[BABYRN916]

The institiution I work for is wanting to start up a maternal transport team, where we go from our hopsital to outlying hospitals to pick up high risk moms and bring them back. This would be done solely by ground transport and would not be done for patients in active labor. We do have a level III NICU and currently one MFM, with another MFM scheduled to arrive in September. I desperately need some input on starting up a maternal transport team, like policies and procedures, stafffing guidelines, CME for the team, community awareness, marketing, what have you! I will appreciate all of the input I get, good, bad or ugly!! Thank you all so much!!!

[babyktchr]

Gosh, I would love that. We don't have such an animal where I work. We have a transport team to pick up sick babies. If we need to transfer a high risk mom, we have to find a nurse to go with her and transfer via ambulance (as long as not in active labor). It is a pain cause we can't always find a volunteer to go, and then have to leave the floor short to send someone to go. Good luck in your endeavors...I hope it works out for you.

[rninwch]

I so wish that we had a trasfer team, but we don't. Up until last month we(an RN) also went on all of our maternal transfers via ambulance, but the lawyers have said that if something were to happen during transfer we WOULD NOT be covered by the hospital insurance.

Of course as soon as administration heard that they said no more!! Then the doctors said, but they have to, it's the only way to make sure the patient will be taken care of properly since most of the squads don't even carry dopplers Then the lawyers changed their tune saying, well just make sure that you docs write an order that the RN must go.

My question is so are we covered or not? No one will give us a strait answer. I carry my own malpractice insurance, but it worries me since first we are told "You won't be covered then OK you will, but only if it's an order." Technically it's always been an order since we HAD to go (even for a 34 week primip who with PROM 1cm/20%/ballotable no uc's who has about a 1 in 2000 chance of delivering in the next 6 hrs and the trip is only about 45m-1hr by ground). Basically most of the docs have decided that they will do most of the transfers by air (what a waste of $$$$) even though we could have a squad on site in 5 minutes and then out the door just as quickly.

The other day we flew out a pt. who actually needed to fly out (33wk G2 P1 7cm/90%/0 breaking thru the MgSo4) and it took the flight team 30 minutes to get here, 15 minutes to pack her up and about 30 minutes to reach the next OB unit. A squad could have done that just as quickly...not too long ago we flew out a G4 P3 33wks PROM 2cm/25%/-3 it took the flight team almost 40 minutes to get to us because they were busy and had to trade out pilots, 15 minutes to pack her up and then 20 minutes to the tertiary center. We had a squad in house that could have taken her and more than likely would have gotten her there quicker. The reason she went by air "her last labor was only 2 hours" (OK but she was 39 weeks), she ended up being induced 1 week later when her temp finally shot up...her labor was 6 hours long!

Anyway, a Maternal transfer team would be GREAT!! We all know the safest way to transfer a premature baby is inside mom and once again the powers that be have thrown a wrench into a system that was working. Before all this if we felt the transfer was unsafe by ground we would refuse to go, now it is a bit harder since it is a written order. If I refuse and the doctor decides to send her without a nurse would I be liable for pt abandonment??

Sorry this turned into a rant.....

Debbie