Children make up 25 percent of the population and emergency preparedness should reflect their needs, a July 17 report from the Children’s Hospital Association urges.
A survey of 40 leaders at children's hospitals around the country identified five key problem areas in need of change to better equip hospitals and proactively protect children who tend to be more vulnerable to viruses, including:
- Mitigating workforce shortages in healthcare, particularly for nurses, pediatric respiratory therapists and mental health professionals.
- Addressing hospital boarding challenges complicated by long wait times for pediatric patients in emergency departments as they wait for admission to a psychiatric treatment program.
- Strengthening the medical supply chain to curb the ongoing shortage of albuterol and other medications for pediatric patients.
- Meeting the demand for more critical care beds for pediatric patients.
- Improving collaboration between other children's hospitals throughout regions, states and nationally to share data, information and best practices for better coordination ahead of any future public health emergency like a pandemic.