Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) Resources for Nurseries and Birthing Centers

These resources have been developed for staff in the nursery or birthing centers on topics of equipment, training, implementation of Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) algorithm and referring infants to ECHOs.

• The Wisconsin* SHINE Project: The Wisconsin SHINE Project (Screening Hearts in Newborns) is a pilot project through the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, the Medical College of Wisconsin and the State of Wisconsin designed to implement universal screening for CCHD. The SHINE team has developed an informative website with educational modules for the nursery.
• To help support pulse oximetry screening decisions in newborns, Cynthia Mueller has developed a table that can be reproduced and used while performing the screening.
• The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH)* is implementing a demonstration program to assess the feasibility of screening all Michigan newborns for critical congenital heart disease using pulse oximetry prior to hospital discharge. MDCH has developed resources for newborn screening programs that could be used by newborn screening programs. They have also developed a table for interpretation of pulse oximetry results.
• Utah Department of Health* has developed an algorithm tool used for pulse oximetry screening in the nursery
• Eve’s story: A training video developed by the American Heart Association for nurses and care providers administering pulse oximetry in the nursery.
• The Children’s National Medical Center has resources for birthing centers, including educational videos and parent handouts.
• The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) and the New Jersey Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics (NJAAP) have developed a free online nursing course on Newborn Screening for CCHD using Pulse Oximetry. Registration, course information and links to the course can be found on the NJDOH CCHD Screening Resources web page. Content is applicable for nurses who work with pregnant women, new moms and newborns.