WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Sept. 29, 2017–Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center has placed a neonatal/pediatric specialty care ambulance at Iredell Memorial Hospital in Statesville. With this joint collaboration, critically ill infants and children from Iredell and surrounding counties requiring transport to Wake Forest Baptist’s Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem will have more rapid access to transport services.
A specially equipped ambulance is stationed at Iredell Memorial seven days a week and in-service between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., which are the peak times for hospital transfers. The transport team consists of a registered nurse, a respiratory therapist and an EMT from Brenner Children’s Hospital. Transport team members are extensively trained in the transport and specialized care of infants and critically ill children.
“In the event a newborn or critically ill or injured child requires a level of care only available at Brenner Children’s Hospital, having a specially equipped ground transportation truck located at Iredell Memorial will ensure a timely and efficient transfer for children located in the western portion of our referral region,” said Alisa Starbuck, D.N.P., vice president, Women's and Children's Health Services, and executive director at Brenner Children’s. “The service will provide decreased wait time for our referral facilities and partner with our community facilities to quickly transfer neonatal and pediatric patients. In addition, the team also may be requested prior to delivery for high risk newborns.”
Brenner Children’s is the only Level I pediatric trauma center in the western region of the state and one of only three in North Carolina. There are 51 Level I pediatric trauma centers across the country.
"We are extremely excited to have the Brenner Children’s neonate and pediatric critical transport truck and team on site at Iredell Memorial Hospital,” said Becky Quate, D.N.P, R.N., vice president, Nursing and Patient Care Services at Iredell Health System. “Research indicates that centrally locating transport services increases survival rates as well as allowing patients to receive the care they need in a timely manner. The accessibility of the transport team and truck to our surrounding communities will ensure that our children receive the care they deserve."
A Level I pediatric trauma center verification indicates that Brenner Children’s has physicians on staff 24/7 who are certified and skilled to provide pediatric trauma care in the areas of pediatric surgery, orthopaedic surgery, neurosurgery, pediatric critical care and pediatric emergency medicine.
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Eryn Johnson: eryjohns@wakehealth.edu, 336-713-8228
Joe McCloskey: jmcclosk@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1273