Forward In Time

Projected Running Time: 56:00
Projected Release Date: June 2011
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

Despite the fact that more than half a million premature babies are born in the United States
annually, the specifics of neonatal care are virtually unknown to the large majority of public television
and/or cable TV viewers in the U.S., Canada, Australia and the EU. . Our goal is to bring to light the
specifics of neonatal care to this audience.

born too soon will provide audiences with a unique look at the modern treatment of premature
babies from several different perspectives, ranging from the parents themselves to the medical
specialists—neonatologists, nurse practitioners, nurses, respiratory therapists—to hospital
administrators. Intended to be both dramatic and educational, born too soon will track the progress of a
cross section of real cases (3 or 4) involving newborn babies (24 to 30 weeks) and the physical and
emotional struggle to help them survive and flourish. Each of these cases will be set in a different
geographical region and follow the various people involved in the process. Aside from showing the
process from each person's point of view, the film will highlight the roles that those working in
neonatal care perform on a daily basis, as well as how these roles differ based on the treatment facility.

Additionally, born too soon will look at both the emotional and ethical side of the many
decisions these processes entail. The dilemmas include: Do all premature babies deserve access to
specialty neonatal care, regardless of their chances of survival? How is care equitably distributed
among newborns? Who pays for this care? How are decisions involving the newborn's care made?
At each different treatment center, born too soon will provide the viewer with the perspective of
several key persons involved in the process. On one side, will be the perspective of the parent. This
film will cover both their concerns going into the process as well as their impressions of the process
after its completion. The film will also address what happens after the babies leave the NICU and go
home to their families.

Born too soon will also follow various members of the hospital staff, capturing both their work
and their opinions on the subject. Footage of doctors and nurses working with the incubators and other
forms of technology will be interspersed with interviews. How do doctors and nurses, as well as
members of the transport team and hospital administration feel about the work they do, and how do
they struggle with certain ethical dilemmas when they reach a crisis point.
Alongside the narrative of individual babies fighting for survival, Born too soon will bring to
light the differing perspectives on the major issues of neonatology, both from an American and global
perspective. The film will contain interviews with an array of leading experts in the field of
neonatology as well as medical ethics, each providing a unique perspective on the timely issues
involved with neonatal care.
Born too soon will also address the most important issues facing the practice of neonatology,
ranging from questions about managing scarce hospital resources to gauging the best interests of the
child. For example, who should have the most say in a conflict over a baby's life? Should it be the
parents, who have a deep emotional investment in the child's life, or someone with a more objective
view of the child's survival?

Deeply embedded in these questions are issues about the ethical and legal implications of
certain parts of neonatal care, something born too soon will analyze through interviews with experts in
the fields of neonatology and medical ethics. How does one balance the amount of pain being inflicted
on a newborn with the likelihood of their survival? Is it worth risking severe developmental disabilities
and pain to attempt to save a baby with a low likelihood of survival?

PROJECTED PROGRAM BREAKDOWN:
Opening Sequence (4:00)
We will follow a real (or simulated) delivery of a premature baby (Case #1) from the ride to the
hospital through the delivery to placement and treatment of the baby in the NICU
Host Introduction/Historical Perspective (5:00)
A look at how the practice of Neonatology has evolved since the mid 1960’s
Projected Case Studies (32:00)
To be shot at 3 Level III NICUs and one (or 2) community hospitals. We are also interested in
shooting at one level III NICU outside of the United States.

Case Study #1:

Emergency transport from outside community hospital to Level III NICU
Precipitous delivery of micro-premie (less than 750 g.)
Young single mother (possibly teenager)
Care involves immature lungs, possible infection, medication v. surgery

Case Study #2:

Pre-eclamptic advanced aged mother (approximately 8% of all deliveries)
28 week baby
Planned delivery by Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialist
Involves resuscitation of baby

Case Study #3:

Multiple birth (approximately 40% are delivered prematurely)
Result of IVF (will involve discussion re ethics)
33-34 weeks
Smaller babies
Twin to twin transfusion syndrome

Case Study #4:

Withdrawal of care (will include interview with ethicist)
25 week baby
RDS (immature lungs)
Possible intra ventricular hemorrhage
Will involve use of High Frequency Oscillator (ventilator)
Consent form to enter NICU re intubation, ventilation, spinal tap, IV’s, transfusions, etc.
NICU consult (informational) with parent(s) in delivery room prior to premature delivery
A Panel of International Experts Discussing Controversial Issues (TBD) Surrounding the Future
of Neonatology (10:00)

Conflict resolution
Medical futility / end of life
Best interest of the child
“Framing” statistical outcomes
Legal & ethical implications
The universe of developmental care

Host Closing/Video Montage (3:00)

PRODUCTION TEAM
Stanley Stern
Producer/Director
For the past 20, Parallel has been providing video development, design, production and marketing
services to corporate clients and non-profit organizations from New York City to Maui, Hawaii. Our
aim has always been to help clients identify specific marketing, promotional or educational that can be
met with video or multimedia presentations. Each marketing analysis we've developed has focused on
the technological, business, economic, promotional, or social needs of clients. We have been fortunate
enough to produce more than 30 total hours of programming with budgets ranging from $10,000 to $3
million and have managed production shoots in more than 25 states, Canada and Mexico.

As a producer, director and writer, Stanley Stern has developed projects ranging from TV spots to
video seminars PBS documentaries to corporate marketing programs to the simultaneous productions
of a series of 12 one-hour instructional programs for Chevron USA. Stanley's specialty is client and
product interaction, insuring that the needs of a client or sponsor are fully represented in the finished
video presentation. Clients have included Manor HealthCare (12 programs), The National
Work/Family Alliance, Tyson Pharmaceuticals, Caterpillar Inc., Chevron USA/Ortho Books (12 home
videos), Hills Pet Products, Manifold Productions, Childrens Hospital of Los Angeles, the Maui
Economic Development Board (3 programs), Hale Makua, Children’s Choice Learning Centers and
Lipton Corporate Child Care. Beginning in 1998, Parallel Lines has also created 3 new music-based
video series for young children (DID YOU KNOW THAT ...?, HUMPBACK HOLIDAY and LET'S BE
SAFE) for distribution in Hawaii and on the Mainland.

Since 1994, Parallel Lines has also developed an expertise in using our video training and experience to
create 4 PBS documentaries on a variety of family, workplace, aging and health-related issues. In
cooperation with PBS affiliate KRCB-TV, Stanley has produced and written Our Kids, Our Jobs:
Child Care & The Workplace (1994), Our Parents, Ourselves (1997), Our Children, Our Future
(2001) and Forward In Time (2004). Parallel Lines is currently in pre-production a new PBS
documentary in cooperation with KRCB-TV.

In 2004, Parallel Lines developed its web site (www.ForwardIntime.com) to promote its production
efforts and market its own documentaries. ForwardInTime.com is dedicated exclusively to bringing
critically acclaimed and cutting-edge educational documentaries & films to the college and library
marketplaces. To date, we have approximately 150 documentaries and educational films in our
Documentary Library and we have sold programs to more than 800 colleges, nursing schools, medical
centers, public libraries and government agencies in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

BLACK SHEEP TELEVISION
PRODUCTION & POST PRODUCTION COORDINATORS
Black Sheep Television, Ltd. is a television and radio production and post-production facility
producing PBS documentaries, state-of-the-art TV and radio commercials, corporate, training and
marketing videos, interactive CD-ROMs, DVDs, and independent films. Black Sheep Television is
proud to have been awarded 12 Telly Awards, 1 Aurora Award and 4 National and State Awards for
Outstanding Achievement in Educational Production. Black Sheep’s partners, Jacques Ditte and Jan
Hanna together have more than 30 years experience in radio and TV. They bring their knowledge and
experience encompassing all aspects of production, marketing, and advertising to each of their projects.
A sample of clients includes: Nationally syndicated TV series, “George Hirsch Living it Up!”; “Elmo’s
World” for Sesame Street, “Sports Innerview with Ann Liguori”; Office Depot Visionary Awards; the
106th NY Air National Guard; The Irish Tourist Board, The Hampton Classic; “and “Forward In Time,
Productive Aging in America”. Black Sheep is also proud of their contribution to local communities
including the on-going television series for the Pine Barrens Society, The Town of Southampton, The
Village of Greenport, East End Hospice, and TV advertising for many local and regional organizations
and businesses.

SHERRY COURTNEY
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology
Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY
Dr. Courtney received her MD degree from the University of Kansas in 1973. She completed her
pediatric residency and neonatal fellowship at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri in
1979. Throughout the 1980’s she practiced at Children’s Medical Center, Dayton, Ohio, where she was
Director of Newborn Medicine from 1982-1990. She received her Masters of Science from the
University of Michigan in 1991, in clinical research design and statistical analysis. Throughout most of
the 1990’s Dr. Courtney practiced at Cooper Hospital in Camden, New Jersey, where she was Director
of Clinical Research for the Department of Pediatrics, and Professor of Pediatrics at Robert Wood
Johnson School of Medicine. Dr. Courtney joined the Department of Pediatrics at Schneider Children’s
Hospital on Long Island in 2002, and moved to Stony Brook University Medical Center in 2007 to
direct the clinical research and the neonatal fellowship programs there.
Dr. Courtney has been active in clinical research throughout her career. She has published extensively
in the area of Neonatal Pulmonology, and is especially interested in high frequency ventilation and
non-invasive forms of ventilatory support. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and
a member of the Society for Pediatric Research and the American Thoracic Society. She is a frequent
speaker at national and international conferences on ventilatory support of neonates.