Community Memorial Breaks Ground on New Medical Office Building (click)

Enhancement to Pediatric Care in the CMH Emergency Department

A specifically designed rolling cart created for pediatric patients during an emergency is ready for use in the Emergency Department at Community Memorial Hospital.

“But we hope we never need it”, said former Medical Director Dr. Siddiqui, “We’re always on high alert during an emergency, but pediatric patients can’t be medically managed in the same ways as adults.”

One of the main tools used in pediatric resuscitations at CMH and hospitals across the county is the Broselow-Luten Resuscitation Tape, a color-coded reference tape designed to lie alongside a pediatric patient and helps determine, among other things, medication dosages and proper equipment sizes, and it also helps estimate a child’s weight when this is unknown.

The Broselow Cart is a specialized pediatric cart with individual color coded drawers organized according to weight and size. Correctly sized supplies and equipment are stored together for quick determination of weight, drug dosages, and equipment sizes for infants and children.

By using a combination of the Broselow-Luten Tape and cart we are able to concentrate on more important factors of care during the emergency, such as securing the airway, maintaining circulation, making a diagnosis and securing appropriate transport. The length measurement is taken directly from the child and a color is assigned. There is no longer a need to rely on memory or calculations to select the appropriate size equipment or drug dosage. Equipment and medications are organized and stored by color to permit easier access in an emergency.

Standardizing the pediatric resuscitation process reduces stress and anxiety experienced during pediatric emergencies and allow for the best possible care to be provided to the pediatric patients.

The medical and nursing staff of Community Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Department are specially trained in Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and are ready to provide care in any emergency situation.

CMH Implements Rapid Communication System
In an effort to use the most effective resources during an emergency Community Memorial Hospital is adopting the AlertNow Rapid Communication System. AlertNow is a rapid messaging system that replaces the obsolete system of phone trees which divert staff from their duties during emergencies.

AlertNow will enable the hospital to deliver hundreds of messages to telephones, mobile phones, PDAs or any internet-enabled device within minutes. The system will be operational Wednesday August 5th.