On Call

Aiming High, Cincinnati Transport

Team Takes to the Sky

It can't be stressed enough how vital it is for a burn injured child to receive immediate care from a verified burn center. The first 24 to 48 hours are critical. In a large burn, shock, fluid loss and respiratory complications can disrupt organ function. The faster a child is under the care of a burn team, the better the chance of survival.

To reach these children, our Cincinnati Burns Hospital formed a Transport Team in 1988. This experienced group of nurses and respiratory therapists are ready to depart in 2 1/2 hours from the time the referral call is received, and determination is made to use the Transport Team. This service, like all others provided by Shriners, is at no charge to the family. The average cost to transfer a child by our Transport Team to Cincinnati is about $8,500. This June the team celebrated their 19th Anniversary.

The flight team has transported over 1,700 children from the Midwest and Southeastern states. This air ambulance provides a defibulator, warming blankets, a cardiac monitor and ventilator equipment to provide optimal patient care.

"We bring specialized burn care directly to the patient. During the flight we monitor vital signs and continue fluid resuscitation and warming interventions, " says Marjorie Westerkamp, RN, Transport Team Coordinator (We saw her interviewed this last week).

This team is often the first contact the family has with our hospital. They help set the standard of care that is expected and delivered by every staff member at the hospital. Able to accommodate at least one parent on the transport, the burn team talks with the parent and explains what happens during the transport. The staff also prepares the parent for what to expect once they arrive in Cincinnati. Upon landing they'll be met by an ambulance, taken to the hospital and their child is admitted to the third floor acute unit and assessed by the burn team. They reassure the parent there is a place for them to stay; either the Family Care Unit, apartent like rooms within the hospital or the Parent House, a two block walk from the hospital.