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    What is a Pediatric/Neonatal Critical Care Transport Team?

    Updated at March 20th, 2022

    If your newborn is premature or your child has a critical illness or injury requiring transportation from one medical facility to another, your newborn or child may require the care of a Pediatric/Neonatal Critical Care Transport Team.

    Some conditions require the expertise offered at larger or more specialized facilities. When medical transportation from one hospital to another is needed, a pediatric/neonatal critical care transport team may assist your newborn or child during travel. Members of a pediatric/neonatal critical care transport team can include nurses, paramedics, respiratory care practitioners, doctors, and other health care workers with special training in the care of premature newborns and ill and injured children. They have the training and equipment to properly care for newborns and children in an ambulance, airplane, or helicopter.

    What kind of training do pediatric/neonatal critical care transport team members have?

    Pediatric/neonatal critical care transport team members have extensive experience caring for newborns, as well as critically ill and injured children. All pediatric/neonatal critical care transport teams are under the direct supervision of and in constant contact with senior physicians trained and experienced in pediatric or neonatal critical care.

    What types of treatments do pediatric/neonatal critical care transport team members provide?

    Members of a pediatric/neonatal critical care transport team are able to care for premature newborns and children with life-threatening conditions, illnesses, or injuries such as

    • Extreme prematurity
    • Congenital heart disease
    • Neonatal metabolic disorders
    • Asthma or other illnesses requiring respiratory or ventilator support
    • Heart conditions
    • Seizures
    • Injuries from car or other accidents
    • Diabetes

    Where can I find a pediatric/neonatal critical care transport team?

    Pediatric/neonatal critical care transport teams are sponsored by many children's hospitals and larger general hospitals that offer critical services for newborns and children. Some transport teams are free standing and serve a group of hospitals in a given region.

    Pediatric/neonatal critical care transport teams—the best care for newborns and children

    When your newborn or child has a serious illness or injury that requires travel to another medical facility, a specialized transport team offers continued neonatal and pediatric inter-hospital critical care. Pediatric/neonatal critical care transport team members work with your pediatrician, as well as hospital doctors and medical staff to ensure that your newborn or child arrives safely at the designated medical facility.

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