Presence of pediatric emergency care coordinator linked to higher adjusted median weighted pediatric readiness score<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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MONDAY, July 17, 2023 (HealthDay News) — From 2013 to 2021, there was improvement in almost all domains of readiness of U.S. emergency departments to care for children, according to a study published online July 7 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Katherine E. Remick, M.D., from the University of Texas at Austin, and colleagues completed a third assessment of pediatric readiness of U.S. emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic to examine changes in pediatric readiness from 2013 to 2021 and evaluated factors associated with readiness. The analysis included 3,557 responses to a 92-question web-based open assessment of emergency department leadership in U.S. hospitals.<\/p>\n The researchers found that the median weighted pediatric readiness score (WPRS) was 69.5. Comparing common data elements from the assessments conducted in 2013 and 2021 demonstrated a reduction in median WPRS from 72.1 to 70.5, respectively, but improvement was noted across all domains of readiness except in the administration and coordination domain, which had a significant decrease. Across all pediatric volume categories, the presence of a pediatric emergency care coordinator (PECC) correlated with a higher adjusted median WPRS compared with no PECC (90.5 versus 74.2). A full pediatric quality improvement plan versus no plan and staffing with board-certified emergency medicine and\/or pediatric emergency medicine physicians versus none were also associated with higher pediatric readiness (adjusted median WPRS: 89.8 versus 65.1 and 71.5 versus 62.0, respectively).<\/p>\n “These data represent an updated report of the state of pediatric readiness in our nation’s emergency departments during a global pandemic and demonstrate high engagement of emergency department leadership,” the authors write.<\/p>\n