Beyond Neonatal and Pediatric Specialized Patient Transport: Mobile Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation, Maternal-Fetal Transport, and Other Team-Based Roles

Neonatal and pediatric specialty transport teams provide an essential link between community referral centers and tertiary care children’s hospitals. These teams bring neonatal and pediatric critical care capabilities to the patient even before arrival at the destination hospital. Beyond the traditional expectations of interfacility transport teams such as intubation and vasoactive medications, many teams now perform advanced care transfers using mobile extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or have taken the leap to performing maternal-fetal transports. Finally, the skill sets and expertise of hospital-based transport team members may allow them to fulfill other roles within their organization, including participation on a rapid response team.