Neonatal Transport

The Children's Transport team specializes in the transport of sick newborns from hospitals across the state of Mississippi, to UMMC and other area hospitals that can meet their specific medical needs.

The team is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to transfer infants by helicopter or ground ambulance. The team is staffed around the clock by a neonatal and pediatric specialists with many years of experience in newborn transport and neonatal intensive care.

Referrals for the newborn team are coordinated by UMMC physicians trained in neonatal and pediatric intensive care, and these specialists remain in contact with the team to manage care as needed en route.

The team provides care for newborns with a vast array of problems, including extreme prematurity, congenital heart defects, and severe respiratory issues. Specialized equipment is available to provide care specific to the tiniest patients, creating a “mobile NICU” environment, on the ground or in the air. Incubators, respiratory equipment in the smallest sizes, ventilators, a vast array of medications, and other necessities are ready for travel to provide complete care for the most critically ill newborns. The team is also experienced in the use of inhaled nitric oxide, a special therapy used to treat persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), a serious and often difficult to anticipate cardiorespiratory illness that can present suddenly after birth.

UMMC began transporting neonatal patients in the 1970's, and the service has evolved over the years to meet the changing needs of Mississippi's tiniest and sickest patients. With thousands of referrals and transports since the service began, our team has developed strong relationships with hospitals in every corner of the state. We enter the 21st century ready to meet new challenges, embrace new technology and serve our state's youngest citizens in the best way possible.