Hospitals and/or emergency departments are not all alike. Differences are typically a reflection of specialized services available within each facility. Hospital categorization and/or delineation of specific services are not new processes—trauma centers, burn centers, perinatal centers, and stroke centers have existed for years or even decades.

The 2006 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Emergency Care for Children, Growing Pains, supports the categorization of emergency care for children. Experts agree that a categorization system for hospitals capable of providing essential resources for children should have the following in place: pediatric specific equipment; caregivers (i.e. nurses and physicians) trained in pediatric emergency/resuscitation care; pediatric specific policies and protocols; a system for monitoring the care rendered to children and pediatric performance improvement; organized transfer processes, agreements, and guidelines to move children to more resources when needed; and processes to assure the integration of families.

Making Trauma Systems Work for Injured Children – EMSC Performance Measures Can Make a Difference, An Internet Archive Webcast. This internet presentation covers such topics as: pediatric field triage and transfer of the injured child to appropriate resources, system processes that assure appropriate resources for critically ill and injured children, and critical components of pediatric trauma care that contribute to improved outcomes.

Illinois EMSC Facility Recognition Program (not a U.S. government website). In 1995, Illinois embarked on a voluntary process to identify the readiness and capabilities of hospitals and their staffs to provide optimal pediatric emergency and critical care. A multidisciplinary subcommittee of their EMSC advisory committee defined criteria for three levels of pediatric emergency care: standby emergency department for pediatrics (SEDP); emergency department approved for pediatrics (EDAP); and pediatric critical care center (PCC).

Illinois has successfully designated more than 200 hospitals at one of the three levels. A detailed history about the program; information on designation criteria and the implementation process, including their hospital application kits; and a listing of Illinois EDAP facilities can be found on this site.

Toward a Comprehensive Emergency Medicine System for Children. Pediatrics, 1990; 86: 120-172. Haller,J. (not a U.S. government website)

Pediatric Trauma Systems in the United States: Do They Make a Difference? Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine, 2006; 7: 76-81. Junkins, Edqard, O’Connell K., and Mann C. (not a U.S. government website)

Significant Reduction in Delayed Diagnosis of Injury with Implementation of a Pediatric Trauma Service. Pediatric Emergency Care, 2005; 21: 367-371. Perno, Joseph, Schunk J., Hanse K., and Furnival R. (not a U.S. government website)

Facilities and Equipment for Care of Pediatric Patients in Community Hospitals. Pediatrics, 2003; 3: 1120-1123. Sigrest, Todd, and AAP Committee on Hospital Care (not a U.S. government website)

National Library of Medicine PubMed journal article database

Click to search PubMed.

Books
Committee on Trauma, Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient, Chapter 10. Chicago, Illinois: American College of Surgeons; 2006. This text provides a detailed listing of essential services and resources necessary to meet established standards and achieve various levels of trauma center verification including pediatric trauma center verification.

Emergency Care of Children (not a U.S. government website). This fact sheet answers questions that parents may have about emergency care for children, such as which local emergency department is best for your child, what role do pediatric emergency specialists play in the care of your child, what emergency physicians are doing to improve the care of children, and how to make sure your child gets appropriate treatment in an emergency.