The Story Behind Our Wagons

A rolling wagon always stops traffic here at Nationwide Children’s.

Whether it’s to wave goodbye to a discharged patient happily riding out the door with their balloons and personal belongings or a more somber time, as these same wagons roll children to surgery or their latest chemo treatment.

Wagons have been our preferred mode of patient transportation since the 1960’s. Our patient transportation team estimates each wagon rolls 12-15 miles around the campus every day. That’s a lot of rolling!

Our patients love them – they’re much less intimidating than a wheel chair and they hold everything including patients, car seats and special possessions. Check out this story from our dispatcher/transporter, Tiffany Smith:

“Brielle loves seeing the bright faces of Patient Transport. She can hear us before she sees us come around the corner. As we pull in to her room, her hands grab the rails of her crib, her binky slides to one side of her mouth to make room for her huge smile. We may be taking her to get her dialysis treatment for the day, or chemo treatment that is needed, but she knows that the ride there and back will be a blast. Brielle loves traveling in the wagons to her testing sites when she can. We pile the wagon full of all her pillows, her favorite purple blanket, and her doll that she does not travel without. With her parents living far away and having to care for other children, Brielle looks forward to the trips in the wagon, even if it is for tests.”

Each donor or community group has the option for a custom plaque with dedication information to be placed on the wagon.