Prioritizing Pediatric Readiness: How Proper Preparedness Saves Young Lives

One goal in our healthcare improvement is to achieve equitable access to high quality emergency care for kids, regardless of where that child is physically located. Children have unique characteristics and needs, especially in the emergency setting, and the reality is that not all kids have access to specific pediatric care. In fact, 80% of children receive emergency care in general emergency departments, most of which see less than 15 pediatric patients a day. However, care in those adult settings is not specifically geared towards children. Research shows that pediatric readiness results in lower mortality rates among sick and injured kids. Fortunately, ongoing state and national initiatives are making strides in enhancing pediatric readiness. “The first piece of this is that the focus is on system design. This is not about the failings of a single provider, or the knowledge or skill set of healthcare providers. We are only as good as the system in which we work,” Katherine Remick, MD, says.

In today’s episode we are joined by Dr. Remick as well as Kathleen Adelgais, MD. Dr. Remick joins us from Austin Texas, where she is a pediatric emergency medicine provider and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. She is also the Associate Chair for Quality, Innovation, and Outreach within the Department of Pediatrics. In addition, she is co-director of both the National EMS for Children Innovation and Improvement Center, as well as the National Pediatric Readiness Project. Dr. Adelgais is an emergency medicine physician here at Children’s Hospital Colorado and the project director of the Colorado EMS for Children Program. “There are a series of research studies coming out left and right, right now that show the real dramatic impact of pediatric readiness, Dr. Adelgais says. “The research we are getting from the rich data set of the pediatric readiness scores across hospitals, you’re hard pressed to find any treatment anywhere for anything that reduces mortality that dramatically.”

Some highlights from this episode include: 

• What pediatric readiness is and how we achieve it
• The importance of system-level improvements 
• What COPPER is and how it aligns with national efforts 
• What the pediatric readiness score measures 
• Success through the data   

For more information on Children’s Colorado, visit: childrenscolorado.org