Find a Pediatric-Ready Ambulance With the FindERNow App
Hope you don’t have to take your baby to the emergency room. But if you do, you will want to go to one that is prepared for treating babies and children.
To my horror, I learned that not all emergency departments of the hospital. Phyllis Rabinovich discovered this in a tragic way, as she writes in Working Mother . In 2006, when her newborn Rebecca was showing worrying symptoms such as lethargy and trouble eating and breathing, she rushed her to the local emergency room, but doctors said it was just a cold. The child died the next morning.
Rabinowitz later discovered that Rebecca had a life-threatening virus. “If this were discovered and she received supportive care, our girl could still be with us today,” she writes.
With a little research, Rabinowitz learned some disturbing facts: only 47% of the 4,146 emergency rooms in the United States have emergency preparedness plans that address the unique needs of children, according to a federal program called Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC). There is no compulsory ongoing pediatric training in emergency departments. And many emergency departments do not have recommended pediatric equipment for treating infants. All of this is extremely troubling because babies and young children are, as Rabinowitz explained, “not miniature adults.” They have special needs and special medical care, especially during infancy.
Rabinowitz’s organization R Children’s Foundation wants parents to know which MAs are equipped to treat children. This is why they just helped launch the pediatric version of the findERnow app . It is a service that allows you to quickly find information on hospital preparedness for pediatrics, including the percentage of annual visits to children, as well as the presence of a separate pediatric ward in the emergency department, pediatric emergency care coordinators and a confirmed pediatric trauma or burn center. If the emergency department is deemed to be adequately prepared for pediatric patients, it is marked with a blue child icon.
Of course, if your child is in a death or death situation, you should go to the nearest emergency room where doctors can stabilize the patient before being sent to the pediatric facility. But if you have time to drive safely, the placement of an emergency room with a small blue square can make a significant difference in care.