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Phelps Earns Pediatric Emergency Readiness Designation

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July 17, 2024

Phelps Hospital, part of Northwell Health, is the first and only emergency department in Westchester County to be recognized by the New York State Department of Health as an Always Ready for Children (ARC) hospital. The pediatric emergency recognition program underscores a hospital’s preparedness and commitment to providing exceptional care to children in the emergency room.

Phelps received the highest level within the ARC designation: Pediatric Innovator. To reach this level, a hospital must score above 80 on the National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) assessment, identify a pediatric emergency care coordinator to ensure ongoing readiness and be willing to share best practices and resources with other hospitals.

“We are thrilled to be recognized for our emergency department’s expertise in caring for children when they’re most vulnerable,” said Jessica Cooper Foltin, MD, FAAP, chief of pediatric emergency medicine and hospital-based pediatrics at Phelps Hospital. “We have an outstanding team of clinical and support staff who are highly trained and credentialed to care for children of all ages, from newborns and toddlers to adolescents and young adults.”

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Phelps’s ARC designation comes at a time when access to emergency pediatric care across the nation has become more limited. The latest statistics reveal that even though children account for approximately a quarter of all emergency visits in the U.S., 85% are treated in non-pediatric emergency rooms, which are often not optimally prepared to care for youngsters. In fact, according to a recent National Pediatric Readiness Project assessment, the median pediatric readiness score for U.S. emergency departments was just 69.5 out of 100.

The ARC program was created in June 2023 and is managed by the EMS for Children State Partnership Programs (EMSC) with support from the Health Resources and Services Administration and the EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center.

Phelps is nationally recognized for emergency care. Earlier this month, the emergency department received the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) Lantern Award demonstrating its commitment to quality, safety and an exceptional work environment.

In addition to Phelps, Northwell Health’s North Shore University Hospital and Cohen Children’s Medical Center were also recognized as ARC Pediatric Innovators.

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