The transport team
celebrates 20 years
When a child is born premature or is critically ill and needs immediate care
at a Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or a pediatric intensive care
unit (PICU), it is the Children's Service Board Emergency Transport Team that
gets the call. Every day, this dedicated team of 15 nurses and five respiratory
therapists transports infants and children to Children's Memorial for
specialized care not available at community hospitals. In a typical month, the
transport team handles 100 transports, mainly to the NICU or pediatric intensive
care unit.
Celebrating its 20th year in 2004, the team has the distinction of being
the first pediatric-neonatal transport team in the Chicago area. Nurse Cathleen
Shanahan, team director, says proudly that what sets Children's Memorial's
transport team apart from other pediatric teams is the team itself — 20
dedicated individuals who truly care about the patients and families they serve.
Says Shanahan, "This is a wonderful group of overachievers.”
Continuing education, recognition
These 'overachievers' are dedicated to continuing education and professional
development. They have organized and presented annual regional conferences to
showcase important topics of pediatric and neonatal care, presented lectures
both nationally and internationally, and published articles and chapters for
pediatric transport texts. Team members regularly attend conferences to stay
current in transport practices and standards and to network with other transport
programs. Several team members belong to the Air & Surface Transport Nurses
Association.
Over the years, the team has received significant recognition including the
Children's Memorial Hospital Earl J. Frederick Leadership in Healthcare Award,
and in 2004, the Ron W. Lee Excellence in Pediatric Care Award for Lifetime
Achievement from the Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children. The team
is a member of the Association of Air Medical Services (AAMS). Its nurse manager
Jan Nokes, RN, and director Shanahan were awarded the designations of Certified
Medical Transport Executives by AAMS.
Patient and family satisfaction
Always seeking to provide the best possible health care experience for
children and families, the transport team has initiated programs to help improve
patient satisfaction, relations with referring physicians and staff, and patient
outcomes. Both parents and referring physicians receive satisfaction surveys
with each transport, and are highly encouraged to share their thoughts on ways
Children's Memorial might be able to improve services. The team also started a
program to provide follow-up information on clinical outcomes to referring
hospital staff that stabilize patients for transport. They also have started a
quarterly newsletter to provide education on common disease processes that
require transport to a pediatric tertiary care center.
So how can the team sustain and enhance its level of excellence? In part
because of a generous endowment established by The Children's Service Board in
the late 1980s. In recognition of the endowment, the program's official name is
The Children's Service Board Emergency Transport Program.