Billings Clinic recently transported its first patient using its new mobile extracorporeal membrane oxygenation system.
The Clinic, in collaboration with Community Medical Center, had announced earlier this year the creation of the mobile ECMO program, making it the first of its kind in the state. The patient initially arrived at Community Medical Center in Missoula with severe respiratory failure in early July.
Dr. Eric Feucht, a critical care physician at Community, treated the patient and determined the urgent need for ECMO treatment. Due to the patient’s instability, the mobile ECMO service was used for the first time.
ECMO functions as life support for patients with heart or lung issues. It acts as a bridge to recovery for patients with reversible lung failure caused by conditions like the flu, pneumonia, drowning, or pancreatitis.
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The objective is to stabilize patients long enough to address the underlying issue and minimize lung tissue trauma for recovery. Billings Clinic’s mobile ECMO team brings this technology and medical professionals to patients in Montana and Wyoming to initiate mobile heart-lung bypass for transfer to higher levels of care.
Dr. Bradley Genovese, cardiothoracic surgeon at Billings Clinic and surgical director for the ECMO program, noted, “This advancement in patient care is significant for critical patients without other therapeutic options. Providing high-level care regardless of location is essential for our region.”
Upon Feucht’s call, the mobile ECMO team from Billings flew to Missoula via Billings Clinic MedFlight air ambulance program to transport the patient to Billings Clinic.
Feucht explained, “Having mobile ECMO in Montana is crucial for critically ill patients. Prior to this service, transporting unstable patients out of state often led to deteriorating outcomes.”
In states like Montana and Wyoming, where distances between hospitals and trauma centers are vast, delivering complex care like ECMO where the patient is can be life-saving.
The mobile ECMO program was made possible in part by grants totaling $11 million from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, awarded to Billings Clinic in April.
