Thanks to the generosity of its employees and a matching gift from the hospital administration, Miami Children’s Hospital recently acquired the state’s first lightweight transport incubator capable of high frequency ventilation. The incubator will be used by the hospital’s LifeFlight™ Critical Care Transport Program to bring critically ill newborns to the hospital for life-saving care.
The state-of-the-art incubator was paid for in part through donations made by hospital employees during a 2005 fundraising campaign conducted by Miami Children’s Hospital Foundation, which raises money to support hospital programs and services.
Each year, LifeFlight transports nearly 1,000 critically ill children and newborns to the hospital from other hospitals in Florida, the Caribbean, and South and Central America, as well as from other U.S. states and from countries around the world. LifeFlight utilizes its own state-of-the art ground ambulance, advanced medical transport helicopter and a Lear jet to transport patients.
All neonatal patients require an incubator for transport because of their inability to maintain body temperature. The new incubator is the first in the region to include all of the following advanced features:
- Advanced insulation properties that enable it to better maintain patient temperatures
- High frequency ventilation (required by some critically ill neonates)
- Conventional ventilation
- Nitric oxide delivery
- Advanced monitoring of patient vital signs
In addition, the incubator is nearly 100 pounds lighter than standard incubators. This makes loading and unloading of the incubator from the ambulance or aircraft easier and safer for the care team. The reduced weight also enhances flight safety.
“We are grateful to the employees of Miami Children’s for making this state-of-the-art system available so that we may offer the best possible care to the region’s most critically ill neonates,” said Dr. Andre Raszynski, Medical Director of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine and LifeFlight at Miami Children’s.
Founded in 1950, Miami Children's Hospital is the only licensed specialty hospital for children in South Florida. Ranked Miami–Dade County’s “Best Pediatric Hospital” by South Florida Parenting Magazine, Miami Children's Hospital offers medical care and services for children from birth to age 21. The 268-bed medical facility has expertise in all aspects of pediatric medicine.