A Look at Brenner Children’s Hospital: NICU and Critical Care Transport Services
Abstract: Brenner Children’s Hospital operates western North Carolina’s only Level IV NICU as well as its only Critical Care Transport Team. With extraordinary resources and an expert, multidisciplinary team, Brenner Children’s brings a holistic approach to the care of neonates and their families.
From Clinical Update, Spring 2008
Eleven neonatologists care for critically ill neonates in the region’s only Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Brenner Children’s Hospital. Their expertise includes the care of newborns with congenital anomalies, prematurely born infants and follow-up care for high-risk infants after discharge from the hospital. Neonatologists work closely with all medical and surgical pediatric subspecialists, nurse specialists, pharmacologists, nutritionists, social workers and pastoral counselors to provide a multidisciplinary, holistic approach in the care of a sick neonate and family.
Having the only Level IV NICU in the region means that sick infants who require medical or surgical care immediately after birth have access to pediatric-trained physicians, surgeons, nurses, respiratory therapists and others who care for children 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“We also offer ECMO for infants and children with severe lung conditions as well as children whose hearts do not function properly,” said Heather Furlong, M.D., neonatal director of the Critical Care Transport Team and a neonatologist. “Our intensive care nursery also offers access to the latest treatment advances through our faculty’s research. When children come here, they are truly receiving the very best care available.”
In addition, the children’s hospital offers the region’s only Critical Care Transport Team. This specialized team assists physicians in western North Carolina in maintaining stabilization efforts begun by health care providers in the community. The team partners with referring physicians to optimize care for children and their families within neighboring communities.
“We have recently established a second team in Salisbury at Rowan Regional Medical Center,” Furlong said. “Our unit is available for transport 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and serves primarily Salisbury, Statesville, Lake Norman, Thomasville, Hickory and Lenoir.”
Last year, the team transported more than 700 children to the children’s hospital.
“Our staff has over 200 years of experience in critical care,” Furlong said. “Our critical care unit is a mobile ICU. We offer pediatric equipment and a pediatric-trained staff. We also value family-centered care and make sure the family is involved in the care and transport of the infant.”
Team members can provide many advanced therapies such as:
• intubation
• mechanical ventilation
• high frequency ventilation
• inhaled Nitric Oxide delivery
• surfactant administration
• needle decompression and chest tube placement
• central line placement with umbilical lines or external jugular cannulation
• arterial line placement and monitoring
• EKG monitoring and analysis
Three modes of transportation are available for infants and children. Two ambulances, equipped as mobile critical care units, are available for immediate dispatch to referral hospitals. Brenner’s team transports infants and children using Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center’s AirCare twin engine helicopter for those in need of more rapid transit. Air transportation is also provided by the team in collaboration with MedCenter Air fixed-wing service.