ERs unprepared for children

Of the 30 million children treated in emergency rooms (ER) every year, about 90% are in general community hospitals that often lack pediatric units. This means ERS often don’t have emergency equipment sized for children, such as breathing tubes, catheters, and needles.  

A recent study of 4,000 U.S. hospitals’ pediatric medicine readiness found that the median readiness score was 69 out of 100, which was an improvement from 2003 when the median score was 55. The high cost of pediatric emergency care training was one of the barriers cited by hospitals for not being better prepared.  

Source: The Wall Street Journal