COLUMBUS, Ohio --
Nationwide Children's Hospital is spending $7.5 million on a helicopter
for transporting newborns and other pediatric patients.
Beginning
Feb. 4, the helicopter will not only allow the hospital's transport
team to be on its way within 10 minutes of a call, but it also has
technology specially suited to baby care, said Dr. Edward Shepherd, the
chief of neonatology at the hospital.
"Getting there fast and being able to provide these technologies can potentially be lifesaving," Shepherd said yesterday.
The
hospital has been leasing time on helicopters through MedFlight and
will continue to use the service when transports overlap.
But the
new helicopter, named Monarch 1, holds equipment designed for babies
who need help breathing. It is the only one in Ohio equipped to provide
such neonatal care, said Ron Stevenson, a regional sales manager for
American Eurocopter, the manufacturer.
It also is equipped for
low-visibility flying and has the largest patient-care area of any
helicopter its size. It is to be used for transports that would
otherwise require a one- to four-hour drive.
"We think the first
hour, what we call the golden hour, makes a huge difference for the
child's outcome and their health later in life," Shepherd said.
About 30 percent of the newborns brought to the hospital require a drive of more than an hour, he said.
The
helicopter, to be operated by Metro Aviation and based at Don Scott
Field, also will allow hospital staff members to begin treating children
sooner, said Amy Haughn, the transport-program manager. "Being able to
expedite the transport of these patients and provide the expert care of
our team before even being able to reach the bricks and mortar of the
hospital is imperative."
The hospital has one of the largest
neonatal networks in the United States and transported newborns 1,118
times last year. Shepherd said he doesn't know whether having the
aircraft will expand that network, but the hospital will continue to
collaborate with others in the region.
Money for the helicopter
is coming out of the hospital's capital budget. It shouldn't
significantly change expenses for patients as the cost of transport
should be covered by insurance or other health coverage, Children's
spokeswoman Erin Pope said.
The hospital hopes the service will save patients money by getting them to Children's and into treatment sooner.
The neonatal equipment in the helicopter gives it an advantage over ambulances, Shepherd said.
"We
wanted to make sure that we would never have to make the choice between
providing the specialized care often needed and being able to get there
faster," he said. "No one wants to make that choice."
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