Pediatric Readiness Program for Community Emergency Departments

Developing and testing a Pediatric Readiness Implementation Guide for community EDs across Wisconsin

Full Project Name:Pediatric Readiness Program for Community Emergency DepartmentsPrimary Community Organization:Children's Health Alliance of WisconsinPrimary Academic Partner:Maureen Luetje, DO, PediatricsAward Amount:$521,536

Award Date

July2021

Project Duration:48 months

Project Summary:

Wisconsin has 129 emergency departments (ED) that treat community members statewide. When children are ill or injured, parents and caregivers typically seek care at the closest ED. While convenient, the closest ED may not be optimally equipped or resourced to care for children. Professional organizations have developed national guidelines that define readiness to provide high-quality pediatric emergency care, and an ED's ability to meet these guidelines can be objectively measured by the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment. Overall in Wisconsin, community EDs' Pediatric Readiness score averaged 66.25 out of 100, with some ED's scoring as low as 30.

Through this award, project partners aim to develop, test, and refine a Pediatric Readiness Implementation Guide founded on criteria established by the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment to support community ED's in providing quality, evidence-based pediatric, emergency care.

Community partners: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, American Academy of Pediatrics-Wisconsin Chapter, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Office of Preparedness and Emergency Health Care

Project Updates:

Formed an advisory stakeholder group comprised of representatives from the Wisconsin Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics, Wisconsin Chapter of American College of Emergency Physicians, Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality, Wisconsin Emergency Nurses Association, Wisconsin Emergency Preparedness Program, and Wisconsin Rural Health Cooperative and oriented stakeholders to the program goals
Developed the Pediatric Readiness Implementation Guide that adheres to the National Pediatric Readiness Project Assessment and to serve as a comprehensive tool for any Wisconsin emergency department (ED) to understand their pediatric readiness and improve their readiness scores making this the first resource developed specifically to assist emergency departments in Wisconsin and make them better prepared to care for children in emergencies
Recruited 24 emergency departments to engage in the project, facilitated intake meetings with each, and provided ongoing support with the project implementation guide to make process improvements to positively impact the pediatric readiness score for the participating EDs
Disseminated project efforts through presentations and social media to gain interest, recruit ED participants, and share outcomes and accomplishments of participating EDs