Children’s & Women’s Hospital expands critical care transport services for infants and children
USA Health Children’s & Women’s Hospital is expanding its Neonatal Pediatric Critical Care Transport Team, now known as Cub Crew, a specialized air and ground service designed to safely bring critically ill newborns and sick and injured children by helicopter or transport vehicle to the hospital.
By Casandra Andrews
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A blessing of the Cub Crew was held Friday, Aug. 1, at the helipad on the campus of Children’s & Women’s Hospital.
“This expansion of services enhances our hospital's ability to respond rapidly to critical situations involving pediatric patients,” said Deborah Browning, MSN, RN, CENP, chief executive officer at Children’s & Women’s Hospital. “The addition of air to our ground transport service demonstrates our continued investment in pediatric care across the region.”
The newly formed team includes specially trained registered nurses, respiratory therapists, and paramedics, all of whom work in shifts and are on site and available around the clock. The Cub Crew is dedicated exclusively to interfacility air and ground transports for critically ill newborns and children, ensuring expert care begins the moment transport is initiated.
For more than four decades, the hospital’s neonatal intensive care and pediatric intensive care teams transported critically ill patients by ground ambulance to receive higher levels of care at Children’s & Women’s Hospital. In the past 12 months, 761 neonatal and pediatric patients were transferred to the hospital from outlying facilities.
“Research shows improved outcomes when newborns and children are transported by specialized critical care teams,” said Brooke Olson, nurse manager for the Cub Crew. “They have better survival rates and fewer complications compared to those transferred by general emergency vehicles. Neonatal and pediatric critical care transport bridges the gap between where the child is and where they need to be, ensuring they receive the best possible care throughout the journey.”
Pediatric helicopter flights are expected to begin in August, with neonatal flights — which will require the use of a transport isolette for infants — are scheduled to start in the fall. Children’s & Women’s Hospital is home to the region’s only level III neonatal intensive care unit and has a long history of caring for the hospital’s youngest patients.
To prepare for the transport team expansion, USA Health hired additional staff, including a transport nurse manager, then conducted intensive training sessions beginning in 2024, among other strategies. Transport team members have been cross-trained in the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit and pediatric emergency department. The Cub Crew also completed flight safety training, clinical ride-alongs, and coursework through the Air & Surface Transport Nurses Association.
“We are incredibly proud of the work our transport team has already accomplished,” said Natalie Fox, DNP, PNP-BC, interim chief executive officer and chief physician enterprise officer at USA Health. “When a child is critically ill or injured, we know that every minute counts. Now, with an expanded critical care transport team, staffed and ready to respond by air or ground, we are significantly reducing response times and improving timely access to specialized care — ultimately leading to better outcomes for our youngest patients.”
