LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- By air and by ambulance, Norton Children's Hospital is transporting even more patients this year between hospitals in Kentucky and around the country.
A colorful Norton Children's chopper emblazoned with its "Just for Kids" logo is on standby at Louisville's Bowman Field ready for takeoff to help children in crisis. It's pilot and crew are ready to travel the state.
"We go from Ashland to Pikeville to Glasgow to Bowling Green," lead pilot Bradley Rice said. "We also go up into southern Indiana. We've been to Tennessee, and actually, last month, we went to Alabama."
As soon as the call comes in, the crew is ready for action.
"On all of our trips, we bring everything," said Darci Branham, one of the team's nurses.
From monitors to fluids, the team loads it all up and hits the road or takes to the skies.
"Every resource that is available to a child in Norton Children's Hospital is also available to them either in the aircraft or in one of these trucks," said Kelly Williams, manager for the Norton's Just for Kids transport team.
The specialists on the team are highly skilled. Everything you'd find in a neonatal or pediatric ICU is packed up and ready to care for the tiniest of patients. From a chest tube to an isolette for NICU babies, everything the team needs is onboard.
By air and by ground, the transport team is being called on hundreds of runs each month, and it just set a new record.
"In November of 2019, we transported 292 children," Williams said. "In September of this year, we transported a record 322 children and that includes 67 flights which is also a record number of flights for us."
From trauma to cardiac issues, the crew said it's seen an increase in all types of calls, though the most common this time year are respiratory. In September, there were 155 respiratory calls, a 70% increase from the month before.
More calls means more wear and tear on the vehicles.
"We certainly have seen an increase in the need to get scheduled maintenance and unscheduled maintenance on the trucks," Williams said. "Our helicopter has a certain number of hours it can fly before it has to have scheduled maintenance, so, of course, we're coming across those deadlines more often."
With a crew of about 40, the increase has also meant a lot more runs for everyone, Williams said.
"My crews have been working extremely hard and taking the trips as they come and getting all the kiddos that they can," she said.
The crew moved to the Bowman Field facility in 2021. Since then, Williams said their response times have been greatly reduced.
"It was a huge benefit for the team," she said. "Prior to that, the leadership team was stationed downtown. The pilots were at a base in southern Indiana with the aircraft, and then the medical crews and the grounds were at the Norton Children's medical center in Brownsboro. So, huge challenge to get out the door."
Now, both the "Just for Kids" transport team and a transport crew for adults receiving care through Norton Healthcare are located at the same facility. Williams said it has made operations simpler with having all of the crew, trucks, helicopters and equipment all in the same location.
Rice and others on the crew said the move also helped with bonding and team morale.
"We are a team from the time we get up to the time we land back over here," Rice said. "Being together with this team is around the coffee pot and around the coffee table. Everybody has a very invested part of making that trip a success."
Day or night, they’re ready to answer the call for children in need.
"That's the most important thing we do is take care of these kiddos," Williams said.
"It feels really good to be able to be part of that team to help," Rice added.
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