Dell Children’s Awarded Top Designation For Transporting Critical Care Patients

“So many critical elements need to be carefully orchestrated for each patient move to go off without a hitch,” said Deb Brown, vice president of patient care services and chief operating officer at Dell Children’s.

AUSTIN, Texas – The pediatric critical care transport team at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas recently received full accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS) for helicopter, airplane and ambulance transportation.

This is the highest designation by national standards for transporting the pediatric critical care patients.

Dell Children’s is one of 184 CAMTS accredited transport programs in the U.S. and the only team in Central Texas to achieve this standard.

The best programs in the nation are given this honor after meeting rigorous quality measures for patient care, safety and efficiency.

“So many critical elements need to be carefully orchestrated for each patient move to go off without a hitch,” said Deb Brown, vice president of patient care services and chief operating officer at Dell Children’s. “We’re proud to offer our patients the highest level of safety in the air and on the ground while traveling to or from our pediatric Level I Trauma Center.” Dell Children’s is part of Ascension, the largest nonprofit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system.

What is pediatric critical care transport?

The Dell Children’s critical care transport team is made up of highly skilled pediatric critical care nurses, and respiratory therapists.

These experts are specially trained in caring for critically ill or injured infants, children and teens.

The team brings pediatric critical care to the patient, whether they are admitted to another hospital or are in an emergency or urgent care facility.

The team serves a 46-county area surrounding Austin but is capable of traveling all over the U.S., Canada and Mexico to bring patients to Dell Children’s or take them to other facilities.

The pediatric critical care transport team at Dell Children’s dates back to 1996, when the team was started at Children’s Hospital of Austin.

Transport team surpasses rigorous national standards

The transport accreditation process involves on-site surveys and a comprehensive program review, including:

• Safety standards
• Patient care
• Quality improvement activity
• Staffing and education
• Equipment
• Communications
• Maintenance and administration

Keith Kerr, MD, medical director of the pediatric critical care transport team, championed the efforts toward accreditation.

“We know every second counts when a child is placed in our care,” Kerr said. “It’s truly an honor to be ranked among the best in the nation at providing quality, person-centered care for children during possibly the most critical time of their care.”

About Seton Healthcare Family

In Texas, Ascension operates Providence Healthcare Network and Seton Healthcare Family, which includes Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas and another 120 related clinical facilities that together employ more than 13,000 employees.

Across Texas, Ascension provided more than $910 million in community benefit and charity care in fiscal year 2015.

Serving Texas for 114 years, Ascension is a faith-based health care organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable.

Ascension is the largest nonprofit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, operating 2,500 sites of care – including 141 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia. Visit www.seton.net.