Don't Break Her Heart: Cardiac Telemetry for the Pregnant and Postpartum Patient

Purpose for the program: When patients who are pregnant or postpartum present and are in need of telemetry monitoring, they were often seperated from their newborns, or required the use of 2 nurses to attend them as the units for perinatal services did not have telemetry access.   As more patients with pre-existing disease are achieving pregnancy, this situation will only become more frequent. 

Proposed change: This nurse driven change involves using remote telemetry monitoring of the obstetrical patient as an assignment for the telemetry floor charge nurse.  Communication standards and co-nursing management plans were developed. 

Implementation, outcomes and evaluation: Policy and procedures were developed based on a shared governance model of care.  Outcomes have resulted in maintaining the postpartum mother baby dyad and accomplishing remote telemetry for cardiac assesment. 

Implications for nursing practice:   This program allows for seemless maternal newborn care.  In addition, staff is engaging in colleagial relationships and co management situations that they did not have an opportunity to be a part of in the past.

Keywords: telemetry, cardiac disease.