Post-Cardiac Arrest Transfers to HUP
The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania offers an ED to ED transport service for post-cardiac arrest patients via the PennSTAR, the University of Pennsylvania Health System’s air medical transport program. PennSTAR operates within a 100 mile radius of the University of Pennsylvania Health System, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, weather depending.
This new service seeks to provide transport of post-cardiac arrest patients from surrounding facilities to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) for therapeutic hypothermia treatment. The goal is for hospitals that do not provide therapeutic hypothermia, or otherwise need assistance with post-arrest care, to be able to provide their patient’s with the life saving resources and experience of HUP’s medical staff.
In order to initiate a transfer, all that needs to occur is for someone at the transferring facility to call this number: 1-877-777-7366 (PENN).
Dialing 1-877-777-7366 connects the caller with the PennSTAR Command Center. Communications specialists then connect the caller with the on-call Cardiac Arrest Attending Physician who briefly reviews the patient’s history and clinical condition to determine eligibility for TH and post-arrest care. After this call, PennSTAR will dispatch a helicopter to transport the patient to HUP. In most cases the helicopter should arrive within 1 hour of the initial call. In the event of dangerous weather, we will arrange ground transportation to HUP.
Click here to access an online version of our post-cardiac arrest transport program brochure.