apnea, which is defined as a sudden cessation of breathing, is a leading factor in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, (SIDS).

There are currently 75 infants that are patients in the program. Infants who are born premature, have a family history of Apnea, or were born while the mother was on drugs are most at risk and are therefore immediately screened for this condition. The Infant Apnea program is conducted at Flushing Hospital every Thursday from 10:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m.

If you are interested in getting more information about Infant Apnea and its relationship with SIDS, please call the telephone number provided above. An interview can be arranged with Dr. Rappoport, Chairperson of Pediatric Medicine at Flushing Hospital or Marion Fitzpatrick, Nurse Coordinator of the Infant Apnea Management program.