Fall 2005 - Arkansas Children's Hospital

HOSPITAL NEWS
Angels in a
■ By Alyssa Anderson
This was the scene from the back of an
ACH ambulance, which transported 17
Louisiana patients in response to emergency
calls from MASH Units (federal
medical shelters) and 911.
Tulane Hospital in New Orleans
was one of eight hospitals Angel
One Transport helped evacuate
during Hurricane Katrina.
Arkansas Children’s Hospital
transported patients to its own
facility as well as to other hospitals
and medical facilities.
When Hurricane Katrina’s wrath ravaged the United States Gulf Coast in
late August, many hospitals in New Orleans and surrounding areas needed to
move their patients to other facilities. Arkansas Children’s Hospital was
among the first responders to desperate victims, transporting critically ill and
injured patients by helicopter, fixed-wing jets and ground ambulance. Some
patients were transferred within Louisiana, while others went to hospitals in
Texas. Forty-two patients were transported by Angel One from eight different
hospitals, and 16 patients from Louisiana were admitted to ACH in the days
and weeks following Katrina.
Soon after, when Hurricane Rita was scheduled to hit, Arkansas Children’s
Hospital was once again called upon to help with evacuations in Texas.
“I am so proud of the Angel One staff who volunteered and responded to
both disaster situations,” says Connie Eastlee, director of Angel One
Transport. “Learning that there were critically ill pediatric and neonatal
patients to evacuate from multiple hospitals in New Orleans and Texas, Angel
One coordinated a response with other children’s hospitals and successfully
transported all critical patients — and many parents — safely out of harm’s
way. It is a collaborative model that all hospitals and transport teams can use
for any future disasters and evacuations.”
“The Transport Team at Arkansas Children’s Hospital was absolutely
spectacular during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” says CEO Dr. Jonathan Bates.
“The spontaneous way they came together, drew on others around ACH and
beyond, and got the job done was unparalleled. The thinking and planning
was quick and decisive and led to action that was life-saving. That kind of
agility and professionalism is rare and precious.”
An ACH ambulance was one of many rescuing patients
following Hurricane Katrina. Among the most exciting
transports by ambulance was that of a pregnant mother
who gave birth to twins (one breech) on the highway
en route to Baton Rouge.Two Angel One medical team
members delivered the twins.
This 13-year-old heart patient was among the most critically-ill
patients transported to Arkansas Children’s Hospital from Louisiana.
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