Who are Pediatric Emergency 
Care Coordinators (PECCs)
  • Local thought leaders (physician, nurses, paramedics, nurse practitioners) who can bring about institutional change to improve care for children.
  • PECCs have a special interest in care of children.
  • Focus on pediatric quality/performance improvement, patient safety, continuing education, appropriate equipment, supplies and staffing of Emergency Departments, planning for process improvements.
Interested...but not sure how to get started.  The following is an example, but not limited to the Roles and Responsibilities  of the PECC. 

  • Facilitates continuing education
  • Assists with development/review of pediatric policies and procedures
  • Facilities quality improvement activities
  • Ensures pediatric specific elements in orientation of new staff
  • Collaborates with MD coordinator for Pediatric emergency care
  • Liaison to hospital committees
  • Promotes illness and injury prevention
  • Promotes pediatric disaster preparedness
  • Liaison to regional facilities/organizations to promote continuum of care
  • Ensures pediatric competency evaluations
  • Assists with pediatric education of pre-hospital providers
  • Ensures appropriate medication is stocked

Indiana EMSC continues to identify Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator (PECC) contact/s at each of Indiana's Emergency departments including community-based hospitals and freestanding emergency departments. Research demonstrates that Emergency Departments who have these positions tend to be more prepared to take care of children.  The newly formed network of PECCs will focus on improvement in care capabilities across the state and develop a relationship across the state of Indiana.  

Have a question? Please tweet   @IndianaEMSC, FB at  Indiana Emsc,  or via email to  margo.knefelkamp@indianapolisems.org.
ARTICLE OF  INTEREST

The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American  College of Emergency  Physicians, the Emergency Nurse Associations , and the Federal Emergency Medical Services for Children continue to spearhead efforts to improve pediatric readiness.  Over the years, based on the the 2009 Guidelines for Care of Children in the Emergency Departments, 11 states have developed a Pediatric Facility Recognition Program.  On April 13, 2015 A National Assessment of Pediatric Readiness of Emergency Departments was published in JAMA Pediatrics. This article highlights the physician and nurse PECCs play an important role in pediatric readiness of Emergency Departments, and the improvement of care for children over the last two decades.  
Pediatric Readiness Assessment Portal To Remain Open
  
Over 1,000 hospitals have reassessed their pediatric readiness since the portal reopened in November 2015. The assessment can be taken on any mobile device, and a new GAP report has recently been developed that allows hospitals to view their current score against their previous score with visual indicators of areas for improvement. See http://www.pedsready.org to view current participation rates. 

Resources To Help Hospitals Prepare For Disasters. 
  1. The Emergency Medical Services for Children Innovation and Improvement Center ( https://emscimprovement.center/): This center is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services, and provides a comprehensive database of resources for pediatric disaster preparedness.
  2. The California Hospital Association's Hospital Preparedness Program ( www.calhospitalprepare.org/): This program is funded by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response ( www.phe.gov/about/pages/default.aspx) to support California hospitals and other health systems in an all-hazards disaster planning approach. The Web site contains a large selection of resources for facility, regional, and state planning, including disaster drills, classes, and draft agreements. In addition to an annual conference, California Hospital Association's Hospital Preparedness Program provides classes and technical assistance and warehouses other regional, state, and federal resources.
  3. The Pediatric Preparedness Resource Kit of the American Academy of Pediatrics ( https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/technical-resources/resource/3824/pediatric-disaster-coalition-neonatal-critical-care-surge-capacity-plan-template): This kit was developed to encourage partnerships and joint decision-making between pediatricians and state and/or local health department representatives, and includes information and strategies to promote strategic communications and effective messaging in disasters.
  4. The New York City Pediatric Disaster Coalition's customizable Neonatal Critical Care Surge Capacity Plan (  www.programinfosite.com/peds/files/2012/12/Pediatric-Disaster-Coalition-Template-NICU-Surge-Plan-docx.pdf): This plan provides a template for improving disaster-related surge capacity. The document outlines topics such as creating a rapid discharge team, enlisting additional staff, and ensuring availability of medications, code carts, and decontamination operations.
  5. The Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange ( https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/): This program is operated by the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, to address disaster medicine and emergency preparedness inquiries from health care providers and entities.
  6. The National Library of Medicine Disaster Information Management Research Center ( https://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc.html): This site provides the most recent research regarding disaster impact and preparedness, emergency readiness tools, and research resources.
  7. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ( www.cdc.gov): In addition to Web resources, the CDC provides technical assistance in response to public inquiries and clinician outreach calls as well as direct technical assistance for outbreak investigation and reporting and surveillance of disasters.
Information developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Board of Directors.   http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2017/04/13/peds.2017-0507

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Contact Information:
Program Director:
Elizabeth Weinstein, M.D.

Program Manager:
Margo Knefelkamp

3930 Georgetown Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46254
margo.knefelkamp@indianapolisems.org
(317) 630-7742