Always Ready for Children - Hospitals

The Maine EMS for Children program recognizes Hospital Emergency Departments for their readiness to treat our youngest communiRegional EMS Always Ready for Children Logoty members.

 

Maine Recognized Hospitals:

Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME - Pediatric Innovator Level

Pen Bay Medical Center, Rockport, ME - Pediatric Innovator Level

 

What is the Always Ready for Children Program?

Every Emergency Department can provide excellent pediatric care, and the clinicians and staff stand ready to best provide this care.  Hospitals can undertake this voluntary review of aspects of:

  • Pediatric sized equipment
  • Pediatric specific education
  • Pediatric quality improvement
  • Disaster readiness

Additionally, the Emergency Department leadership has identified a Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator to be a resource for all ED staff for pediatric care and improvements.  Once the checklist is completed, and plans developed, and leadership supports the continued effort of improvement, the hospital ED can be awarded the Maine Always Ready for Children recognition award.

The Always Ready for Children program (ARC) is a collaborative project to set up a state and region-wide recognition system for emergency departments best prepared to care for pediatric emergencies. The program is developed and managed by the Maine State EMS for Children State Partnership Program.

The regional ARC program was created by the area’s EMSC programs to improve care across our states, which vary greatly in demographics and access to pediatric emergency care. The variance in availability and access to care often leads pediatric patients to cross state borders for continued, higher level or specialized care. This regional structure requires a more unified approach to pediatric preparedness to ensure standards for pediatric care are met.

Participating states include Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.  It is the largest unified approach to pediatric readiness recognition in the United States.

Emergency Departments follow a checklist developed by the national EMS for Children Innovation & Improvement Center (EIIC), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), and the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA).

Emergency Department Readiness Checklist (PDF)

For questions or more information

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