Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Pediatric disaster preparedness is simply disaster preparedness.

While children have unique needs that must be considered in the event of the disaster (large relatively body surface area, closeness to ground hazards) most pediatric disaster preparedness activities (eg. engaging with regional healthcare coalitions) will improve the state of institution’s disaster preparedness in general.

Gain access to national disaster preparedness experts.

By participating in this collaborative, you will gain access to national disaster preparedness experts that will provide expert advice and individual coaching in areas important to your institution. You will learn best practices and recommended strategies for responding to a disaster

Establish connections within your region

Through this collaborative you will establish relationships with hospitals, EMS agencies and state/federal offices in your region.

Each institution will complete an environmental scan. This will inform us of what your institution is currently doing to prepare for a disaster and will help us tailor the activities of the collaborative to fit.

We anticipate collaborative activities (pulling existing policies and drill history, answering a short series of questions in RedCap or attending learning sessions) should take 1-2 hours per week. The collaborative is scheduled to run for 20 weeks, bringing the total time commitment to 40 hours over the entire collaborative.

No! There is no cost to participate in the collaborative.

The Pediatric Champion can be anyone at the institution that is interested in improving the care of children. This can be a physician, nurse, educator, coordinator etc.

We anticipate that collaborative activities will take 1-2 hours per week for 20 weeks for a total of 40 hours. These activities include pulling exiting policies and drill history, engaging with institutional and regional disaster committees, answering a short series of questions in our RedCap electronic data capture system, and attending monthly learning session conference calls.

The medical director is welcome to participate in any collaborative activates. However, direct participation is not required except to sign our Letter of Commitment acknowledging the requirements and time commitment for the pediatric champion.

No, all activities will be conducted via teleconference or email.

Children comprise 27% of the U.S. population and account for approximately 20% of all hospital ED visits. Pediatric emergencies often take place close to home and school. The majority of these emergency pediatric visits take place in a local general hospital rather than a facility with pediatric specialization or expertise. Thus, it is imperative that all hospitals providing emergency care for children be prepared with appropriate equipment, medications, and care policies, and staffed with providers who participate in regular evidence-based pediatric education offerings.

To learn more about Pediatric Readiness, visit our National Pediatric Readiness Project page or download this informative white paper.

The monthly learning sessions will be 1-hour long conference calls that will include a topical discussion (e.g. regional coalitions / pediatric annex) led by national pediatric disaster preparedness experts. In addition, aim of the learning sessions is to promote an “all-teach, all-learn” culture where participants share best practices and collectively troubleshoot issues.

Pediatric Champions are required to attend these learning sessions.

RedCap is a secure data capture system developed by Vanderbilt University and widely used in academic research to build online surveys and databases. It is Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)–compliant, highly secure, and intuitive to use.

Once selected for participation in the collaborative, the pediatric champion will be provided with a RedCap user ID and access to the data capture forms for each module. At the beginning of each two-week module, the data capture form for that module will be released on RedCap. Most forms consist of 5-10 questions related to completing activities in the module.

RedCap will also be where you submit the application and upload After-Action Reports from the tabletop exercises. A template for the AAR will be provided.

For more information on RedCap, please visit: https://projectredcap.org/about/

Provide us with your contact information using the Intent to Participate survey. An application will be emailed to you.

Meredith Rodriguez, PhD at mrodriqu@bcm.edu