1) Congratulations to
Dr. Tricia Swan
(UF Gainesville) who was selected as Chair-elect of the ACEP Pediatric Emergency Section. Dr. Swan is a Florida PEDReady Champion and former FL EMSC Advisory Committee member!
2)
National EMSC (NEDARC)
will soon be surveying all EMS agencies on performance measures 2 and 3 regarding Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinators/Champions (PECCs) and proficiency of EMS providers in the use of pediatric-specific equipment.
3) The
state EMS survey
begins this month and contains PEDReady and EMSC related questions. Please participate! We need to hear your voices.
5) The first
Florida PEDReady PECC quarterly conference call
was held on Wednesday, January 15 at 1:00 pm EST. This was for EMS and ED PECCs. If you did not receive an email notification and would like to participate in future calls,
email Lori Jean-Jacques
now.
The next call will be in April 2020.
Click here
to view a PDF of materials used in the call.
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Encourage others to sign up for the PEDReady weekly newsbrief, the PE
2
ARL, by sharing this link:
http://bit.ly/flpearl
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Pediatric Literature Updates You Don’t Want to Miss! Part II
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1. PEDReady Champion of the Week: Dr. Joseph J. Tepas III
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We honor the life of Dr. Joseph J. Tepas, known to many of us as JJT, for a life of service to critically ill and injured children. In a way, Joe started getting Florida “PEDReady” over 35 years ago! He is remembered for his care of the injured child, advancements in the management of traumatic brain injury, and his skill in neonatal surgery.
Dr. Tepas was instrumental to the development of Florida's state trauma system and the first pediatric-specific trauma registry, the National Pediatric Trauma Registry. He was a surgeon dedicated to his patients who also understood the importance of evidence and data to inform decisions. “JJT” was a strong advocate for organ donation and a transplant recipient himself.
Every year, the Pediatric Trauma Society presents a research award in his name. Learn more about the
award here
.
Dr. Tepas and his colleagues developed and published the
Pediatric Trauma Score
in 1987. You can see examples of the score below, the components of which are still used as a basis for most pediatric trauma triage and alert systems.
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*Tip: use the correct-sized BP cuff or you may end up with a falsely low or elevated BP!
Stay tuned for upcoming PEARLs on Florida’s Pediatric Trauma System and trauma-related education.
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2.
Pediatric Literature Updates
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Pediatric Interfacility Transfers
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Does it seem like there are more pediatric interfacility transfers lately? Well there are, and it is causing the “perfect storm” in pediatric emergency care, especially in rural areas. The capability of hospitals to provide definitive inpatient pediatric care is
decreasing
and transfers are
increasing,
even for simple diagnoses like dehydration, pneumonia and asthma. The article
“
Trends in Capability of Hospitals to Provide Definitive Acute Care for Children: 2008 to 2016” found:
- ED visits among rural children to hospitals in the lowest capability category increased from 12.6% in 2008 to 39.1% in 2016.
- Total pediatric ED transfers increased by 27.7% with increases in all volume and urbanicity categories, except at primarily pediatric institutions. The sharpest increases occurred in low-volume and rural hospitals.
There has
not
been a corollary increase in pediatric transport teams, so what does this mean for pediatric readiness?
- Community EDs may have to wait longer for transport of children to tertiary care such as trauma centers or children’s hospitals.
- Local EMS agencies that are already over capacity may be asked to assist in transporting children over long distances to tertiary care, taking them out of local service for hours.
- Be sure to maintain a list of air and ground services that transport children in your area.
- Florida PEDReady is working on a contact list of key pediatric tertiary centers and transport agencies.
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Pediatric Readiness in EMS
Two recent landmark articles were published in January, calling for pediatric services to be embedded into the EMS infrastructure and emphasizing:
- Pediatric-focused education and training
- PECCs
- Pediatric performance improvement practices.
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Joint Policy Statement:
Moore B, Shah MI, Owusu-Ansah S, et al. AAP and the AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS COMMITTEE ON PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE AND SECTION ON EMERGENCY MEDICINE EMS SUBCOMMITTEE, AAP AMERICAN COLLEGE OF EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES COMMITTEE, AAP EMERGENCY NURSES ASSOCIATION PEDIATRIC COMMITTEE, AAP NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PHYSICIANS STANDARDS AND CLINICAL PRACTICE COMMITTEE, AAP NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS EMERGENCY PEDIATRIC CARE COMMITTEE.
Pediatric Readiness in Emergency Medical Services Systems
.
Pediatrics
. Jan. 2020;145(1): e20193307
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PEM on the Frontlines—Building a Peds-Ready ED Webinar
The National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) has launched a Community of Practice (COP) that provides peds-ready resources for hospitalists. Their latest webinar by Drs. Sarah Alander and Christopher Valente was uploaded last week.
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Updated Pediatric Disaster Topic Collection from ASPR TRACIE
In November, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (HHS ASPR) updated their
Pediatric Disaster Topic Collection
from TRACIE (Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange). This collection provides resources that can help healthcare facilities, healthcare coalitions, and other health and medical providers to consider the specialized care and resources needed for children prior to, during, and after an incident. Resources are categorized in topics that include access and functional needs, burns, explosives and mass shootings, family reunification and support, healthcare facility evacuation/ sheltering, and hospital surge capacity and immediate bed availability.
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"
When a Child Dies: The Parents' Perspective"
by Peter Antevy, MD via EMS World
Accompanying podcast:
"The Death of a Child: Supporting the Family"
Do you have a pediatric death or bereavement policy? Please share by emailing
pedready@jax.ufl.edu
.
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Thanks for being a Pediatric Champion!
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The Florida PEDReady Program
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