Nicklaus Children’s Hospital has a new addition to its critical care transport fleet, thanks to the generosity of Miguel “Mike” B. Fernandez, a Coral Gables-based healthcare entrepreneur and chairman of MBF Healthcare Partners, LP. Fernandez donated his personal helicopter to the hospital this week to help support the care of children from the region and beyond.
The donation of the Sikorsky® S76 C+ helicopter will benefit the LifeFlight® critical care transport team at Nicklaus Children’s, which is responsible for safely transporting infants and children to Nicklaus Children’s for specialized care from local clinics and hospitals in Florida as well as the Caribbean, and South and Central America. The LifeFlight team safely transports more than 4,000 infants and children per year to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital using a fleet of six ground ambulances, an existing Sikorsky® S76 C+ helicopter and fixed-wing aircrafts.* Approximately 300 children are transported by helicopter each year to the hospital.
“The addition of this helicopter to our existing fleet as a result of Mike Fernandez’s generous contribution will transport children in need to our specialized critical care centers, which include neonatal, cardiac and pediatric critical care units,” said Matthew A. Love, president and CEO of Nicklaus Children’s Health System. “We are grateful for Mike and his continued support of the children and families we serve.”
The LifeFlight fleet is equipped with some of the most advanced life-support systems such as neonatal and pediatric ventilators, defibrillators, intubation equipment, cardio-respiratory and hemodynamic monitors, infusion devices and more in order to provide critical care management during transport. The newly donated helicopter will be outfitted with clinical equipment, and undergo specific maintenance requirements and repainting, prior to joining the LifeFlight fleet.
Fernandez has been a devoted supporter of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital for many years. He previously donated $5 million to support the hospital’s trauma center, now known as the Miguel “Mike” B. Fernandez Family Pediatric Trauma Center at Nicklaus Children’s. The center is one of only two pediatric trauma centers in Florida, and the only freestanding pediatric trauma center in South Florida.
*Nicklaus Children’s Hospital is not a direct air carrier. Aircraft, both helicopters and fixed wing are operated pursuant to contract with Nicklaus Children’s by companies that are FAA certified.
About Nicklaus Children's Hospital, Where Your Child Matters Most ™ (2025)
For 75 years, Nicklaus Children's has stood as a beacon of hope for children and families across the state of Florida and beyond. Nicklaus Children's Hospital is South Florida's #1 nonprofit, freestanding specialty licensed hospital exclusively for children serving close to 70 percent of children in the Miami metropolitan community. In addition, Nicklaus Children's offers care within NCH North Hospital in Naples, Jupiter Medical Center's De George Pediatric Unit and select Baptist Health Hospital pediatric emergency units. The hospital and its network of more of nearly 35 outpatient care locations offer lifesaving care in in Miami-Dade, Broward, Martin, and Palm Beach counties. These outpatient locations include an array of urgent care, pediatric primary care, and subspecialty care centers and are either hospital-based or outpatient locations under Nicklaus Children's Pediatric Specialists, LLC (NCPS). Providing a pipeline of future physicians and groundbreaking research, Nicklaus Children's is an academic and clinical affiliate of Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Nicklaus Children's is home to centers of excellence including the Helen & Jacob Shaham Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute, the Nicklaus Children's Orthopedics, Sports Health and Spine Institute, Nicklaus Children's Neuroscience Institute and Nicklaus Children's Heart Institute. The 325-bed hospital is renowned for excellence in all aspects of pediatric medicine, with many programs routinely ranked among the nation's best by U.S. News & World Report since 2008. Nicklaus Children's also includes a nonprofit physician practice subsidiary with over 40 specialties, and an ambulatory surgery center. For more information visit, https://www.nicklauschildrens.org.