On behalf of children’s hospitals and the children and families we serve, Children's Hospital Association (CHA) wrote a letter to the Biden administration asking for help in safeguarding the most critically ill Ukrainian infants and children in need of transfers to children’s hospitals capable of caring for them.
The letter from CEO Mark Wietecha outlines that these children are dependent on high levels of specialized pediatric technology, such as ventilation and IV feeding, requiring trained pediatric staff. They cannot be safely transferred or maintained in community health care settings in the region, requiring access to the specialized care only available at children’s hospitals in other countries. This requires coordination of capacity and transport to avoid the potential loss of life.
CHA is in close contact with those children’s hospitals in the European Union (EU) and Israel organized under the European Children’s Hospital Organization (ECHO). Together with ECHO and children’s hospitals in Canada and Australia, we share the priority for these children with highly acute care needs to be safely transferred to children’s hospitals across the EU and Middle Eastern region.
The letter urges the Biden administration and Congress continue to advance support for Ukraine and specifically designate financial, coordinative and advocacy support for the most critically ill children requiring the intensive and specialized care capability of a children’s hospital.
