The National Pediatric Prehospital Readiness Project First Comprehensive Assessment of United States Emergency Medical Services Agencies

The authors summarize findings from the first assessment of pediatric readiness of U.S. emergency medical services (EMS) agencies. Overall, the presence of a pediatric emergency care coordinator was associated with a perfect score in all domains (nearly 40% reported having one). EMS agencies scored highest on having related equipment and supplies; policies, procedures, and protocols; and patient and medication safety. The authors refer readers to an associated checklist and toolkit and note that the next step of the study is to review the relationship between EMS readiness scores and patient outcomes.