Neonatal Intensive Care Awareness Month highlights the importance of specialized newborn transport

Neonatal Intensive Care Awareness Month highlights the importance of specialized newborn transport

Aspirus teams help connect critically ill and premature infants in rural communities with advanced neonatal care

During Neonatal Intensive Care Awareness Month, health care providers are drawing attention to the unique challenges facing families of critically ill and premature newborns, particularly in rural communities where access to specialized neonatal care may be limited. Timely transport can play a critical role in connecting infants with the advanced care they need when every minute matters.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 10 babies in the United States are born preterm, placing many at higher risk for serious medical complications that require specialized care.

For families across Wisconsin, Michigan and northern Minnesota, neonatal transport services help bridge geographic barriers between community hospitals and higher levels of care. Sharon Thimmesch, a NICU nurse with Aspirus Health, said many of the hospitals served by Aspirus are in rural areas without access to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), making rapid transport capabilities especially important.

"Most of the hospitals that we serve are rural, so they don't have access to specialized care such as a NICU," said Sharon Thimmesch, NICU transport coordinator with Aspirus. "Flight provides another option for us to reach babies more quickly without compromising care. Care doesn't start when the baby arrives at the NICU. It starts when we arrive at their hospital."

Newborn transport often involves extensive coordination among neonatologists, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, MedEvac crews and referring hospitals. Specialized equipment, medications and transport incubators help ensure infants receive continuous care throughout the journey. Thimmesch noted that the service not only brings infants to higher levels of care when needed but also allows babies to return closer to home when their condition improves.

In 2025, the Aspirus neonatal transport team completed 78 transports. As of mid-September 2026, the team had completed 51 transports, demonstrating the ongoing need for specialized neonatal services across the region.

Theresa Hagen, RN, flight nurse with Aspirus MedEvac, said air transport can significantly reduce travel time for vulnerable newborns who may otherwise face lengthy ground transfers.

"Many smaller hospitals aren't equipped to care for these babies for an extended period of time," said Theresa Hagen. "Bringing specialized neonatal equipment and reducing transport times helps us provide a controlled environment for infants while getting them to the specialty care they need."

Because newborns are particularly sensitive to changes in temperature and medical condition, transport teams use specialized equipment, including transport isolettes, ventilators and infusion pumps designed specifically for neonatal patients. MedEvac crews and NICU teams train together to ensure seamless care from the referring hospital to the receiving facility.

As Neonatal Intensive Care Awareness Month continues, providers hope to raise awareness of the resources available to families facing an unexpected NICU journey and the specialized teams working behind the scenes to support them.

For more information about neonatal services at Aspirus, visithttps://www.aspirus.org/nicu.

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