The neonatal transport services team of the Oklahoma Children’s Hospital OU has left for Fort Myers, Florida. The mission is to assist in the evacuation of NICU babies in the areas devastated by Hurricane Ian.

“With one of only a few neonatal care flight teams in the country, we have a rare skill set needed to evacuate critically ill and premature babies out of the hurricane zone and to safe hospital surroundings,” said Andrew Gormley, M.D., medical director of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital Critical Care Transport.

There are three team members from the neonatal evacuation team that left today to help with the evacuations are, Jamie Lewis, Chelsea Watson and Kaylun Peters.

“We feel very fortunate to possess the skills that are needed to be able to help these babies in their time of need. When we received the call to help it was never a question of if we were going. It was how fast can we safely get there to get to work evacuating the babies in need,” Peters.

Reportedly there are about 75 critically ill and premature babies that urgently need to be transported to other hospitals in the state or neighboring states.

“The impact of Hurricane Ian has been devastating for Florida. As Oklahomans, we have been through natural disasters and have seen first responders from across the country come to our aid. It is our honor to head to Florida and help these patients and their families,” said Gormley.

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