Key Messages for Pediatric Readiness to Guide Leadership Conversations

NPRP Toolkit - Prepare

These talking points help emergency departments (EDs), hospitals, and organizational leaders understand why Pediatric Readiness matters and what actions they can take to support it. The resource summarizes evidence-based rationale, high-impact improvements, and systemwide benefits. ED teams can use these messages to build support, communicate priorities, and align leaders in strengthening pediatric emergency care.


Key Talking Points for Why Pediatric Readiness Matters


  • Hospitals with high pediatric readiness (per the National Pediatric Readiness Project, NPRP) have much better survival rates. Specifically, children in the highest-readiness EDs had a 76% lower in-hospital mortality for medical illness and 60% lower for trauma compared to low-readiness EDs. NIH Record+1

  • NIH modeling suggests more than 1,400 pediatric deaths could be prevented if more EDs adopt readiness standards. NIH Record+1
  • A study estimated that if all U.S. EDs reached a score of ≥88/100 on the NPRP assessment, it could prevent ≈ 2,143 pediatric deaths per year. Children's National

  • The cost to reach “high readiness” is modest: per-child costs range from $0–$12 annually, depending on region. Children's National

  • For specific EDs, incremental readiness cost estimates are in the range of $4–$48 per child, depending on volume. Dell Medical School
  • The National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) is a multi-organization, multi-phase quality-improvement initiative (with AAP, ACEP, ENA, HRSA). emscimprovement.center+1

  • The assessment is free, open-access, and designed to identify gaps in readiness (equipment, staffing, policies, training). emscimprovement.center

  • The assessment is based on the 2018 “Guidelines for Care of Children in the Emergency Department,” giving it strong professional legitimacy. pedsready.org

  • Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), which often see very few children, tend to have lower readiness scores. PubMed

  • But the same study shows there are low-cost, high-impact interventions (e.g., pediatric emergency care coordinator (PECC), better policies, training) that CAHs can implement to improve readiness. PubMed

  • Example: UW Hospital & Clinics scored 98/100 on NPRP, showing that very high readiness is possible. pediatrics.wisc.edu

  • Being pediatric-ready signals commitment to high-quality, safe care for children, which can strengthen the hospital’s reputation in the community, especially for families.

  • It aligns with broader quality improvement (QI) and patient safety goals: having pediatric-specific policies, a pediatric QI plan, and a pediatric emergency care coordinator (PECC) helps institutionalize structured care.

  • Participation in the NPRP assessment gives you a benchmark (gap analysis report) to track readiness over time vs. national peers. Michigan.gov

  • While pediatric readiness is not currently required for hospital licensing, studies and thought leaders are calling for integrating it into accreditation or reimbursement models. Children's National

  • From a risk-management perspective, not being prepared for pediatric emergencies can expose the hospital to a higher risk of poor outcomes (and potentially legal and reputational risk).

  • The cost for equipment + a PECC role (to coordinate pediatric readiness) is relatively small compared to the potential benefit (lives saved, quality improvements). Dell Medical School+1

  • Investing in pediatric readiness can be framed as a high-value, high-impact quality investment, not just a cost center.

  • Many children, especially in rural or underserved areas, rely on general EDs (not specialized children's hospitals) for emergency care; thus, ensuring readiness in all EDs is an equity issue. emscimprovement.center+1

  • Readiness improves system resilience: during mass casualty events or surges, having pediatric-ready EDs ensures better capacity to care for kids.

  • The NPRP toolkit offers expert-vetted resources to address gaps once they are identified. emscimprovement.center

  • The assessment itself is designed to be used as a QI tool, not punitive, and helps set priorities.

  • Propose to complete a National Pediatric Readiness Project Assessment for your ED to benchmark current status.

  • Identify or appoint a Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator (PECC) (nurse, physician, or both) to lead readiness efforts.

  • Use the gap report from the assessment to build a targeted QI plan (equipment, policies, training).

  • Estimate the cost to improve readiness (e.g., from current score to ≥88) using published cost models and present ROI / value.

  • Track pediatric readiness as a quality metric over time.