Over 50,000 pediatric ambulance runs occur in Wisconsin each year. Using these weight measuring tapes, EMS providers will be able to obtain these estimates right away and deliver the appropriate care.” “The first step in reducing medication dosing errors is having accurate weight estimates. Michael Kim, associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin and WI EMSC Advisory Committee Co-Chair. “Medication dosing accuracy is paramount to safety when treating children,” says Dr. These resources will help EMS personnel increase weight documentation and rapidly assess correct medication dosing and equipment sizes for their pediatric patients. Thanks to a generous funding opportunity from Cars Curing Kids, part of this initiative includes providing all 1,970 ambulances and emergency medical responder (EMR) groups in the state with a retractable, Broselow-compatible weight measuring tape and a corresponding reference card. Wisconsin Emergency Medical Services for Children (WI EMSC) has launched a quality improvement project focused on improving weight estimate accuracy and increasing the proportion of pediatric EMS encounters with documentation of estimated weight in kilograms. This process also takes critical time away from managing the patient, and can lead to medication dosing errors. Due to the unpredictability of the prehospital setting, these calculations are done quickly in highly stressful and chaotic situations. From there, EMS personnel convert a weight measured in pounds to kilograms, then calculate a weight-appropriate dose, which can be taxing. EMS personnel must then rely on family member reports, visual estimates, or references based on age or height. Depending on the child’s age and status, they may be unable to communicate their weight to providers. While accurate weight estimates are critical in determining medication dosages for pediatric patients, estimating a child’s weight can be very challenging. Added stress comes from medication administration, as all pediatric medications are weight-based and require weight-based dosing calculations, which can be difficult in the highly charged clinical situations. Emergency Medical Services for ChildrenĮmergency situations involving the transfer of children are infrequent for many Wisconsin Emergency Medical Services (EMS) agencies, but they are often very critical situations when they do occur.The worst thing ever is to reach for a piece of emergency equipment or an emergency medication and find it The following lists show complete content listing forīroselow™ ColorCode Carts. Of this type helps to save time and prevent mistakes. If the crash cart is organized correctly, the caregiver simply opens theĭrawer of the corresponding color and will find the appropriate sizes of equipment and medications. Based on the length of the baby they will fall in a colored area which lists appropriate The Broselow™ Tape is placed on the table and the child is placed One of the best ways to make this happen is to organize the “crash carts”Īccording to the Broselow™ Tape. As healthcare providers, we need our supplies, our medicationsĪnd our equipment at our fingertips. Any time we are caring for our most precious babiesĪnd things go wrong, life gets instantly hectic. Neonatal Crash Cart Supply & Equipment Checklist / Broselow™Įmergencies in a Neonatal ICU can be nerve-wracking at best.
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