​PEDIATRIC READINESS TOOLKIT:

The Pediatric Readiness Resource Toolkit is designed to help your emergency department (ED) understand the Pediatric Readiness assessment score and support your use of the assessment to successfully improve the care of children in your ED.  Created by the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) National Resource Center and the Pediatric Readiness Resource Development Working Group, this toolkit is available for all EDs to use free of charge.

The toolkit focuses on the main areas of ED readiness to care for children (the Pediatric Readiness Project's key assessment areas) and can be used by a variety of individuals, including emergency physicians and nurses, ED directors, quality or performance improvement directors, clinical nurse educators, hospital administrators, and state. EMS directors.

Guidelines for Administration and Coordination of the ED for the Care of Children

This section contains resources regarding the qualifications and responsibilities for the physician coordinator and nursing coordinator staffing your emergency department (ED).

• Importance of the Pediatric Care Coordinator Role
• Role Responsibilities MD ED Pediatric Coordinator
• Role Responsibilities Nursing ED Pediatric Coordinator

Library

This section includes additional resources the Pediatric Readiness Resource Development Working Group thought would be valuable to hospitals working towards improving pediatric emergency care.

Policy Statements

This section contains policy statements that reflect the position of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) on issues related to the care of children. The most current ACEP policy statements can be found at http://www.acep.org. The most current AAP and ENA policies can be found at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/collection and http://www.ena.org, respectively.

Guidelines for Improving Pediatric Patient Safety in the ED

This section contains resources regarding the delivery of pediatric care in your emergency department that reflects an awareness of unique pediatric patient safety concerns.

• EBroselow System
• Pediatric Resuscitation and Emergency Medications - Excel Calculator
• Quick Reference Code Cards(Developed by UCLA Harbor Medical Center, these code cards include reference information about pediatric sedation, intubation, vitals, medications, equipment, EKGs, and status epileptics.)
• Key Points on Medication Errors

Physicians, Nurses, and Other Health Care Providers Who Staff the ED

This section contains resources regarding the necessary skills, knowledge, and training in emergency evaluation and treatment of children of all ages among staff in your emergency department (ED).

• Competency and Ongoing Evaluation of ED Staff
• Education, Training, Quality ,and Performance Improvement Activities
• Equipment Competency Validation Record
• Physical Assessment Pediatric Checklist
• Orientation Knowledge and Skills Checklist for the Registered Nurse
• Skills Assessment Workshop Flyer and Grid for Licensed Nursing Staff

Guidelines for Policies, Procedures, and Protocols for the ED

The sample policies in this section are based on actual policies currently in use in emergency departments around the country. They provide a good starting point based on the Guidelines and can be used as a template for the development of policies for other emergency departments. You may customize any of the template documents to meet your facility’s individual needs.

Guidelines for QI/PI in the ED

This section contains resources regarding the integration of pediatric patient care-review processes into the Quality Improvement (QI)/Performance Improvement (PI) plan of your emergency department (ED).

• Check Your Pediatric Preparedness
• Example QI Plan: Illinois EMSC Pediatric Mild Traumatic Head Injury
• HCA Pediatric Readiness Gap Analysis (Example)
• Rapid-Cycle Improvement: Controlling Change
• Introduction to Quality Improvement: Developing an Initial Assessment and Plan
• Pediatric Readiness Data: An Opportunity to Improve Quality of Care in Your Emergency Department. This webinar, occurring on December 17, 2014, defined quality improvement, highlighted key components of the quality improvement process, and discussed how to apply essential quality improvement methodologies to improve pediatric emergency care using the National Pediatric Readiness data.
• Next Steps in Quality Improvement: Measuring Your ED Readiness Improvement – Peds Ready Assessment Portal Now Open. This webinar, occurring on December 17, 2015, discussed the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle of quality improvement and its application to Pediatric Readiness efforts; defined the importance of regular assessment/monitoring of change as related to Pediatric Readiness initiatives; discussed the process for accessing and engaging in the assessment, listed information that will be provided to respondents upon completion of the assessment; and discussed potential next steps, based on reassessment findings, for reducing the gaps in pediatric emergency care in your ED.