Post-Cardiac Arrest Transfers to HUP

The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) offers an ED to ED transport service for post-cardiac arrest patients via 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 service seeks to provide transport of post-cardiac arrest patients from surrounding facilities to the HUP for therapeutic hypothermia and post-resuscitation care 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 patients with the life-saving resources and experience of HUP's medical staff.

In order to initiate a transfer, someone at the transferring facility should call this number: 1-877-777-7366. The caller will be connected 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.