Emergency Transport Team

To speak to a Critical Care Transport specialist call, toll free, 24 hours a day:

Pediatric: 1-800-343-5218

Neonatal: 1-800-616-6122

Region-wide transport of critically ill pediatric patients has been available on a twenty-four hour basis for over ten years. Our Emergency Services Transport Team supports over 500 transports of critically ill children each year. Critical Care Physicians experienced in the transport of cardiac patients maintain exceptional services by air or ground from any location.

In any emergency timing is critical, and when your young patients need highly specialized medical attention, the health care professionals at Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital provide the immediate response you need.

Our dedicated neonatal and pediatric teams are available 24 hours a day to rapidly transport critically ill or injured newborns and children.

Continuity of Care

Patients return home to your care as soon as possible. While your patient is at Christus Santa Rosa, our staff will keep you informed about their condition, and referring physicians and staff are welcome to call Christus Santa Rosa at any time for updates. We also will contact social service agencies in the patients' hometown to apprise them of patients and family members who may require special support when returning home.

When considering a transfer, simply call our toll free transport hot line. The hot line provides quick access to a doctor who reviews your patient's symptoms, medical history, and current condition. Sometimes, just a second opinion can help, and it is not necessary to transfer the patient. But, if the patient does require a specialized transport team, a physician at Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital is available for phone consultation while the team is en route to your hospital.

The Transport Team - Emergency Medical Transport 24 Hours a Day

Christus Santa Rosa's transport teams carry all of the equipment and medications needed to provide emergency care en route to the hospital. Depending on the patient's condition and location, either an ambulance, helicopter, or fixed-wing aircraft is dispatched. Carriers specifically designed for medical transport can accommodate up to two isolettes or one stretcher.

Transport team members include Level II and III Clinical Nurses and Registered Respiratory Therapists. These experts are trained and equipped to stabilize the patient and begin intensive care treatment immediately during transport. All transport members are certified in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and many are PALS instructors with more than two years experience in critical or emergency care. The pediatric team is under constant direction from the transport medical director as well as a board-certified pediatric intensivist.

In addition, Christus Santa Rosa's affiliation with the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and collaboration with other hospitals adds to the expertise of our medical team.

What to expect

The transport team is briefed on your patient's condition and symptoms before leaving Christus Santa Rosa and is kept informed of any new developments when en route to your hospital. Upon arrival, they assess the patient's current condition and begin stabilization procedures immediately. This may include drawing blood, starting an IV, and intubating the patient. The patient will be stabilized as quickly as possible in preparation for transfer.

Before leaving the hospital, the transport team will briefly visit with the child's parents. The transport team will explain what they are doing, how the child is being transferred, and allow parents to see and touch the child. Understandably, this is a very stressful and emotional time for families, and we make every effort to involve the family and ease their concerns. Because the team must focus solely on the care of the child during transport, parents and family members are asked to meet their child at Christus Santa Rosa. Upon arrival at Christus Santa Rosa Children's Hospital, patients are admitted to either the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

To speak to a Critical Care Transport specialist call, toll free, 24 hours a day:
Pediatric: 1-800-343-5218

Neonatal: 1-800-616-6122