Joint policy statement - Guidelines for care of children in the emergency department

Steven E. Krug, Thomas Bojko, Joel A. Fein, Laura S. Fitzmaurice, Karen S. Frush, Louis C. Hampers, Patricia J. O'Malley, Robert E. Sapien, Paul E. Sirbaugh, Milton Tenenbein, Loren G. Yamamoto, Kathleen Brown, Kim Bullock, Andrew Garrett, Dan Kavanaugh, Cindy Pellegrini, Tasmeen Singh Weik, Sally K. Snow, David W. Tuggle, Tina TurgelJoseph L. Wright, Alice D. Ackerman, Kathy N. Shaw, Sue Tellez, Ramon W. Johnson, Isabel A. Barata, Lee S. Benjamin, Lisa Bundy, James M. Callahan, Richard M. Cantor, James E. Colletti, Randolph J. Cordle, Ann Marie Dietrich, Martin I. Herman, Douglas K. Holtzman, Mark A. Hostetler, Paul Ishimine, Madeline Joseph, John M. Litell, David S. Markenson, Sanjay Mehta, Antonio E. Muniz, Aderonke Ojo, Malford T. Pillow, Gerald R. Schwartz, Ghazala Q. Sharieff, Nancy B. Medina, Stephanie Wauson, Lance A. Brown, David B. Burbulys, Cindy Chan, Joseph H. Finkler, Dennis A. Hernandez, Sharon E. Mace, Maureen D. McCollough, Alfred D. Sacchetti, Tracy Napper, Beth N. Bolick, Liesel Caten, Kathleen Lozano, Christine Marshall, Nancy Stevens, Ann Marie Papa, Claudia Jorgenson, Altair Juarez, Tracy Lloyd, Leslie Gates, Marianne Gausche-Hill, Frederick Blum, Catherine W. Burt, James Chamberlain, George L. Foltin, Karen Frush, Ramon Johnson, Kimberly Middleton, Ghazala Sharieff, Al Sacchetti, Robert A. Wiebe

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

187 Scopus citations

Abstract

Children who require emergency care have unique needs, especially when emergencies are serious or life-threatening. The majority of ill and injured children are brought to community hospital emergency departments (EDs) by virtue of their geography within communities. Similarly, emergency medical services (EMS) agencies provide the bulk of out-of-hospital emergency care to children. It is imperative, therefore, that all hospital EDs have the appropriate resources (medications, equipment, policies, and education) and staff to provide effective emergency care for children. This statement outlines resources necessary to ensure that hospital EDs stand ready to care for children of all ages, from neonates to adolescents. These guidelines are consistent with the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine's report on the future of emergency care in the United States health system. Although resources within emergency and trauma care systems vary locally, regionally, and nationally, it is essential that hospital ED staff and administrators and EMS systems' administrators and medical directors seek to meet or exceed these guidelines in efforts to optimize the emergency care of children they serve. This statement has been endorsed by the Academic Pediatric Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Physician Assistants, American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, American Pediatric Surgical Association, Brain Injury Association of America, Child Health Corporation of America, Children's National Medical Center, Family Voices, National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions, National Association of EMS Physicians, National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, National Association of State EMS Officials, National Committee for Quality Assurance, National PTA, Safe Kids USA, Society of Trauma Nurses, Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and The Joint Commission.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1233-1243
Number of pages11
JournalPediatrics
Volume124
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - 2009

Funding

Development of this statement was supported by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Re sources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Partnership for Information and Com munication Project (U93MC00184) and the Emergency Medical Services for Children National Resource Center at Children’s National Medical Center (U07MC09174). The statement is also consistent with recommendations of the Institute of Medicine’s report on the future of emergency care in the US health system.

Keywords

  • Pediatric emergency preparedness

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health

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