Copyright 2006 The Hearst Corporation
Vehicle outfitted to specialize in transport of young patients
By KEN THURMAN
The Times Union (Albany, New York)
A new ambulance specially designed to transport premature infants and injured pediatric patients is now on the streets on the Capital Region.
Officials at Albany Medical Center Hospital and Mohawk Ambulance Service recently unveiled Ambulance 29, one of fewer than two dozen such highly specialized ambulances in the country, according to James P. McPartlon III, vice president of Mohawk Ambulance.
The ambulance is bigger and wider than conventional medical support vehicles, allowing more space for Albany Med’s transport teams to work. It also has additional equipment to accommodate small patients, officials said.
Special features of the ambulance include:
Two medical grade air compressors to power ventilators for premature infants who are unable to breathe on their own.
A 5,000-watt diesel generator - enough to power most homes - to provide adequate electricity for Albany Med’s intricate life support equipment, with backup provided by an 1,800-watt power inverter.
Oxygen capacity four times greater than most standard ambulances - enough to provide high-flow oxygen to a patient for nearly 24 hours.
An electric-hydraulic lift to assist in loading and unloading.
An air-ride suspension system to provide a gentler ride.
Chains that the driver can place on the tires with a flip of a switch in case of inclement weather.
The new ambulance can also safely transport twins.
“The sophisticated electrical, medical and mechanical equipment in this new ambulance will allow Albany Med’s highly skilled medical transport teams to provide advanced care more safely and easily as they transport infants and children to the Children’s Hospital,” said Dr. David Clark, director of the Children’s Hospital.
The ambulance will be used primarily to transfer young patients from Capital Region medical facilities to Children’s Hospital at Albany Med. Highly specialized transport staff from Children’s Hospital will be aboard the ambulance to assure safe transport of patients, said Albany Med spokeswoman Sue Ford.
Albany Med’s transport teams include specially trained nurses and respiratory therapists who travel to other hospitals within Albany Med’s 25-county service area to pick up and transport critically ill infants and children who require advanced care at the Children’s Hospital.
The neonatal intensive care unit in the Children’s Hospital at Albany Med is a 50-bassinet unit that serves as a Level IV referral center for a 25-county service area, providing the highest level of treatment for infants as part of the Regional Perinatal Center. The 17-room pediatric intensive care unit is the only one of its kind in the region, officials said.
Albany Medical Center is northeastern New York’s only academic health sciences center. It consists of Albany Medical College, Albany Medical Center Hospital; and the Albany Medi cal Center Foundation, Inc. Additional information about Albany Medical Center can be found at http://www.amc.edu.
Mohawk Ambulance Service has been providing emergency medical services to the Capital District and surrounding areas since 1964.