Donor-powered neonatal transport program saves a life, inspires a career path
May 31, 1999, was the best of days and the worst of days for assistant nurse manager Teresa Wynn, RN, MN, CDMS.
The date marks the birth of her son Riley and happens to be Teresa’s own birthday.
But Riley arrived unexpectedly three weeks early at St. Francis Hospital in Federal Way. He was born with a pneumothorax (collapsed lung) and required resuscitation.
“They called Tacoma General’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to come and pick him up,” Teresa remembers. “Liz, a nurse, came and said, ‘We need to take him to another hospital because he’s too sick to stay with you.’”
The neonatal transport team safely brings babies like Riley who are born outside of MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital to its Level IV NICU. Tending to patients as young as 23 weeks gestation, the specialized crew consists of nurses and respiratory therapists who are trained to treat and stabilize babies during transport via vehicle, helicopter or fixed wing aircraft. Transport services are made possible by partners Falck Ambulance and Airlift Northwest, and community support helps fund the team’s equipment, tools and training.
“Our transport team members are highly trained in neonatal critical care,” writes Tami Best-Brandt, RN, MSN, nurse manager for pediatric/neonatal transport teams at MultiCare. “We’re one of two outfits in the community who are trained and capable to provide the specialized care these fragile babies need. Last year, the team completed 216 transports. I would like to thank the donors for their generosity — their donations have saved many lives.”
Teresa herself is forever thankful to the nationally accredited team that was there for Riley.
“Without the transport team, I wouldn’t have my son,” she says. “They were incredible to me and my family.”
Teresa and Riley today
Looking back on that day, Teresa recalls the sheer terror of having a baby born sick and the moment she knew what she wanted to do with her life.
“As a mother, it was one of the scariest things I’d ever gone through,” Teresa shares. “But (the nurse) Liz was amazing. She was able to calm my heart and explain to me what was happening and that they were going to take excellent care of Riley. The day Liz sat down with me, I knew I wanted to be a NICU nurse.”
After the NICU discharged Riley in late June, about a month after his birth, Teresa enrolled in a nursing information course and started her prerequisites in September 1999. Once a newly registered nurse, she began her preceptorship, a period of practical experience and training, in Tacoma General Hospital’s NICU, eventually becoming the unit’s assistant nurse manager.
“It became important to me to do something at Tacoma General and something with the NICU that gave back to other families,” Teresa says. “I look at the care that’s given here as generational care because generations wouldn’t happen without it. Like with Riley — someday he’ll have his own kids.”
Riley Wynn graduated high school with 12 varsity letters in sports. He ran cross-country and track for Pacific Lutheran University and graduated spring 2022 with biology and chemistry majors and religion and math minors.
Every day, Teresa is inspired by her NICU colleagues’ passion for caring for critically ill infants. She credits the unit’s great outcomes with how well the interdisciplinary team works together and is impressed by the employment longevity of her coworkers — some nurses have cared for a child and then that child’s child!
Teresa also loves seeing the NICU’s tiny charges grow stronger and healthier.
To the donors who support these miracles, she says, “Your gift is supportive for generations. Not only does it help the baby, but it (also) drastically impacts the parents’ lives. I can’t think of a more meaningful place to donate to.”
Ensuring Level IV NICU access for every baby born prematurely or with a serious medical condition — including those living on the Olympic Peninsula and in Central and Eastern Washington — can’t happen without compassionate donors. Many parents of ill infants requiring the highest level of medical care face financial, psychosocial and cultural challenges, as well as other barriers, such as being underinsured. Tacoma General Hospital, supported by the MultiCare Health Foundation, strives to provide access for all.
You can champion Tacoma General Hospital’s nationally accredited neonatal transport services, along with Southwest Washington’s most advanced NICU, with a gift to MultiCare Health Foundation. Help children like Riley grow as healthy as their potential.
