Preparing for Disasters: Keeping Kids in Mind

AUSTIN, Texas – (July 25, 2016) – When a child is severely injured and seconds count, care at a pediatric trauma center that’s equipped with doctors and nurses specially trained in caring for infants and children can greatly improve chances of survival.

Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released new recommendations on improving trauma care for children, emphasizing the importance of a separate care plan for mass casualty and disaster preparedness.

Dell Children’s is a national leader in mass casualty preparedness for children and the only Pediatric Level I Trauma Center in Central Texas. The hospital is also a part of Ascension, the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health care system.

David Tuggle, MD, a pediatric trauma surgeon at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, is the lead author of the updated policy which will appear in the August 2016 issue of Pediatrics, the official journal of the AAP.

According to the article, trauma is a leading cause of death in the United States for children ages 1-18 years old. It claims more lives than sudden infant death, cancer and infectious diseases combined. Each year, one in four children will require medical care for an unintentional injury, and those ailments require specialized care, Tuggle points out. 

“You can’t just lump kids in with adults,” Tuggle said. “Children have very specific needs and the way you treat them is very different.”

Because children are smaller than adults, they absorb chemical toxins faster. Treatment may require additional attention to emotional needs and special equipment for everything from inserting IVs to intubating babies, he said. Medication dosing is also different for children and adults.

“Say you have 200 elementary school children affected by a chemical disaster– What’s your plan to unify them with their families?”

Additional points about the statement:

• Currently, there’s no national consensus on how the care of injured children should be handled regionally.
• The statement incorporates new thinking and offers more guidance for policy makers.
• The recommendations aim to organize and coordinate regional care for injured children.

As a surveyor for the American College of Surgeons, Tuggle visits hospitals across the country to assess and verify their pediatric trauma care.

He believes Central Texas does disaster planning better than most places because of the work Dell Children’s has been doing for nearly a decade and because Seton has strong working relationships with the other hospitals in town.

“I hope the people who can make care better can use this as a roadmap for the things that are important,” says Tuggle.

Learn more about Trauma Care at Dell Children’s.

About Ascension

Ascension (www.ascension.org) is a faith-based healthcare organization dedicated to transformation through innovation across the continuum of care. As the largest non-profit health system in the U.S. and the world’s largest Catholic health system, Ascension is committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. In fiscal year 2015, Ascension provided nearly $2 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs. Approximately 160,000 associates and 36,000 aligned providers serve in 2,000 sites of care – including 137 hospitals and more than 30 senior living facilities – in 24 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to healthcare delivery, Ascension subsidiaries provide a variety of services and solutions including physician practice management, venture capital investing, investment management, biomedical engineering, clinical care management, information services, risk management, and contracting through Ascension’s own group purchasing organization.

About Seton Healthcare Family

Ascension’s Texas ministry is comprised of Seton Healthcare Family and Providence Healthcare Network The Daughters of Charity founded Seton in 1902 in Austin and Providence in 1905 in Waco as a sign of God’s unconditional love for all, and today strive to expand access to high-quality, low-cost, person-centered care and services.

Seton operates more than 100 clinical locations, including four teaching hospitals that will be training sites for Dell Medical School at The University of Texas starting in 2016. Seton conducts research in such areas as the prevention and treatment of stroke, traumatic injury, epilepsy and chronic condition management. Providence operates a major hospital; a psychiatric and substance abuse resource center; and a premiere community for independent and assisted living, long-term and sub-acute care.

Both systems have strong cardiovascular and neuroscience programs. Seton, which operates Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas, also is the regional leader in pediatric care. Together, in 2014, Seton and Providence provided more than $500 million in charitable care. For more information, visit www.seton.net and www.providence.net.