“Having a dedicated helicopter service will help us expedite the safe transfer of hundreds of neonatal and pediatric patients from outlying areas,” said Rich Falcone, a pediatric surgeon who serves as the health system’s chief of staff. “The time it takes to transport kids from distant parts of Ohio or nearby states will be cut in half or more with this new service, and specialized care will begin as soon as our team arrives.”
The helicopter has a cruising speed of more than 150 miles per hour and a roundtrip range of 300 miles without refueling, and it is equipped with night vision. Its interior is tailored with child-specific equipment including pediatric and neonatal ventilators, invasive and non-invasive cardio-respiratory monitoring, nitric oxide systems, and emergency medications and chest drainage systems.
“Over the past few years, we’ve seen a steadily increasing volume of requests for air medical transport to Cincinnati Children’s for critically ill patients from hospitals across the region,” said Kelly Besl, clinical director of Cincinnati Children’s Critical Care Transport Team.
Cincinnati Children’s has helipads atop its critical care building in Avondale and at the health system’s Liberty Campus in Butler County.
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