{"id":122146,"date":"2026-01-14T01:21:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T01:21:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/122146\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T01:21:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T01:21:16","slug":"texas-childrens-launches-first-austin-based-pediatric-helicopter-expanding-access-to-intensive-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/122146\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Children’s launches first Austin-based pediatric helicopter, expanding access to intensive care"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTexas Children\u2019s Hospital<\/a> in North Austin has become the first pediatric hospital to have its own helicopter based in Austin.<\/p>\n

The helicopter will allow Texas Children\u2019s Hospital to provide faster critical care to more patients across Central Texas.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The helicopter] represents Texas Children’s long-term investment in this region and a commitment to bringing world-class pediatric, neonatal and maternal care closer to home,\u201d said Jeff Shilt, Texas Children’s president of Austin and Central Texas, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Jan. 12.<\/p>\n

How it works<\/p>\n

Through the new helicopter, Texas Children\u2019s may pick up patients from community hospitals who need specialized pediatric care and transport them to the North Austin hospital. After receiving a call at its transfer center, Texas Children\u2019s may connect the referring hospital to a sub-specialist who will create a personalized care plan for the patient, said Brian Barnett, Texas Children\u2019s director of transport and transfer center.<\/p>\n

The mobile intensive care unit is operated by Texas Children\u2019s Kangaroo Crew<\/a> of registered nurses and respiratory therapists who can begin providing ICU therapies to stabilize patients at their bedside before arriving at the hospital, Barnett said.<\/p>\n

The transport team can respond to most critical illnesses, including respiratory illness, seizures and trauma, experienced by a wide range of ages from 22-week-old babies to teenagers and young adults in their adolescent years.<\/p>\n

Texas Children\u2019s launched its first Kangaroo Crew helicopter in Houston in February 2025, Barnett said. The expansion to Austin comes as the Texas Children\u2019s Ambassadors Program<\/a> will donate all funds<\/a> collected in 2026 to the Kangaroo Crew transport program, said Kacey Cherry, Texas Children’s Public Affairs representative.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Kangaroo Crew helicopter is a mobile intensive care unit that provides stabilizing care and transportation for pediatric patients with critical illnesses. (Chloe Young\/Community Impact)Why it matters <\/p>\n

The Austin-based helicopter has allowed Texas Children\u2019s to expand access to pediatric care to families across Central Texas, including rural areas where care options can be sparse, Texas Children\u2019s officials said. The helicopter can travel within a 120-nautical-mile service area, including Waco, San Antonio, Houston and College Station, Barnett said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re hopeful that this means that we can reach more patients with our world-class care [and] that we can reduce those out-of-hospital times,\u201d Barnett said.<\/p>\n

The Kangaroo Crew transport program can reduce travel that would typically require a two-hour drive to a 40-minute helicopter ride, said Chris Hardman, chief operating officer of PHI Air Medical<\/a>. The faster commute time can be life-saving for patients in fragile, vulnerable conditions, Texas Children’s officials said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a child is critically ill, every minute matters,\u201d Shilt said. \u201cThis helicopter shrinks the distance between an emergency and expert care, meeting families where they are and moving them quickly to the right teams that can care for them.”<\/p>\n

What’s next<\/p>\n

Later this summer or fall, Texas Children\u2019s plans to launch a larger, more advanced helicopter at its North Austin hospital with the ability to travel farther distances, Barnett said. The hospital system is opening a similar helicopter in Houston this week, he said.<\/p>\n

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