Born to be in pictures

Torus Tammer

Fountain Valley Regional Hospital and Medical Center is accommodating

proud moms and dads by setting up free Web sites for their new arrivals.

It’s more then just quality care, says hospital spokeswoman Kathleen

O’Brien, who adds that the availability of this feature allows the family

to share the images of their baby with family and friends via the

Internet.

“There was a lady here from Kuwait who had to have an emergency

Caesarean section,” O’Brien said. “She didn’t speak English yet, and her

and her husband were sending digital pictures of their baby to family in

Kuwait.”

To provide this service, the Fountain Valley Regional Hospital

partnered with WebFamilies to offer QuikWeb, a wireless system that

allows parents of newborns to post their baby photos on the Internet in a

secure, password-protected environment without ever leaving their

hospital room.

“Using the power of the Internet, we can help bring families and

friends together, no matter where they live, allowing all loved ones to

feel included in the birth of a new baby,” said Tim Smith, chief

executive of WebFamilies. “This system takes what was once a series of

phone calls and formal announcements to relatives and friends and turns

it into a quick and fun way for parents to create their very own online

community and share unlimited photos of and updates on the progress of

their child.”

The system works by putting a digital camera and laptop computer at

the patient’s bedside. This allows parents to photograph their newborn

and personally build their own Web site, according to their own taste and

design. O’Brien says that the system, available in both English and

Spanish, is so easy to use that even parents who have never used the

Internet before can easily and quickly create their own newborn Web site.

WebFamilies supplies the service and equipment at no cost to the

family or the hospital. O’Brien says that it has been the dads who have

been most enamored by this service, but adds that it has also brought

happiness to entire families.

“This is one more example of Fountain Valley Regional staff working to

meet patient satisfaction,” O’Brien said. “That remains one of our most

important initiatives.”