For high-risk pregnancies, premature infants, and newborns and children facing serious illness, effective transport to Sutter Children's Center, Sacramento is vital. One of our physicians is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to respond to a call for the need to transfer or for emergency consultation. 

Sutter Children's Center, Sacramento, has Level IV units, which represent the highest level of care, in our High Risk Maternity, Neonatal Intensive Care and Pediatric Intensive Care units.

Types of Transport Services

Maternal Fetal Medicine, (916) 887-0660


When a woman's pregnancy requires a higher level of care, doctors can refer expectant mothers to Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento. Placing a call will connect the referring physician directly to a board-certified Sutter Maternal Fetal Medicine Physician. Mothers and infants transported receive the area's highest level of specialized delivery and intensive care services. Our new facility features a helipad for air-ambulance transports and a dedicated High Risk Maternity Unit with advanced technology and private patient rooms.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, (916) 887-0780


The Sutter NICU Transport Team consists of neonatal nurses and respiratory therapists specially trained in advanced airway management and stabilization of critically-ill and premature infants. Trained as therapeutic hypothermia specialists, the team is also able to initiate passive cooling upon arrival at the referring center. The NICU Transport Team is under constant direction from board-certified neonatologists.

Special transport incubators are equipped with the latest technology including high frequency and conventional ventilators and nitric oxide transport. Fixed wing or ambulance carriers enable the NICU Transport Team to land directly at Sutter Medical Center, via helipad. The NICU Transport Team provides the quickest, safest route from community hospitals throughout Northern California to the Sutter Children’s Center, Sacramento Level IV NICU and Level III NICU in Roseville. The Sutter Children’s Center NICU Transport Team performs more than 250 transports annually.

Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, (916) 887-0360


Referring physicians work directly with the Sutter Pediatric Intensivist to arrange transport to the PICU. Once the decision is made to transport, the mode of transport is determined by the physicians and the available transport options at the child’s location. Options may include ground ambulance, fixed wing or helicopter transport. The Pediatric Intensivist is available for consult with the transport team if needed during the transport. The Children’s Center at Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento accepts more than 650 PICU transports annually.

Through a partnership with nonprofit CALSTAR (California Shock/Trauma Air Rescue), Sutter serves pregnant mothers, infants and children who have experienced life-threatening illness and require air transport services. All CALSTAR flight crewmembers assigned to a flight are highly qualified, and have been trained under an approved program that includes clinical rotations in the Sutter Children’s Center Intensive Care Units.

Tertiary Services Offered

Attendance at Deliveries


In an effort to improve perinatal outcomes, our NICU Transport Team can attend deliveries. Should an obstetrical patient present or be too far advanced in labor for transport, our NICU Transport Team will arrive to be present for the delivery and stabilize the infant as needed before providing transport. Attendance at deliveries will be determined on a case-by-case basis after consultation with the neonatologist on-call.

Nitric Oxide Program


Our NICU is one of only five NICUs in the nation to offer nitric oxide during transport. Inhaled nitric oxide can help some babies suffering respiratory failure who have not responded to the usual methods of support. Trials have shown that inhaled nitric oxide can increase the levels of oxygen in babies' blood and reduce the need for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, a highly technical and invasive therapy.

Therapeutic Hypothermia Program

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Sutter Children's Center, Sacramento provides therapeutic hypothermia to treat infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. Research has shown that cooling the body reduces the chance of brain damage caused by a loss of oxygen or blood flow. The Therapeutic Hypothermia Program involves cooling a baby’s body to 92.3 degrees for 72 hours and then gradually warming the baby to normal body temperature. Timing is very important in providing this therapy and the cooling has to begin within the first six hours of an infant’s life. Our 30-minute transport team response time (we are on the road or in the air within 30 minutes of the initial call) helps assure that the six-hour timeline is met.

Bubble CPAP

Bubble CPAP is a simple, safe and cost effective method of delivering respiratory support to premature babies. The use of Bubble CPAP can limit the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and helps support infants without the complications associated with endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation.

ECMO

Sutter Children's Center, Sacramento is one of the few hospitals in the Sacramento area equipped with the sophisticated equipment to provide ECMO, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. ECMO takes over the body’s function by pumping blood from the heart, oxygenating it in an artificial lung machine and returning the oxygenated blood to the baby’s body. Treatment is provided by a team of highly trained neonatal intensive care physicians, specially trained intensive care nurses, and technicians who monitor the child around the clock.

Education and Outreach

Through our Outreach Educational Program we are building a network of exceptional newborn care throughout Northern California.  Please call (916) 887-0108 to learn more.