EMSC Encourages Illinois EDs to Participate in Pediatric Readiness Project

The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) for Children Program, working with representatives from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), has designed a multi-phase quality improvement initiative to ensure that every emergency department (ED) is ready to care for children.

Called the National Pediatric Readiness Project, it is the first national assessment of pediatric readiness in EDs across the United States. The first step in this multi-phase initiative is a confidential web-based assessment based on the 2009 “Guidelines for the Care of Children in the Emergency Department.” 1 The overall objective is to assess pediatric readiness of EDs while increasing awareness of the national guidelines developed by AAP, ACEP, and ENA and sponsored by 22 other organizations, including the Joint Commission and the American Medical Association.

As you may know, in April emergency departments in Illinois received invitations to access the online portal and complete the Pediatric Readiness assessment. Through participation in the assessment, EDs will, for the first time, be able to benchmark their readiness against other facilities with similar pediatric patient volumes within their state and the nation.

After completing the web-based assessment, facilities receive immediate feedback on their pediatric readiness. The ultimate goal is to assist EDs in meeting their pediatric readiness goals and achieve 100 percent compliance with nationally published guidelines. California was the first state to participate in this assessment achieving a 90 percent response rate.

ICEP members are a critical element in the success of the project. You can assist by advocating among your peers for completion of the assessment and initiation of quality improvement measures targeted toward implementation of the national guidelines.

As an ICEP member, you can:

• Remind fellow members about the Pediatric Readiness Project and the importance of ED participation
• Encourage your emergency department colleagues to complete the assessment
• Share resources and best practices that can improve an ED’s capability to provide appropriate pediatric care
• Visit the National Pediatric Readiness website at www.PediatricReadiness.org to stay informed about relevant literature and the latest project news
• Include a link to www.PediatricReadiness.org on state and regional web pages

The contact in Illinois for the Pediatric Readiness Project is Evelyn Lyons, EMSC Manager at Illinois Department of Public Health. Her e-mail address is elyons@lumc.edu. For more information about the National Pediatric Readiness Project please e-mail pedsready@childrensnational.org.