Emergency Care Carts for pediatric patients raise the standard of care and safety to the next level

John Mason, Director of Cardiopulmonary Services demonstrates how the Pediatric Emergency Care Carts use color to identify proper emergency supplies.

Emergency care carts—carts that house all the necessary medications and tools for the first critical minutes of an emergency situation—are standard protocol. But the colorful emergency care carts just installed at Upland Hills Health take pediatric care beyond protocol to the next level of accuracy and efficiency.

In general, dealing with pediatric patients in an emergency situation is more complex than with an adult patient. Simply put pediatric patients range in size from infant to adolescent. As the size of the child varies so does the dosage of medication, size of the equipment and supplies needed. In the split seconds when vital emergency care is provided Upland Hills Health’s colorful carts help caregivers to provide the best care.

Embracing the Broselow® system of care, these carts have color coded drawers. Each drawer contains everything needed—medications, supplies, equipment—for a certain size pediatric patient. There is no need for Doctors or nurses to “hunt” through the entire cart to find exactly what they need. In fact research has shown that caregivers consider the color coded system easier to use.

Initially the child is measured with a special color coded tape measure. The tape measure will direct caregivers to the proper color-coded drawer. “This is so effective and intuitive,” states John Mason, Upland Hills Health’s Director of Cardiopulmonary Services , “the total simplicity is what makes it such a beautiful system.” Mason explained that local EMS can even use the Broselow system to expedite treatment by radioing in the color code of the child to the hospital. Color-coding patient charts and using color-coded patient bracelets ensure the added efficiency and accuracy through the entire cycle of care.

As part of its commitment to offer the highest caliber of care to area communities, Upland Hills Health has provided substantial training, funding and maintenance for the implementation of color coded emergency care carts for use in its emergency room, operating rooms, recovery rooms and in-patient floor.