Children’s Minnesota brings critical neonatal care to rural communities

With one of the largest neonatal intensive care unit programs in the country, Children’s Minnesota hospital cares for more than 150 babies every day, including more than 60% of high-risk newborns from across the state.

These neonates (babies within the first 28 days of life) often require special care as they adapt to life outside the womb. Once they arrive at Children’s, these infants receive state-of-the-art care from a team of more than 1,000 caregivers, including neonatologists, neonatal nurse practitioners, registered nurses, child life specialists, social workers, interpreters, music therapists and other pediatric specialists.

But what happens when these tiniest patients begin life miles away from the specialist care they need, in the state’s and region’s rural communities? Time is critical in the care of neonates, and that’s why Children’s Minnesota created a team of highly skilled medical professionals capable of transporting newborns in need from anywhere in the Upper Midwest, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Neonatal Transport Team handles nearly 500 transports from rural communities annually. Whether traveling by ambulance, helicopter, fixed-wing plane or critical care rig, the team is able to begin treatment immediately while facilitating vital communication between Children’s Minnesota and the referring medical professional.

As a longtime supporter of Children’s Minnesota with a special interest in supporting rural healthcare, CoBank has provided a $100,000 grant to the hospital to fund the Neonatal Transport Team for two years, ensuring continued access to critical care for rural America’s newest residents.