---
title: "Protecting the Tiniest Patients: A Smarter Way to Transport Preemies"
description: When faced with the challenge of transporting premature newborns without increasing risk of complications, Director of Nursing Amanda Dupuis came up with a solution. Learn how she used Zopec transport batteries to transform the way her hospital cares for its tiniest patients.
image: https://info.usme.com/hubfs/Amanda%20Dupuis%20HHH%202.jpg
---

[Skip to content](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/amanda-dupuis#main-content)

[![USME Logo](https://info.usme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/01656-USME-Logo-wTag-WH.png?width=181&height=115&name=01656-USME-Logo-wTag-WH.png "USME Logo")](https://usme.com/?utm_source=Healthcare+Heroes+Highlights&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=HHH_USME)

[Back to Home](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights)

[Nominate a Healthcare Hero](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-hero-nomination)

# Protecting the Tiniest Patients: A Smarter Way to Transport Preemies

![Amanda Dupuis and team](https://info.usme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Amanda%20Dupuis%20HHH%202.jpg?width=422&height=396&name=Amanda%20Dupuis%20HHH%202.jpg)For Amanda Dupuis, RN, MSN, MBA, CPN, nursing has always been about protecting the most vulnerable. As the Director of Nursing at WakeMed Hospital in Cary, North Carolina, she leads a team that cares for some of the smallest and most fragile patients. These are infants born long before their due date.

These tiny patients depend on incubators to regulate temperature and humidity, mimicking the womb during their first critical hours of life. However, transporting them to receive this therapy has traditionally involved lifting and moving them between different incubators, which increases the risk of serious complications.

“Preemies have to stay completely still for 72 hours to reduce the risk of brain bleeds,” Amanda said. “Even lifting them once can be dangerous.”

That challenge led Amanda to a breakthrough. When a transport incubator went out of service, she reached out to US Med-Equip Business Development Representative Danielle Warf, MSN, RN, CWCA, for assistance. Danielle introduced her to the [Zopec UPS 270 battery system](https://usme.com/products/zopec-ups-270-pure-transport-battery/?utm_source=Healthcare+Heroes+Highlights&utm_medium=Blog&utm_campaign=NICU+Zopec), available from USME. By attaching this portable battery to a standard incubator, Amanda instantly converted it into a transport unit, eliminating the need to move the baby again.

“With the battery, I lift babies once from their mother and put them directly into the incubator,” Amanda said. “I don’t have to move them again for 72 hours.”

The benefits extend beyond safety. Amanda tells us a single transport incubator can cost more than $50,000. Each Zopec UPS 270 battery costs approximately $8,500 and can be used with any bed in the unit.

“For less than the price of one transport unit, I now have four batteries that can turn any incubator into a transport incubator,” she said. “It’s better for the patient and better for the system.”

Drawing on her clinical skill, Amanda is transforming the way her hospital cares for its tiniest patients. With every safer transfer and stabilized heartbeat, she’s helping give fragile lives a stronger start and setting a higher standard for neonatal care.

## More Stories

[![](https://info.usme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/HHH%20Kevin%20Romero%201.jpg?height=200&name=HHH%20Kevin%20Romero%201.jpg)](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/kevin-romero)

## [How Healthcare Heroes Use Paramount Beds with Nuvay Foam Mattresses to Help Reduce Pressure Injuries](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/kevin-romero)

Kevin Romero, CEO of Lafayette Physical Rehabilitation Hospital in Louisiana, knows that the right...

[Read more](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/kevin-romero)

[![](https://info.usme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MicrosoftTeams-image-2.png?height=200&name=MicrosoftTeams-image-2.png)](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/hope-reeves)

## [Healthcare Hero Hope Reeves Leading Her Team to Help Comfort Patients, Reduce HAPIs](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/hope-reeves)

“I did a rotation out on a floor, and we transferred into the Neurotrauma ICU a patient who had...

[Read more](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/hope-reeves)

[![](https://info.usme.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Michelle%20Garst2.png?height=200&name=Michelle%20Garst2.png)](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/michelle-garst)

## [Healthcare Hero Michelle Garst: Putting Patients First Nationwide](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/michelle-garst)

In Spring 2019 just before COVID-19 struck, Michelle Garst's husband risked permanent vision loss...

[Read more](https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/michelle-garst)

Copyright © 2026, US Med-Equip

[link icon](https://usme.com/) [linkedin-in icon](https://www.linkedin.com/company/us-med-equip-inc.)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "US Med-Equip",
    "url" : "https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/author/us-med-equip"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-03-19T20:30:01.100Z",
  "datePublished" : "2025-06-11T15:54:38.000Z",
  "headline" : "Protecting the Tiniest Patients: A Smarter Way to Transport Preemies",
  "image" : [ "https://info.usme.com/hubfs/Amanda%20Dupuis%20HHH%202.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://info.usme.com/healthcare-heroes-highlights/amanda-dupuis",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://info.usme.com/hubfs/01656-USME-Logo-wTag-CC-2.png"
    },
    "name" : "US Med-Equip"
  }
}
```