After Losing a Child to Cancer, Parents Strive to Help Others with PICC Lines, Central Lines (CVL’S, Broviac/Hickman), G-Tubes, PEG Tubes and Various Other Feeding Tubes
(PRWEB) March 24, 2014 -- After fighting cancer alongside her daughter, a mom’s innovation improves quality of life for future patients. It was unacceptable to Mike and Kezia that the hospital did hot have a safe and consistent solution to the aftercare of their infant daughter’s PICC Line and Central Line. Kezia, wanting to protect her daughter from any additional discomfort, went home and created a solution.
Kezia and Mike knew they wanted to help other patients and families living with external catheter lines and give the healthcare industry a standardized way to secure and manage Central Lines, PICC lines and G-GJ Tubes. They started CareAline Products, LLC. “It was important to us to help other people. Our products were designed because we needed to find a safe solution to a problem,” says Mike. With that, the CareAline™ product line was born.
CareAline™ Products are unique, one-of-a kind line management systems for PICC Lines, Central Lines, PEG Lines, G-GJ Tubes and various catheters. They keep lines off of the patients skin, keep lines safe and put away, and allow patients to avoid uncomfortable tape or makeshift devices to hold lines in place when they have lines implanted for any reason.
CareAline Products, LLC started shipping retail orders of its current product line in May of 2013, and wholesale orders came right after. CareAline will soon be part of the line care regime in hospitals, infusion clinics, children’s hospitals and cancer centers thorough out the world. In the past eight months, CareAline has signed four new specialty medical product distributors to distribute their CareAline™ Sleeves for PICC Lines, CareAline™ Wraps for Central Lines and G-GJ Tubes throughout the US, Canada and Australia, and is looking into distributors in the EU, Brazil and Japan. It has taken a lot of time, energy, and dedication to reach this point, and the story behind these innovative products makes them just that much more special.
In 2011, the Fitzgeralds’ lives were turned upside down. 26-year-old Kezia Fitzgerald was diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in January, and just 3 and a half months later her then 11-month-old daughter, Saoirse (pronounced seer-sha), was diagnosed with Stage 4 high risk Neuroblastoma. Saoirse’s diagnosis was followed by immediate treatment. She had a PICC Line placed in her arm to administer medication and fluids. Immediately, Saoirse’s skin had a bad reaction to the tape used to hold the PICC line in place (very common, even with the sensitivity tape), and she wanted to chew and tug on the line constantly, as any one-year-old would. It was stressful for everyone.
The next morning, Kezia arrived at the hospital with a little sleeve that she thought would allow them to secure Saoirse’s PICC line safely without the use of irritating tape, keeping the lines and caps off of her skin, and at the same time keep her from playing with it, teething on it, tugging at it or getting it caught on external objects: possibly ripping it out. It worked! It was simple, comfortable for her to wear, and when Kezia put it on her, Saoirse forgot about her PICC Line. She went back to playing with her toys, and ignored her new accessory. Three weeks later, Saoirse had her PICC line removed and a Central Line placed in her chest.
The Fitzgerald’s were facing the same problem with the lines and caps with the Central Line. The lines were hanging down into her diaper and she was constantly getting them caught on things. So Kezia went back to the sewing machine and made a wrap to go around Saoirse’s chest, protecting her and her Central Line. The Central Line Wrap is tubular, so it keeps the lines off of the skin and has a spot to protect the caps while not in use. Saoirse wore her sleeve and wrap 24 hours a day. It made the Fitzgeralds’ lives easier, because they didn’t have to worry about Saoirse’s lines getting caught on things, or being exposed to contamination.
For more information on how CareAline Products started and some backstory to why they chose to bring them to market please visit
http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/23/health/aj-irpt-carealine-cancer/index.html
CareAline Products now designs and manufactures functional wraps and sleeves for patients with Central Lines (Broviac/Hickman,), G-GJ Tubes and PICC Lines. Their products secure the lines and caps off of patients skin without the use of medial tape, helping to reduce the hundreds of thousands of tape infections and irritations per year from securing lines and caps with medical tape. People who have cancer, Lyme disease, short gut syndrome, cystic fibrosis, or need TPN, among many other conditions, use their products.
CareAline Products have many benefits to the patient, parents, caregivers, nurses and hospitals in general. The garment does not need to be removed for treatment or scans, which makes CareAline™ the first functional medical grade garments for PICC Lines, Central Lines and G-GJ Tubes. All of CareAline products are machine washable and dryable and are meant for single patient use.
To name a few benefits
• Eliminate the use of additional tape to keep your PICC or Central lines in place (does not replace sterile dressing)
• Sleeves have a pocket to store Caps and line extensions
• Reduces or eliminates tape irritation on patient's skin
• Keeps lines and caps off of patients skin – great way to manage lines and caps
• Peace of mind for Parents, Patients and Caregivers
• Potentially reduce line infections
• Hospitals potentially save thousands on emergency repairs of Lumens and emergency surgeries
• Hospitals potentially save thousands in reduced tape infections/irritations
• Latex Free
For a full list please visit: carealine.com/carealine-benefits/.
Medical Facilities please contact one of our distributors below or call CareAline Products and we will connect you with a distributor to fit your needs.
CareAline™ Products Announces new specialty medical product distribution contracts. Below is a list of distributors. For more information on becoming a distributor please call Mike 617-548-7419 or email mike(at)carealine(dot)com.
USA
Spalding Surgical LLC
Phone: 615.772.1518
Fax: 888.450.4438
carealine(at)spaldingsurgicalllc(dot)com
USA Co-Brand
Providing Sleeves and Wraps under the name LineAssure™
Vermed, Inc.
9 Lovell Drive
Bellows Falls, VT 05101-1556,
(800) 245 - 4025
info(at)vermed(dot)com
http://www.vermed.com
Canada
VRRK Medical Innovations Inc.
140-577 Great Northern Way
Vancouver, BC, V5T 1E1
Canada
1-877-510-6812
order(at)vrrk(dot)ca
info(at)vrrk(dot)ca
http://www.vrrk.ca
Australia
Southern Cross Bio Pty Ltd
133 Alexander Street Crows Nest
Sydney NSW 2065 Australia
Call: 02 94327859
Fax: 02 8079 0799
info(at)scbio(dot)com(dot)au
http://www.scbio.com.au
If you would like to schedule an interview with us, please contact Mike at 617-548-7419 or email info(at)CareAline(dot)com.
Mike, CareAline Products, LLC, http://www.carealine.com, +1 617-548-7419, [email protected]
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