ECMO Ambulance Provides Safe Patient Transfers
ICU-level care safely transports critically ill patients
ICU-level care safely transports critically ill patients
In 2019, Scripps’ Critical Care Transport Team debuted a new piece of lifesaving equipment: an ambulance equipped with an ECMO machine to safely transport patients — like Olivia Smoak — to and from Scripps facilities. Previously, it was considered too risky to transport certain critically ill patients before they were stabilized. Now, patients can be rushed to a hospital for immediate care.
“Before, there may have been instances where patients were not able to get the type of treatment that they needed because they couldn’t be safely transported here to Scripps,” says Rajeev Mohan, MD, an advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist and co-director of the ECMO program at Scripps Clinic. “With this type of ambulance and crew, we are able to care for much higher-level acuity patients because we can get them to our center.”
Mobile ICU capabilities
The ambulance essentially functions as a mobile ICU. It’s set up to accommodate ventilators, mechanical circulatory support devices and many other devices used to support critically ill or injured patients. But the most important thing about this vehicle, Dr. Mohan says, is the people working aboard it.
Specialized ECMO team
The ambulance is staffed by intensive care unit nurses who are all ECMO specialists, as well as a respiratory therapist and two emergency medical technicians. This team was the first adult ECMO transport team in Southern California when the ambulance was introduced.
Today, Scripps is the only health care system in the region whose ECMO team is composed of its own nurses and respiratory therapists. Having a transport team with advanced knowledge of the inpatient setting allows a seamless transition from sending facility to receiving facility.
“As much as the ambulance itself is a great piece of equipment that we can use, its success really comes down to the dedication of the crew,” Dr. Mohan says. “They’re the ones who are there, day in and day out, and make themselves available at all hours. It’s their commitment that makes the whole thing run.”
This content appeared in San Diego Health, a publication in partnership between Scripps and San Diego Magazine that celebrates the healthy spirit of San Diego.