Bronson Battle Creek Gets New Baby Warmer Thanks to Generous Donors

Bronson Battle Creek Hospital’s Emergency Department has a new piece of equipment to help newborns and children maintain body temperature during critical illnesses or cardiac arrest.

The Panda Warmer helps to regulate newborn body temperature at a critical time to minimize or prevent illness and death. It’s an important piece of equipment to have on hand for babies who may be born in the emergency department or are transported to the hospital after birth. Some of these infants require lifesaving intervention. The baby warmer helps prevent delays, streamlines treatment, and improves outcomes. It can also be used to transport babies from the Emergency Department to the Bronson BirthPlace without having to remove the baby and disrupt thermoregulation.

The warmer was funded by a gift from Chris and Barbara Christoffersen to Bronson Health Foundation. It replaces an infant care station that used a radiant heating element and was in need of an upgrade. The warmer can also be used for children up to 88 pounds who have experienced a trauma or other critical illness.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Christoffersen family for their generosity and compassion,” says Terry Morrow, vice president of development, Bronson Healthcare. “This is important, lifesaving equipment that we are fortunate to provide at Bronson Battle Creek.”

In addition to the gift of the baby warmer, the Christoffersen’s established the Bronson Health Foundation Christoffersen Family Trauma and Emergency Services Endowment in the spring of 2021 with an initial gift of $200,000 to honor the lifesaving emergency care their daughter received at Bronson 36 years ago. Already, $140,000 in matching funds have been raised, including a $25,000 gift just announced by Southwestern Michigan Emergency Services (SWMES). “The new baby warmer is a great example of the way gifts to enhance emergency services can impact patients, families and Emergency Department staff,” says Dr. James DeMoss, president of SWMES. “We felt compelled to make a matching gift to the endowment to make sure those services are supported well into the future.”