In January, members of the pediatric critical care transport teams at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital and The Johns Hopkins Hospital completed their first joint transport when they brought a critically ill infant to a hospital in Philadelphia for a lung transplant.

The child, a patient at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, had lung surfactant deficiency, a rare congenital problem that can only be cured by a lung transplant. When the baby’s parents selected the transplant team at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia—Johns Hopkins no longer performs pediatric lung transplants—Corina Noje, medical director of pediatric transport at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Philomena Costabile, assistant nurse manager for The Johns Hopkins Hospital’s pediatric transport team, began planning the baby’s transfer. They discovered that neither Johns Hopkins nor the Philadelphia hospital had a high-frequency ventilator, which was vital to transport the baby safely. Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, the Florida-based member of Johns Hopkins Medicine, was able to supply one, along with staff who had a decade of experience in transporting fragile newborns.

After Johns Hopkins All Children’s transport nurse Christine Muller and respiratory therapist Dean Shepherd arrived by air ambulance, they helped transition the baby to the special transport ventilator. Later, along with their Johns Hopkins colleagues, they closely monitored his condition for the nearly two-hour drive to Philadelphia. The child was doing well enough the next day to be placed on the list for lung transplant and is still awaiting a donor organ.

“This joint transport was a rewarding combination of the experience and strengths of both teams, their understanding of the baby’s condition and needs after weeks of care, and our transport team’s experience with this type of ventilation,” says Julie Bacon, chief flight nurse for the Johns Hopkins All Children’s neonatal and pediatric critical care team. “We look forward to expanding our collaboration.”