{"id":4792,"date":"2026-07-28T14:50:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:50:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/?p=4792"},"modified":"2026-07-28T14:50:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T14:50:27","slug":"bilimeters-now-in-every-sanford-health-sioux-falls-clinic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/?p=4792","title":{"rendered":"Bilimeters now in every Sanford Health Sioux Falls clinic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Finding out bilirubin levels in newborns just got a lot easier at Sanford <a href="https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/?p=4761" title="How wildfires impact your health<\/a>“>Health<\/a> in Sioux Falls, South Dakota<\/p>\n

Bilimeters are now in every single clinic at Sanford Health in South Dakota\u2019s largest city. A bilimeter identifies bilirubin levels in newborns simply \u201cby pressing a simple device on the chest,\u201d said Sanford Health pediatrician Jennifer Haggar, M.D<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is typically something that we have to measure through a blood test. For small infants that often means poking their heel and squeezing until we get enough blood sample,\u201d she explained<\/p>\n

Elevated experiences for patients and parents<\/h2>\n

The bilimeter makes it a greater experience for newborns and parents<\/p>\n

\u201cThe parents really appreciate it. When you have a newborn, you have went through an incredibly stressful, and joyful hopefully, period of time. But you\u2019re exhausted,\u201d said Dr. Haggar<\/p>\n

\u201cFor moms, they\u2019re going through a lot of emotional and hormonal changes, and then when I have to do this painful procedure to their child, it\u2019s really substantial. So the fact that I can do this really needed test in a painless way, the babies like it, but the parents really like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bilirubin levels help identify jaundice in babies<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s a needed and important test because bilirubin levels work to identify jaundice, a common condition for babies where the skin and eyes have a yellow appearance<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it\u2019s mild, it\u2019s OK,\u201d said Dr. Haggar. \u201cWhen jaundice gets severe it\u2019s incredibly dangerous. If jaundice goes untreated and gets to very high levels, permanent brain damage can occur.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe result is almost instant. So, if I have to send my patient to the lab for a blood test, our lab teams are fantastic and they do work really quickly, but the blood has to be drawn, go through the machine; it has to be reported into the computer<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this (bilimeter), I can ask my nurse to come in and perform the test, and she can tell me the answer before she leaves the room. Then I can talk to the family and say here\u2019s what we see, here\u2019s what this means and here\u2019s what we\u2019re going to do for next steps rather than having to call them an hour later when they\u2019re on the way home and say I need you to come back and get a treatment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For patients who call rural America home, that saves them lots of time<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want kids to experience the highest level of care no matter what Sanford they go to. All of our Sanford Children\u2019s locations in Sioux Falls have bilimeters. This is a great example of a gift helping with a small thing, but it touches so many patients,\u201d said Dr. Haggar<\/p>\n

Sanford Health Foundation makes bilimeters possible<\/h2>\n

The bilimeters were fully funded by the Sanford Health Foundation. Vice president of Sanford Health Foundation, Erin Sanderson, said the foundation raised nearly $50,000 to fund bilimeters for the Sioux Falls metro children\u2019s clinics<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a local investment made possible by donors who care deeply about children and families in our community,\u201d said Sanderson<\/p>\n

\u201cEntirely through philanthropic support. This was a Sioux Falls only investment. We\u2019ve seen tremendous support of our Children\u2019s initiative in the last few years, so it tells a great story of the \u2018little\u2019 things we\u2019re able to provide in addition to large capital projects,\u201d she added<\/p>\n

Sanderson said the work of health and healing at Sanford Health is driven by the generosity and passion of more than 20,000 donors, fundraisers and supporters, \u201cwho want to help shape the future of health care<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe often talk about transformational projects and large capital initiatives, but this is a great example of how philanthropy also supports the smaller innovations that make a huge difference in the patient experience every single day<\/p>\n

\u201cA simple, painless test like this can reduce stress for parents, improve care for newborns, and create a better experience for families across our region,\u201d Sanderson said<\/p>\n

To find a clinic near you, visit Sanford Health\u2019s website<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Signs, causes and treatments of jaundice in newborns<\/li>\n
  • Prep for baby, postpartum, and \u2018fourth trimester\u2019<\/li>\n
  • Sanford Health reinvests $1 billion to expand access to care<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u2026<\/p>\n

    Posted In
    \n Children’s, Family Medicine, Foundation, Sioux Falls<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Finding out bilirubin levels in newborns just got a lot easier at Sanford Health in Sioux Falls, South Dakota<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4794,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[450,418,40,192,451],"class_list":["post-4792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-parenting","tag-bilimeters","tag-every","tag-health","tag-sanford","tag-sioux"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4792"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4792\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4793,"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4792\/revisions\/4793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lumeamara.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}