One of Every Four Kids Who Dies in an ER Should Be Alive Today, New Study Reveals. Minimal Investment Could Save Thousands From Preventable Deaths.
Twelve dollars these days may not buy as much as it used to, but it would be enough to save thousands of young lives each year. According to a new study, that is the amount per child that emergency rooms across the country would need to spend to prevent the deaths of over 2,100 children each year who arrive in emergency rooms that are ill-equipped to deal with the unique needs of pediatric emergencies.
The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, found that approximately one of every four children who die during or shortly after an ER visit should be alive today but for the lack of “pediatric readiness” in those facilities. Such readiness, defined in standards set forth by the National Pediatric Readiness Project, includes having the child-size supplies and equipment on hand needed to treat the smallest of patients, as well as protocols, training, and staffing for child-specific care.
The researchers reviewed data from 4,840 emergency departments in every state and the District of Columbia over a ten-year period. Using predictive models to determine how many lives would have been saved if all those hospitals had a high degree of pediatric readiness, they concluded that 2,143 of the 7,619 deaths among children who arrived at emergency rooms could have been prevented.
The problem is that of the 4,840 ERs the researchers studied, only 842 were considered well-prepared for pediatric emergencies. Additionally, only one-third of children live near an ER regarded as highly “pediatric-ready,” with the issue being particularly acute among hospitals in rural areas.
The death of a child is always a tragedy. It is even more tragic if the loss of a young life was easily preventable. Researchers found that even the smallest and most distant ERs could spare families from the agony of losing a child for less than it costs for a routine childhood vaccination. Depending on the state, the cost to make an emergency department pediatric-ready ranged from $0 to $11.84 per child resident, totaling more than $207 million.
While improving pediatric readiness in emergency departments will undoubtedly save lives, it will not eliminate the problem of negligence by ER physicians and staff whose failure to follow the appropriate standard of care results in the preventable deaths of thousands of children and adults alike every year. Incidents of emergency room medical malpractice can take many forms, including misdiagnosis, medication errors, delayed treatment or failure to treat, surgical mistakes, inadequate evaluation, and more.
While emergency rooms can be hectic and chaotic, acts of negligence cannot be excused. When it comes to treating sick or injured children in an ER, lack of preparedness is no excuse either. If you lost a child during or shortly after a visit to an emergency room, determining whether their death resulted from medical malpractice can help you not only obtain a sense of closure but also may entitle you to compensation for your unfathomable loss. If you would like to discuss your experience and learn more about your rights, please contact Rick Fox at Sommers Schwartz today.
