Cook Children's Transport Services

Transporting critically ill infants and children requires specialized care and swift action. As one of the nation's largest and most experienced pediatric transport teams, Cook Children's is committed to delivering the highest level of care to the most fragile patients. Our team of experts provides rapid, safe, and efficient transport services to our state-of-the-art medical center. When your patient needs immediate medical attention, trust Cook Children's to get them there quickly and safely.

The Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems will conduct an accreditation site visit of Cook Children’s Teddy Bear Transport, June 20-21, 2024.

The purpose of the site visit will be to evaluate the program's compliance with nationally established medical transport standards. The site visit results will be used to determine whether, and the conditions under which accreditation should be awarded to the program.

CAMTS accreditation standards deal with issues of patient care and safety of the transport environment. Anyone believing that he or she has pertinent or valid information about such matters may request a public information interview with the CAMTS site surveyors at the time of the site visit. Information presented at the interview will be carefully evaluated for relevance to the accreditation process. Requests for public information interviews must be made in writing and sent to CAMTS no later than 10 business days before the site survey begins. The request should also indicate the nature of the information to be provided during the interview. Such request should be addressed to:

Office of the Executive Director
Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems
PO Box 130
Sandy Springs, SC 29677

The Commission will acknowledge such written requests in writing or by telephone and will inform the program of the request for an interview. The Commission will, in turn, notify the interviewee of the date, time and place of the meeting.

This notice is posted in accordance with CAMTS requirements and shall not be removed until the site visit is completed.

Date Posted: 5/6/2024

Expert care, rapid response

From delicate newborns to critically ill adolescents, Cook Children's Teddy Bear Transport team is ready to respond. Whether by ground or air, across North America and parts of Central America, we deliver expert care to your most fragile patients. When your child needs immediate medical attention, we're here to provide swift and compassionate transport to our state-of-the-art medical center.

Neonatal and pediatric services

Cook Children's Transport team swiftly stabilizes, resuscitates, and transfers critically ill infants, children, and adolescents, leveraging the expertise of 58 neonatal and pediatric nurses, respiratory therapists, and paramedics. Throughout the transport process, our team maintains constant communication with the receiving care center, including our Level IV Neonatal ICU, Cardiac ICU, Pediatric ICU and Emergency Department. Upon arrival, a dedicated team is ready to seamlessly transition patient care.

Our team proudly provides:

State-of-the-art communication and dispatch center to manage and monitor all transports.
The first pediatric/neonatal transport team in Texas to utilize high-frequency ventilation in an air medical helicopter. The high-frequency ventilator is now a standard fixture in all isolettes, offering conventional or high-frequency ventilation on every neonatal transport.
Nitric oxide, standard on isolettes and available on every neonatal transport.
A team who can travel to high-risk deliveries to ensure a rapid handoff so the baby receives the best care as quickly as possible.
Hospital-based program to help achieve quality, safety and access to board-certified physicians.
Patient representatives, who collaborate with the referring physician to choose the most appropriate mode of transportation.
A fully equipped fleet with all necessary supplies, including satellite phones to ensure constant communication.
The ability to provide noninvasive ventilation for all patients.
Active cooling in transport.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

Transport Communication Center

Our 24/7 Transport Communication and Dispatch Center is staffed by highly skilled specialists who handle over 100,000 referral calls annually.

We efficiently manage and monitor multiple simultaneous transports, tracking each patient's journey, regardless of mode of transport or distance.

Our communication specialists are responsible for:

Coordinating physician consults.
Initiating non-emergent and emergent transfers.
Arranging transport crew for Fixed-Wing Transports.
Posting department billing charges after each transport.

Specialized critical care teams

Cook Children's Teddy Bear Transport staff of nearly 60 neonatal/pediatric nurses, respiratory therapists and paramedics all proud to have long dedicated years of transport experience. This team is committed to getting the most medically fragile children and neonates to our award-winning medical center quickly and safely.
Our level IV NICU is staffed with a team of neonatologists and specialists who combine expertise with the latest technology to provide the highest level of neonatal care available.
Cook Children's designated level II Trauma Center is staffed and equipped to provide comprehensive emergency medical services to patients suffering traumatic injuries 24/7. Since nearly half of our trauma patients are referred from hospitals in west and north Texas, a follow-up with the referring physician is very important and a routine part of the trauma care process.
Cook Children's emergency services are available 24/7.
The Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Cook Children's Medical Center cares for children with life-threatening illnesses or injuries. This includes treatment for illnesses such as multi-system trauma, respiratory distress/failure, infections and shock. The unit also cares for children recovering from procedures such as cardiothoracic surgeries, brain surgeries, kidney transplants and spinal surgeries.
Cook Children's world-renowned CICU pediatric cardiologists and cardiothoracic surgeons treat complex heart conditions in the tiniest patients to young adults and even adults with congenital heart defects.

Emergency air or ambulance referrals

Before our team's arrival, the normal referral process will be initiated. This system helps us save valuable time and get the proper care to your patient quicker. The nurse or physician may contact Cook Children's Medical Center via the Communications Center by calling a direct line at 1-800-KID-HURT.

Most ED patients can be accepted without talking to the emergency department physician at Cook Children's. Some of the patient types that require physician-to-physician contact include:

Active seizures
Altered mental status
Fever with a rash
Patients who have received more than one 20 ml/kg fluid bolus
Patients with severe respiratory distress
Dislocations, open fractures, or fractures/dislocations with neuro or vascular compromise, angulations > 30 degrees or displacement > 50%
Intubated trauma, intracranial bleed, GCS < 8, or multi-system trauma
Cardiac and hematology/oncology evaluated on a case-by-case basis, age is not a factor

Physician consults and referrals

Referring physicians may always request to speak with a Cook Children's physician if they desire. Please have the following information available when you call:

Is this an emergent or non-emergent call?
Is our team needed for transport?
What mode would you prefer (ground, helicopter, airplane -- as appropriate depending on patient condition and distance)? The Transport Communications Center can provide estimated arrival times for the various modes.
Patient name, sex, age, DOB, weight, diagnosis and vital signs.
Respiratory, perfusion and neurological status as appropriate to patient diagnosis.
Treatment and/or interventions performed and/or planned (O2, IVs, meds, labs, etc).
Visit our health professionals' referral page to learn more

Strength in numbers

Cook Children’s transport team is one of the busiest in the nation, serving, local, regional, national and neighboring countries to ensure children from micro-preemies to young adults can have access to care that meets their most critical needs.

4100

Transports we perform annually. We're here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

24/7

Our transport dispatch center is staffed by communication specialists

10,000

The number of referral calls handled each year by our communication specialists

4

The times our nursing staff has achieved Magnet recognition.

Accreditation

All FAA Part 135 aviation services are provided by Metro Aviation Inc. in Shreveport, La., which maintains exclusive operational control over all aircraft.

The following information is provided in compliance with 49 USC Section 43202. The DOT Aviation Consumer Protection Division's contact information is as follows:

Aviation Consumer Protection Division, C-75

US Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE, Washington, DC 20590

202-366-2220 (TTY 202-366-0511), 1-866-TELL-FAA (1-866-835-5322)

transportation.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-complaint