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Suburban Chicago children's hospital rolls out 'ICU on Wheels'
The ambulance may have bright colors and cartoon animals on the outside, but on the inside, it's all business — lifesaving business.
ELMHURST, Ill. - A suburban Chicago hospital has a new ambulance described as an "ICU on wheels" to transport sick infants and children.
The ambulance may have bright colors and cartoon animals on the outside, but on the inside, it's all business — lifesaving business.
"We try to duplicate the things we can do in an ICU, bring it down to scale, that we can fit into an ambulance or helicopter and make it mobile," explained Dr. Maureen Quaid, Medical Director for Transport Medicine with Advocate Children’s Hospital.
On Thursday, Advocate Aurora Hospital debuted one of two new ambulances — plus a helicopter — in Elmhurst. They’re decked out to take care of patients from the tiniest preemies to adult sized teens, even those on cardiac life support, while providing a smooth ride.
"We have to worry about things like how the noise of the ambulance is going to affect them, how is the jostling of the ambulance going to affect them, and what can we do to mitigate that," said Dr. Quaid.
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There's a focus on keeping the transport team safe, too, including using four-point harness restraints that keep the team buckled in but allow them to move around while providing patient care.
"This team risks a lot. They're out on the road, they're up in the air and there are challenges to that. It's not a bedside nursing job. It's not a bedside respiratory therapy job," said Mike Farrell, President of Advocate Children’s Hospital.
It's a tough trip for parents, too. So, while they sit in the front, there's a camera in the back trained on their child.
"We do have some video cameras inside to help see what we're doing, to give them a little more peace of mind," said Irma Guevara, Manager of the Advocate Children’s Hospital Neonatal/Pediatric Transport team.
The rides carry a lot of worried parents, and a lot of ailing children.
Advocate Children's made more 5,000 trips last year. They're on pace for even more this year.