New ambulance to aid premature babies
_BY MICHELLE L. START Florida Weekly Correspondent

Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers.

Babies born prematurely and fighting for their lives will soon have a state-of-theart ambulance to transport them to The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.

The Lee Memorial Health System foundation board just approved a $100,000 contribution toward the $250,000 ambulance. The remainder of the money was raised during the Naples Children and Education Foundation's Winter Wine Festival and through community donations.

"We already have one ambulance, but we are purchasing a new one," said Michelle Waddell, director of intensive care neonatal services. "We're having it built to replace the old one. Our current ambulance is getting high in mileage and needs to be updated."

The old ambulance is nearly 10 years old. On some days, it makes two or three trips anywhere from Sarasota to Clewiston to Naples to pick up a child that needs a higher level of care than the local hospital can provide.

The Children's Hospital is the only Level III intensive care unit in Southwest Florida. Statewide there are 11 children's hospitals that have the Level III designation.

"The proper equipment is critical to have en route to the hospital, as seconds count in reducing injury and death to our area's high-risk infants," said Dr. John Iacuone, executive director of The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. "We are able to immediately administer oxygen and medication and take preemptive measures to reduce brain damage and physical and mental disabilities in these high-risk infants."

Waddell said the ambulance is essentially a neonatal intensive care unit on wheels.

"The team transporting the babies undergoes special training," she said. "They are essentially on the road by themselves with these babies between the two hospitals."

The ambulance's primary use will be for infants born prematurely, but is also used to transport mothers and babies in emergency or high-risk situations even in the cases of full-term deliveries.

"Put simply, it saves lives," said Kathy Bridge Liles, vice president of Women & Children's Services for The Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida.

The new ambulance is expected to arrive in January. Waddell said the old one will continue to be used as a backup. Right now there are times when an infant has to wait for transportation because the ambulance is out on another call.