Dr. Regan Giesinger is a neonatologist at the hospital and is also the medical director for the transport unit. She notes that many rural hospitals no longer have the equipment or staff to deliver even full-term babies.

"The most important thing is getting them as quickly as possible from the place that they are to the place where they can acquire that care. And so it really is a scoop and run type of mentality because there's nothing more that you can do," Giesinger said.

The transport service, which can respond by ambulance or helicopter, essentially creates a mobile NICU for premature babies after they're born. They can load in their isolette, which is a crib enclosed with plastic to protect the baby from germs. Also, there is plenty of specialized equipment, including state-of-the-art cooling blankets and a high-frequency ventilator.

"Sometimes they need the type of ventilator that sort of vibrates the gas in and out and that's not traditionally available on transport," Giesinger said.

While the expansion shows dedication to saving the tiniest of infants, Giesinger and Dr. Patrick McNamara, director of neonatology, believe the culture at the children's hospital is a driving force behind the high survival rate.

"Everyone on the team believed that we can do a great job for these patients," McNamara said.

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The story was also featured in SPR Pulse, the periodic email newsletter of the Society for Pediatric Research, which reaches pediatricians across the country.