RT Book, Section A1 Lerner, Deborah A1 Lister, George E. A1 FontáN, Julio PéRez A2 Rudolph, Colin D. A2 Rudolph, Abraham M. A2 Lister, George E. A2 First, Lewis R. A2 Gershon, Anne A. SR Print(0) ID 6721042 T1 Chapter 110. Stabilization and Transport T2 Rudolph's Pediatrics, 22e YR 2011 FD 2011 PB The McGraw-Hill Companies PP New York, NY SN 978-0-07-149723-7 LK accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=6721042 RD 2024/03/28 AB Complex, high-acuity services cannot be offered at every site where children receive medical care. These services are expensive and require personnel resources that are in limited supply. Thus, it is best to concentrate skilled caretakers and equipment in hospitals and medical centers that function as local, regional, or national or international referral centers. In the United States and other industrialized countries, implementing this principle has resulted in the development of interhospital referral networks reminiscent of the hub-and-spoke distribution system used by the airlines. In most cases, the referral centers, or hubs, have developed highly detailed protocols for the transfer of patients to their facilities, sometimes involving complex stabilization efforts at the referring facility and in transport.