Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York
PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE (PEM)

The Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) of The Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York provides the highest quality and technologically advanced emergency medical care to ill and injured children in the Washington Heights community, as well as the surrounding and tri-state area. The PED offers a full range of primary, tertiary and quaternary sub-specialty care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Subspecialty trained Pediatric Emergency Medicine physicians staff the PED at all times. Our institution was one of the first in the region to have 24 hour a day/seven days a week coverage by these physician specialists. The nursing staff is all specifically trained in emergency pediatrics. Over the past seven years, PED volume has increased a dramatic 40%, and currently provides care for approximately 50,000 children a year.

The PED is actively involved with community advocacy, participating in projects to improve access to medical care and other vital support services for those in the Washington Heights and the surrounding communities. The PEM group sponsors an annual Health Fair and hosted more than 600 local school children in 2005. This special event has been extremely well received by the community's children, parents, teachers, and area workers. As in the past it provides educational sessions on health and safety issues.

There are several specific areas of focus of which we are quite proud.

1. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: The MSCHONY has made disaster preparedness, with a special emphasis on providing for the needs of children and families, a priority mission.
2. CHILD LIFE: The PED is often the first area of the hospital where children receive medical care. Their experiences here can shape how they will cope with hospitalization or future healthcare visits. The presence of the Child Life Specialist in our ED provides much needed support for children and their families. Their expertise in reducing patient and caretaker stress is invaluable.
3. PAIN MANAGEMENT: Appropriate, adequate, timely and on-going management of pain is one of the most important priorities for insuring the pain-free environment we are committed to maintaining.

The Pediatric Emergency Division is proud to be one of 24 participating national sites in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN), created in October of 2001. The PECARN Network is an initiative funded through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to develop an infrastructure capable of overcoming inherent barriers to pediatric emergency medicine research. PECARN will undertake collaborative research involving out-of-hospital care, emergency department (ED) and in-hospital care, rehabilitation, and patient transport.

The Division actively supports the vision and mission of the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, and in so doing continually seeks to promote improvements in the delivery of care, academic advancement and community service.