Anna Bruett Hedstrom, MD
Associate Professor Adjunct Associate Professor, Global Health Neonatal Medical Director, Wenatchee Valley Hospital Neonatal Medical Director, St. Joseph Bellingham Medical Center
Clinical Interests: Interdisciplinary, family‐focused neonatal intensive care and appropriately targeting respiratory support.
Scholarly Focus: Dr. Hedstrom’s clinical research focuses on the implementation of care for small and sick newborns in resource limited settings globally. In particular, she researches ways to provide safe, ethically sound, and scientifically supported bubble continuous positive airway pressure (bCPAP) for newborns. In addition, she designed and oversees a novel data collection process in a rural Ugandan NICU with which outcomes can be assessed real‐time. Recent research focused on the implementation of a very low cost bCPAP device in Uganda and use of a respiratory severity score as a tool to predict increased respiratory support and CPAP failure after birth in Seattle. She serves as a technical advisor to the American Academy of Pediatrics in Ghana and on an ECHO quality improvement project in Ethiopia. She is a neonatal co-PI on Mobile WACh projects in Kenya assessing the impact of two-way SMS messaging with pregnant women and new mothers on neonatal mortality.
Research Funding:
2019‐2022 Validation and Feasibility Study of a Low‐Cost Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Kit and Oxygen Blender for Neonates. US Agency for International Development. Role: PI, Total Award: $250,000
2019‐2024 Mobile WACh NEO: Mobile Solutions for Neonatal Health and Maternal Support. NICHD RO1. Role: co‐investigator. Total award: $2,900,000
2021‐2026 CHV‐NEO: Community‐based digital communications to support neonatal health in Kenya. Role: co‐investigator. Total award: $719,000
Administration/Education Roles: Dr. Hedstrom is the Neonatal Medical Director of the special care nursery at St. Joesph’s Medical Center in Bellingham, WA as well as Wenatchee Valley Hospital. Her teaching includes medical students, residents, neonatology fellows, nurse practitioners and physician assistants at the Providence Everett, University of Washington, and Seattle Children’s neonatal units as well as instructing providers in the community and abroad in neonatal care and resuscitation.