POTSDAM - Canton-Potsdam Hospital Foundation recently received a $6,373 grant from Children’s Miracle Network – the seventh grant awarded to the hospital from CMN in the past 10 years.

This year’s award purchased a pediatric “SuperStander” for the hospital’s outpatient physical therapy department and a biliblanket phototherapy system used for infants with jaundice.

Jaundice, which is a common ailment in newborns, can lead to brain damage if left untreated. While the hospital already had a phototherapy system on the obstetrics unit, the medical/surgical unit did not have its own biliblanket system for treating infants re-admitted to the hospital with jaundice. Transporting equipment from one department to another is inefficient and can potentially compromise infection prevention efforts, so obtaining a unit that could be used on the medical/surgical unit was preferable, according to clinical leaders.

Canton-Potsdam Hospital treats about 30 pediatric physical rehabilitation patients per year who can benefit from the stander unit, including those with genetic disorders, cerebral palsy and traumatic brain injury. Many of these children have severe disabilities and are undergoing intensive ongoing therapeutic interventions. Use of the SuperStand has been documented to improve bowel and bladder function, enhance respiratory function, increase endurance, reduce risk of pressure ulcers, prevent contraction of lower extremities, improve circulation and maintain bone density.

“Over the years CMN has purchased equipment for our hospital totaling more than $40,000,” Foundation Executive Director Laura Cordts said. “We are so pleased to once again partner with Children’s Miracle Network to ensure quality care for our youngest patients.”

The Hospital Foundation exists to raise and manage funds for the sole benefit of the patients served by Canton-Potsdam Hospital. Donations may be mailed to the Foundation at 50 Leroy St., Potsdam, or made online at www.cphospital.org.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer