Durable and strong: GSH ED earns kid-focused COPPER status
Earlier this fall, Good Samaritan leadership was proud to share the news that visitors from the state’s Colorado Pediatric Preparedness for the Emergency Room program, known as COPPER, reviewed our readiness and capabilities, and identified us as a Pediatric Advanced facility.
Only about 10 hospitals in the Denver-metro area have received this designation, and Good Samaritan is the first Intermountain Peaks Front Range hospital to meet the criteria needed. Congrats to all involved!
It’s an impressive achievement, but what does it mean for care and our community’s kids? We reached out to Travis Guthrie, MD, Emergency Medicine and our Pediatric Physician Champion of this effort for answers.
Q: Why is the COPPER Designation important?
A: Nearly 70% of children are cared for in EDs that see fewer than 15 patients per day. In fact, we only see about 5 or 6 per day at Good Samaritan. So many hospitals don’t have the heavy exposure of caring for children that pediatric specialty hospitals have. Without heavy exposure, intentional readiness is essential. Hospitals with high pediatric-readiness scores, like us (GSH scored 98/100), are associated with decreased mortality, with one source recently citing a 60% reduction in trauma mortality. Furthermore, the COPPER Designation is an indicator to our EMS colleagues that we are prepared to handle their most vulnerable patients as an optimal receiving facility.
Q: What work needed to be done at Good Samaritan to secure the designation?
A: There was significant work put into this process, including securing more pediatric equipment and formalizing policies, but in my mind the most important work was establishing a quality-improvement process that was collaborative with nursing. This involves the nurse champion reviewing nursing care auditing charts and reviewing patient flow through the ED. The physician pediatric champion is responsible for reviewing pediatric charts monthly, at least 10, as well as additional charts/concerns forwarded from directors, trauma and hospital leadership. We additionally set up a quarterly meeting with physician and nursing to evaluate the status of our pediatric care and areas for potential improvement.
Q: Who should be recognized for this achievement?
A: Without a modicum of exaggeration, our nursing pediatric champion, Natalie Stevenson, was instrumental in pushing this initiative forward. She put in hours of work and did most of the heavy lifting, developing a significant portion of our presentations and ensuring equipment was secured and policies were developed and formalized. Jocelyn Marguin, one of our truly amazing nurses, has an incredible passion for our pediatric patients and she brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to help develop a program that delivers excellent care. Finally, thanks to the leadership team who made this a priority and ensured we had the resources and support needed.
Q: How would you describe pediatric care in Good Samaritan’s ED today?
A: The GSH Emergency Department is dedicated to providing excellent care to patients of all ages. We are a destination of choice for our EMS agencies to bring pediatric trauma. Our physicians have the training, expertise and resources to provide emergency care and stabilization for a wide spectrum of pediatric diseases processes.
Hospitals can earn one of two designations through the COPPER program: Pediatric Prepared and Pediatric Advanced. Good Samaritan earned the latter, thanks to the establishment of dedicated nurse and physician Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinators. State COPPER surveyors also recognized the following features of our pediatric emergency care:
Annual pediatric education and competency requirements for our ED staff.
Strong collaboration with US Acute Care Solutions physicians and Intermountain Health facilities.
Quality-improvement initiatives for both nursing and physician teams.
Staff-led design of pediatric skills days.
Integration of pediatric education into all training sessions.
Joint mass casualty and surge planning with local hospitals.
Active engagement from departments including NICU, Chaplaincy, Anesthesiology and more.
Ongoing enhancements to emergency management plans to better serve children.
While Good Samaritan is the only Intermountain hospital along the Front Range with COPPER Pediatric Advanced status, Guthrie is working to help expand the pediatric emergency care programs at other Peaks hospitals. Physicians with additional questions can contact him via email.