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A better point of view Pediatric emergency rooms offer child-specific treatment
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By Gremlyn Bradley-Waddell hat’s a reason to choose a pediatric emergency department instead of a general one?
For some folks, it’s a tiny bundle of joy nestled in a crib. For others, it’s a teenage athlete on the field or pint-sized ballerina at a recital. It all comes down to kids and doing what’s best for them. “We only treat children, and we have pediatric emergency department specialists, nursing staff and Child Life specialists available 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Banner Children's James Reingold, M.D., medical director of the ER at Cardon Children’s Medical Center in Mesa, which along with the pediatric ER at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, has earned the state’s highest level of emergency pediatric care accreditation.
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“Our experience and expertise in working with children, in addition to having the latest technology available, means we don’t need to do as much testing as a general ER, and that means a safer visit and that you’ll probably spend less time here.” In fact, William Schneider, D.O., medical director of Banner’s other pediatric emergency department in the greater Phoenix area, Banner Children's at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, says that unless their child is unconscious—in which case, they should head for the nearest possible ER—parents should opt for a child-centered facility over one geared more to adults. Because the fact is that children are not miniature adults and the way they react to disease isn’t necessarily the same as adults. Plus, there are childhood medical conditions that general ER-trained providers can potentially overlook. While the differences between a pediatric ER and a general ER are numerous, the most obvious one surely is the welcoming décor in the kid-friendly, Fall 2013