Nationwide Children's Hospital Critical Care Transport

Nationwide Children's Hospital Critical Care Transport is a hospital-based program located in Columbus, Ohio. The transport team provides critical care transportation services for neonatal, pediatric, and adult patients. They operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to move critically ill patients from referring hospitals to Nationwide Children’s Hospital for specialty care. Occasionally, they also transport patients back to their original hospitals after treatment.

The team includes nurses, respiratory therapists, transport technicians certified as EMT paramedics, and ambulance drivers. Medical oversight is provided by approved care protocols and a physician provides phone guidance during transports. This ensures a high level of care throughout each transport mission.

Transport services utilize multiple modes of mobility including an EC145 helicopter called Monarch 1 and jet aircraft for longer transfers. Monarch 1 is operated by Metro Aviation and based at The Ohio State University Airport. This helicopter is equipped for instrument flight rules and has a spacious cabin allowing a parent or guardian to accompany the patient. Monarch 1 is primarily used for inter-hospital transfers and does not conduct scene responses. The program also partners with MedFlight for additional helicopter transport support.

Nationwide Children's transport program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS). The team transports over 3,000 patients each year, with more than half being newborns. It is one of the few programs in the United States capable of simultaneously providing nitric oxide therapy and high frequency ventilation during flight for newborn patients.

Besides helicopter and jet transport, ground ambulances staffed with EMT paramedics are part of the critical care transport team. The program's base is in Columbus, Ohio, and mainly serves the regional hospitals that require transfer to Nationwide Children's Hospital for advanced pediatric care.

The program has been in operation for several years and continues to provide specialized and accredited transport care for some of the sickest newborn, pediatric, and adult patients requiring critical care level transfer. Their services ensure safe and medically advanced transport for a variety of patient needs across Ohio and beyond.

Services

• Critical care inter-facility transport
• Neonatal transport
• Pediatric transport
• Adult critical care transport
• Air ambulance helicopter transport
• Jet aircraft transport
• Ground ambulance transport
• Nitric oxide therapy in flight
• High frequency ventilation in flight
• Reverse transport after treatment