The Coordinating Entity, as identified on the cover page, is issuing this RFP and administering the RFP process on behalf of the Purchaser(s) identified in Section B – Material Disclosures of the RFP Particulars (Appendix D). The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Health Sciences Centre is a 60-bed neonatal intensive care unit, that provides specialty care to neonates from Manitoba, Northwestern Ontario, and Nunavut. This patient population includes, but is not limited to, preterm infants, very low birth weight infant, and infants born with medical or surgical conditions requiring specialized medical care within the NICU. Parents and caregivers of infants admitted to the NICU experience high levels of stress and trauma, primarily related to parent-infant separation, and feelings of helplessness; this parental stress was especially heightened due to the visitor restrictions associated with the recent pandemic. Although parental stress cannot be completely eradicated, the implementation of a family-integrated secure picture and video messaging service that enables NICU staff to send pictures, videos and one-way message updates privately and securely to parents via a mobile device or tablet, from the infants bedside, will minimize parental anxiety and stress. Thus, it will improve the overall experience of the NICU admission at HSC.
