UT Health East Texas Launches Specialized Critical Care Ambulance for NICU and ECMO Transport
Tyler, Texas (June 24, 2025) — The region’s most critically ill patients now will have access to continuous, life-saving care with the addition of a new state-of-the-art critical care ambulance to the UT Health East Texas EMS fleet. The ambulance is specifically designed to safely transport neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) patients and patients requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support.
This highly specialized vehicle is equipped with advanced life-sustaining technology, including a self-contained ECMO system, neonatal transport incubators and intensive care equipment designed to maintain stability for the region’s most vulnerable patients. The ambulance is staffed by a dedicated critical care transport team trained in neonatal protocols and adult ECMO transport.
“This new ambulance expands our ability to deliver lifesaving care across East Texas,” said UT Health East Texas Regional President Donald Baker. “By bringing this level of specialized transport to the region, we are closing critical gaps in access to high-acuity care and ensuring patients have the best chance at survival and recovery.”
The new unit strengthens UT Health East Texas’ capacity as the region’s only provider of ECMO and complements its Level III NICU services, both at UT Health Tyler. With the ability to provide advanced interventions during transport, the ambulance acts as a mobile intensive care unit for patients who previously had limited access to such services without traveling hours away.
ECMO, an advanced technology used to support patients whose heart and lungs are unable to function properly on their own, temporarily takes over the functions of the heart and lungs, allowing these vital organs to rest and heal.
“Our goal is to meet patients where they are, and this allows us to extend our reach and bring hospital-level critical care directly to patients in their communities,” said John Smith, CEO of UT Health East Texas EMS/AIR 1. “With this new vehicle, our highly skilled teams can stabilize and safely transport even the most critically ill patients to the care they need, faster and more effectively.”
Transporting critically ill patients demands advanced, highly specialized expertise, which is why the new ambulance crews completed rigorous additional training.
The new ambulance is now operational and available for emergency and interfacility transfers throughout East Texas and beyond.
About UT Health East Texas
UT Health East Texas provides care to thousands of patients each year through an extensive regional network that includes nine hospitals, more than 90 clinics, the Olympic Plaza Tower, 13 regional rehabilitation facilities, two freestanding emergency centers, regional home health services, an EMS fleet of more than 65 ambulances and four helicopters, and a comprehensive eight-trauma center care network, including the region’s only Level 1 trauma facility.
As a partner with The University of Texas System, UT Health East Texas is uniquely positioned to provide patients with access to leading-edge research and clinical therapies while training and educating the next generation of physicians and other health professionals. The nationally recognized UT System also includes The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, as well as three other major university medical centers located throughout the state.
