A Multistate Survey of Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator Activities

Background: Pediatric emergency care coordinators (PECCs) are associated with pediatric readiness of emergency departments (EDs). National organizations have called for PECCs in all EDs. Although the National Pediatric Readiness Program provides a list of suggested tasks for each PECC, little is known about implementation. Our objective was to describe the role of PECCs in EDs.

Methods: We analyzed data from the 2019 National ED Inventory-USA to identify EDs with PECCs in 8 states (Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, New York, Vermont, and Wisconsin). We called each ED that reported having a PECC to administer a standardized survey assessing NRPP tasks, specifically quality improvement (QI), education provision, skill verification, equipment responsibilities, and how many hours the PECC devoted to the role.

Results: Of the 201 of 830 EDs (24%) that reported a PECC, 167 (83%) completed the survey, with >80% response rate in each state. Of these, 153 EDs (92%) confirmed a PECC, and during the past year, 81% participated in QI initiatives, 93% provided pediatric education, 90% verified staff skills, and 90% were responsible for ensuring medications, equipment, supplies, and resources for children. The median number of hours per week that PECCs devoted to this role was 12 (interquartile range, 5-40). There was wide variation between states (eg, 50% of PECCs in Vermont participating in QI activities, as compared with 100% in Nebraska).

Conclusions: Most PECCs report participating in the suggested National Pediatric Readiness Program tasks, although there was variation by state. Future directions for this work include assessing the association between PECC tasks and patient outcomes.