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Good news travels fast: Texas Children's Kangaroo Crew reunites with past patients to unveil state-of-the-art vehicles   

Houston, TX (April 17, 2008) – On Thursday, April 17, Texas Children’s Hospital specialized intensive care transport service team, the Kangaroo Crew, reunited with past patients and unveiled their newly designed, state-of-the-art ground and air ambulances.

The Kangaroo Crew is a team of 25 medical specialists who transport critically ill babies and children from across the nation to Texas Children's Hospital. Their fleet includes three ground ambulances and a specially modified Cessna Citation Bravo jet.

Former patients Emma and Julia, reunite with members of the specialized transport service team at the unveiling of the newly designed, state-of-the-art ground and air ambulances.  Kangaroo Crew related links KHOU.com Eleven month old Marion's story Information for referring physicians

The new ground and air ambulances have received a fresh, new makeover. The vehicle exteriors now feature a fun and colorful new look, and each interior is outfitted with state-of-the-art modern equipment designed to meet the unique health care needs of newborns and children. They carry everything needed to operate as intensive care units, including specialized portable equipment.

On board for each transport are trained pediatric experts from Texas Children’s newborn Center and Texas Children’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, enabling the Kangaroo Crew to provide a high-level of care for even the tiniest patients while en route to Texas Children's Hospital.

“When babies or children are so sick that they need to be transferred to Texas Children’s to receive specialty care, we want to make sure their condition remains stable during transport,” said Garry Sitler, program director for the Kangaroo Crew. “Our expert pediatric transport team, using the finest ICU equipment, makes this possible.”

When the Kangaroo Crew is contacted by a referring physician, it springs into action, consulting immediately with the appropriate pediatric subspecialists and formulating a plan of care for the patient. The immediate response allows treatment to begin the moment the team picks up the patient.

“The Kangaroo Crew allows us to extend the specialized care offered at Texas Children's Hospital to more families outside of Houston, outside of the state of Texas and even outside of the country,” said Dr. Larry Jefferson, chief of the pediatric intensive care unit. “Our goal is to increase the survival rates of those babies and children who would not be able to receive this level of care at their local hospitals.”

The Kangaroo Crew made their first ground transportation in 1983 and their first flight transport in 1999. Since the emergency transport team’s inception, over 11,000 patients have been transported by the Kangaroo Crew to Texas Children's Hospital. The Kangaroo Crew flies throughout the United States, Mexico and Central America to transport patients to Texas Children's Hospital.