Congratulations to Andy Rowe, respiratory therapist and neonatal transport services coordinator at Children’s Minnesota, for being recognized as one of Minnesota Hospital Association’s (MHA) 2023 Caregiver(s) of the Year!
Each year, MHA recognizes the outstanding work individuals and teams at hospitals and health systems are doing to improve the health of Minnesotans. The Caregiver(s) of the Year award is designed to honor an individual or caregiving team that provides outstanding patient care services and exemplifies commitment to quality patient care.
As coordinator of neonatal transport services, Andy leads the team responsible for the safe transfer of approximately 500 newborns annually to the pediatric health system’s neonatal intensive care units (NICU).
The babies are transferred via ambulance, helicopter or airplane from hospitals across the entire Upper Midwest, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The transport team is equipped with all the capabilities of Children’s Minnesota’s Level IV NICU. Andy has managed the day-to-day operations of the team since 2018, helping ensure critically ill newborns receive the specialized care they deserve as soon as possible – not only changing the lives of those patients, but their families too.
Andy is responsible for staffing the team, managing the equipment, overseeing Children’s Minnesota’s two state-of-the-art ambulance rigs and the base they’re stored, and collaborating with the team’s transport partners – Allina Health and Life Link. He also partners with a clinical educator to coordinate highly specialized training for the respiratory therapists (RT) on the team, who play a unique role during the transport process. The RTs on this team not only perform their standard responsibilities, but they also perform the duties of a nurse and emergency medical technician (EMT) during transport.
Learn how the neonatal transport team helped baby Owen beat the odds: “Miracle” North Branch baby survives, and thrives, after 16 minutes without oxygen or heartbeat
