CEDAR RAPIDS — Jean Weber wanted to literally smooth the way for premature babies.
The neonatal intensive care unit nurse noticed when she wheeled an infant in an incubator bed from the delivery room at UnityPoint Health-St. Luke’s Hospital into the elevator to take the baby to the NICU, the ridges where the elevator door closes caused the 300-pound bed to bump and rumble.
“Every time I wheeled a baby across that I cringed,” Weber said. “I would think, ‘What is that baby hearing?’.”
Weber went to St. Luke’s medical innovation laboratory, called “generate,” where she developed a device that spans the elevator entrance, keeping the doors open and creating a smooth ramp across the threshold. She’s now refining the tool with a single piece of plastic for stability and handles so…
