Resource Overview
- American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) Standard 5.10 requires both pediatric and adult trauma centers to engage with the National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) as part of ACS COT trauma center verification.
- It supports identification of gaps and development of action plans to improve care for injured children.
- The standard reinforces Pediatric Readiness as a critical component of ACS COT trauma center verification.
How to Use This Resource
- Review Standard 5.10 to understand Pediatric Readiness expectations for trauma centers.
- Use the NPRP Assessment to comply with the evaluation component. Note that trauma coordinators should not complete the assessment alone – they must work with ED leadership.
- Engage multidisciplinary teams to develop and implement a Pediatric Readiness action plan to comply with the plan component.
Standard 5.10 of Resources for Optimal Care of the Injured Patient Standards (2022), requires trauma centers to assess Pediatric Readiness using the NPRP Assessment during each verification cycle and to develop a plan to address identified gaps.
Because most injured children first present to non-pediatric facilities, this standard emphasizes improving Pediatric Readiness across all ACS COT trauma centers to strengthen outcomes for children.
- In ACS COT trauma centers, the emergency department must evaluate its Pediatric Readiness and have a plan to address any deficiencies.
- This means taking the National Pediatric Readiness Project Assessment and developing an action plan to improve.
- It does not require achieving any specific Pediatric Readiness score.