| ■ Most ERs Not Fully Prepared for Pediatric Patients | 2007.12.10 |
| MONDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Parents who find themselves rushing a child to the nearest emergency room might want to keep a new finding in mind: Only 6 percent of emergency rooms in the United States have all the equipment they should have on hand to treat youngsters. Many hospitals declined to respond to the survey, however, so the UCLA researchers suspect the true number of centers that don't meet recommendations might be even higher. Among other deficiencies, hospitals failed to have a variety of devices geared toward infants and newborn babies, according to the survey, which is published in the December issue of Pediatrics. The survey doesn't address the issue of whether hospitals with less appropriate equipment provide substandard services to kids, noted Dr. Karen Sheehan, medical director of Injury Prevention and Research at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago. "But if you don't have equipment small enough for a child, it is not a big leap to think this may affect a child's care." |