The “Just for Kids” Transport Team is based at Bowman Field in Louisville, Kentucky.

Ground Ambulance Service

The “Just for Kids” ground fleet is owned and operated by Norton Healthcare. The fleet is composed of five ambulances designed especially for babies and children. The ambulances feature:

• A colorful interior that is padded for safety while providing a nonthreatening environment for children
• Equipment to accommodate twins
• Specially designed system to lock isolettes and stretchers; safety restraints are used on all patients
• Tablets to provide distraction therapy while en route to the hospital

Helicopter

The “Just for Kids” helicopter is an EC 145 model. Norton Children’s Hospital has a rooftop helipad, allowing patients to be moved quickly and directly into the hospital. Helicopter transports are available within a radius of approximately 225 miles of the Louisville area. Air Methods Inc., an FAA Part 135 certificate holder, operates this service.

Keeping patients and crew members safe during helicopter transport is a top priority. Safety features of the “Just for Kids” helicopter include:

• Ground proximity and traffic warning systems
• Visual flight rules (VFR) and instrumental flight rules (IFR)
• Two moving map global positioning systems with weather overlays

Airplane

The team uses a Pilatus PC-12 fixed wing aircraft for transports greater than 100 miles from Louisville. This allows the team to go just about anywhere in the continental United States. Air Methods Inc., an FAA Part 135 certificate holder, operates this service. The fixed wing transport aircraft features:

• A custom-designed medical interior that is capable of transporting newborns and children
• Tablets to provide distraction therapy while en route to Louisville
• Satellite telephone and tracking system for constant communication while in the air

To request our vehicles at your event, email JFKTransportPR@nortonhealthcare.org.

Norton Children’s Difference

The  “Just for Kids” Transport Team members are trained professionals dedicated to working with ill and injured newborns, children and adolescents. They are equipped to provide specialized care during transport between hospitals.

The transport team is made up of intensive care registered nurses, respiratory therapists and emergency medical technicians.

More than 60% of babies in the neonatal acute care unit  at Norton Children’s Hospital arrive via the transport team. More premature babies are surviving at smaller birth weights, and other hospitals in the region may not be as equipped to care for the special needs of these tiny babies. Many older children rely on the transport team to bring them to Norton Children’s Hospital for specialized critical care.

Norton Children’s Hospital is a 300-bed free-standing pediatric hospital. The facility is the primary pediatric teaching site of the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Children transported to Norton Children’s Hospital benefit from highly specialized services, including:

• Louisville’s only Level I Pediatric Trauma Center
• One of the largest Level IV neonatal intensive care units in the county
• Region’s first heart center serving children and adults with congenital heart conditions
• Epilepsy center certified by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers
• Designated ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) Center of Excellence by the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization
• Named an Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence by the Infectious Diseases Society of America