MercyOne new Maternal Transport Team provides critical care for labor and delivery statewide

Des Moines, Iowa; November 15, 2024 — MercyOne will unveil its new statewide Maternal Transport Team on Nov. 19 at 10 a.m. at the helicopter pad (ground) on the west side of MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center, 1111 6th Ave., Des Moines.

Based at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and in concert with MercyOne Air Med, the new MercyOne Maternal Transport Team is positioned to provide specialized care throughout Iowa for mothers experiencing difficult labor conditions. 

This service – which pairs specifically trained Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) and Maternal teams with our Flight Team and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) – has been in development over the past year to provide much-needed care, especially in rural areas with fewer obstetricians or, where obstetrics is unavailable. Additionally, external Fetal Heart Monitoring equipment in the transport vehicles and at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center allows providers to read and monitor the vitals of patients in labor across the state, detecting quickly when the Maternal Transport Team should be deployed and what care is needed.  

A similar program existed in Iowa about 20 years ago, but the service was underutilized because there were significantly more OB providers in the state at the time. In recent years, physician recruitment has become a significant challenge in Iowa, especially in specialty areas like obstetrics (OB).

Recognizing the OB provider shortage, Ryan Gochoel, Regional director of MercyOne Emergency Transport, and Maria Nelson, MSN, Market director of Women’s and Children’s Services and Trauma Services, set out to create a training program and build a service that would provide the highest level of care to mothers and babies in Iowa. 

“We wanted to show that MercyOne is investing in Maternal Health, and our goal is to improve access to care by creating a mechanism for the care to go right to the patient,” said Gochoel.  

“There is nothing routine about any EMS or Air Med call, and our Maternal Transport Team takes this service to another level, bringing heightened, specified care for the most vulnerable of our patients,” says Dennis Szurkus, MD, Chief Medical Officer for MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center. 

The program is already making an impact 

Neil Mandsager, MD, who specializes in maternal/fetal medicine at MercyOne Perinatal Center in Des Moines, was able to help save the lives of twins with the help of MercyOne’s new Maternal Transport program. Dr. Mandsager had been monitoring ultrasounds every two weeks of an expectant mother in Waterloo, Jenna McCready. He had diagnosed that the twins she was carrying were sharing a placenta and were at risk for complications. On October 17, 2024, McCready went into preterm labor at 26 weeks. MercyOne’s new Maternal Transport Team flew to Waterloo. The team airlifted the laboring mother back to Des Moines, where Jeffrey Fagerland, DO, helped her to deliver twin girls – Magnolia and Stevie, safely. The tiny sisters, weighing about 2 pounds, were immediately taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The twins are still in NICU at MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center and are growing stronger daily. “The McCready family is proof of how our [MFM] services can work with local providers and help care for high-risk pregnancies in rural Iowa,” says Mandsager. 

MercyOne Maternal Transport details:

• Each team comprises a (Flight) Pilot, a high-risk obstetric (HROB) nurse, a flight nurse or medic or a (Ground) EMT/paramedic/HROB nurse.

• The team employs an external Fetal Heart monitor to monitor the mother’s contractions and the baby's heart rate. Additionally, the HROB nurse carries supplies and medications specific to the OB patient population.

• The team received extensive training in aviation safety, OB Critical Care, and ground transport safety to prepare.

• The team operates on Online Medical Control, so they are conversing with a MercyOne OB physician about the patient's care.

• The Maternal and NICU teams work together to ensure the safest care for mom and baby.

• We can deploy both teams (NICU and Maternal) in the event of imminent delivery.  

• Unlike other air services in Iowa, the MercyOne team is dispatched from our local dispatch center.