Blake's Journey: Transport to Nationwide Children's Hospital

Yesterday we introduced you to the Mompher family, whose son Blake was born with spina bifida and needed to be transported to Nationwide Children’s within hours of his birth. Care for babies like Blake is carefully planned out months in advance. It’s part of a team approach that spans across multiple specialties so these babies get the very best care possible throughout every stage of their journey home.

The transport team is a central part of that care. We are an extension of the Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at Nationwide Children’s and our job is to get babies safely to our hospital, providing coordinated care along the way.
Our first order of business, after addressing our patient’s medical condition, is addressing the family’s needs. A family member is welcome and encouraged to ride with us during transport. We answering their questions and ask our own to make sure we are providing care tailored to each individual patient.

With each and every transport, we are in constant communication with the patient’s medical team at Nationwide Children’s. They know exactly what to expect and when to expect us.  Along the way, we’re providing our patients with anything they may need – oxygen if necessary, IV fluids and any necessary therapies or medications – so that the transfer of care is smooth and seamless. We have everything we need on board to monitor our patients and provide the best care during transport.

Our team is made up of registered nurses (RNs), respiratory therapists, paramedics or transport technicians (all EMT-P certified) and EMT drivers – all specially trained in pediatrics. Each year we serve about 1,800 patients, with more than half of those being newborns.

In Chapter 2 of “Born with Spina Bifida: Blake’s Journey Home,” ride along with us for a rare, behind the scenes look at the care we provide. Shortly after Blake’s arrival at Nationwide Children’s, he’ll head into surgery where you’ll also get a glimpse at how two surgical teams work together to provide best possible outcomes.

If you have feedback for the the Critical Care Transport Team just email us at Transport@nationwidechildrens.org.