Memorial Hospital in South Bend will launch their new transport service on Friday. It is called the Maternal Fetal Transport Service and will be the first of the kind in this part of the state.

The service is designed to care for pregnant women who are deemed to be high-risk.

“Our goal is to help the community to bring the babies who may be born premature to our Neonatal Care Unit,” said Maternal and Fetal Medicine Doctor Renata Sawyer. 

For each transport call there will be a high-risk obstetrical nurse and respiratory therapist on board an ambulance that is dedicated for these types of situations. They will transport the mother and baby to Memorial from the smaller hospital. 

“Our goal is also to take some of the burden off the smaller hospitals who often have problems with staffing,” Sawyer added.

This will allow high-risk pregnant women to be able to get a broader range of care once they are taken to Memorial.
 
Staff on board will be ready to handle most any high-risk situation that could occur. This could mean pre-term labor, premature rupture of membranes, and maternal medical conditions to name a few.

Once the service is launched Friday, it will be staffed and available 24/7.