Submitted Article

When you transport critically ill patients to and from hospitals, or from the scene of an accident, it’s imperative to have Intensive Care Unit (ICU) level equipment to complete the transport safely. That includes life-saving equipment like a ventilator. When Ascension Wisconsin Spirit Medical Transport (Spirit) cares for very sick patients, it’s doing so with new ventilators recently purchased and installed in several ground ambulances and the Spirit 1 air medical helicopter.

The new ventilators combine the functionality of a fully featured ICU ventilator with the compactness and ruggedness required for transport. This combination enables Spirit to provide optimal ventilation therapy to all patient groups during transport.

"A ventilator is used to artificially ven tilate our patients when they can’t protect their own airway or are unable to breathe on their own,” said Shaun Piller, Quality/ Education Coordinator, Ascension Wisconsin Spirit Medical Transport. “This is one of several ways to bring the ICU into our air medical helicopter or a ground ambulance.” The new state of the art equipment is designed to ventilate the adult or pediatric patient at any place around the world. With its compact size, built-in batteries with up to 9.5 hours operating time, batteries that are hot swappable, 8.4” color touch screen and its high-performance turbine, this ICU ventilator can accompany patients within the hospital and between hospitals, whether on the ground or in the air. Its integrated high-performing non-invasive ventilation capabilities add state-of-the-art therapy options for any transport situation.

“Having the ability to conduct patient care with an ICU level ventilator in a confined space

like an ambulance or helicopter is critical to our ability to provide quality patient care,” Piller added. “This ensures we have a seamless transition from the ambulance or aircraft to the ICU or emergency department at the receiving hospital.”

The new ventilators meet transport standards for emergency and transport ventilators for ambulances and aircraft. Since 1993, Spirit has been north central Wisconsin’s leading link providing more than 70,000 safe and timely critical care transports for patients. Spirit 1 is based at Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee with ground ambulance bases in Mosinee, Rhinelander, Stevens Point and Woodruff.

About Ascension Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, Ascension operates 24 hospital campuses, more than 100 related healthcare facilities and employs more than 1,200 primary and specialty care clinicians from Racine to Eagle River. Serving Wisconsin since 1848, Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vul- nerable. Ascension is the largest non-profit and

Catholic health system in the U.S., operating more than 2,600 sites of care – including 145 hospitals and more than 40 senior living facilities – in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Visit: ascension.org.

ID Ukpong, Critical Care Flight Paramedic, showcases one of the new ventilators used in in Spirit ambulances and Spirit 1. Submitted photo.