Alumna Kimberly Jarrelle presents on an invention to improve cesarean outcomes
VCU School of Nursing alumna Kimberly Jarrelle, RNC-OB (B.S.’11/N; M.S.’16/N), associate chief nursing officer at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, returned to her alma mater this week to present on an invention designed to improve outcomes for mothers and babies following a cesarean section. Students, faculty, staff and other health care practitioners attended the event, held in Room 2001B of the School of Nursing.
The Bresonoff Feierstein Presentation, hosted by the Langston Center for Quality, Safety and Innovation, featured Jarrelle discussing how she and two other labor-and-delivery nurses invented a skin to skin surgical cesarean section drape which allows mom and baby immediate skin to skin contact in the operating room. Their invention, known as the Skin-to-Skin C-Section Drape, greatly improves the experience of moms and babies, while maintaining a sterile field, according to Jarrelle. Skin-to-skin contact is important for positive baby and mother outcomes as it releases hormones post delivery that are important for decreased risk of bleeding, and aids in bonding and breastfeeding.
The Skin-to-Skin C-Section Drape has been featured in local and national media. Here’s a link to a past article that appeared in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The presentation was funded by the Feierstein Leadership and Innovation Fund, established at the School of Nursing by alumna Lisa Bresonoff Feierstein, M.B.A., RN, (B.S.‘78/N), and her husband, Steve. A registered nurse who went on to become a pioneer in her field, Feierstein is president and co-founder, along with her husband, of Active Healthcare, a premier provider of medical equipment located in Raleigh, North Carolina.
