The Dorothy B. Hersh Pediatric Emergency Department opened in April 2013 at The Children’s Hospital at Saint Peter’s University Hospital. The new and expanded department is one of the largest pediatric emergency departments in New Jersey with 14 beds plus a minor care treatment area.
The Dorothy B. Hersh Pediatric Emergency Department is a 5,200-square-foot state-of-the-art facility that serves the hospital's youngest patients from newborns up to age 18.
Saint Peter's provides pediatric emergency care to 22,000 infants, children and young adults annually. Between 2,200-2,400 of those children are admitted as in-patients for additional care, which necessitates the need for the ED’s fast track area, where patients with non-critical needs are seen by a doctor, and treated and released within 90 minutes. By streamlining the care of those patients who are not dealing with a life threatening condition, the hospital can better accommodate those children who are gravely ill or injured.
Among the special services available in the ED is a dedicated child life specialist who attends to the emotional needs of a child and family members during a visit. The child life specialist helps the child and family cope with illness, treatments and procedures by using therapeutic play, and offering coping techniques. If a child is admitted from the ED to the hospital, the child life specialist works with in-patient staff to smooth the transition.
Highlights of our pediatric ED include:
- Specially trained pediatric emergency doctors and nurses, including a pediatric triage nurse, on duty 24 hours a day
- Child-friendly equipment such as small blood pressure cuffs and fine needles
- Private rooms
- Pediatric specialists
- A full-time child life specialist
According to a 2007 Institute of Medicine report: “Most children in the United States receive emergency care in general (not children’s) hospitals. These hospitals are less likely to have pediatric expertise, equipment, and policies in place for the care of children.” The report also noted that while children make up 27 percent of all emergency department visits, only 6 percent of EDs in the United States have all the necessary supplies for pediatric emergencies. The IOM concluded that these disparities likely result in deficiencies in the quality of emergency care delivered to children in EDs.
The Dorothy B. Hersh Pediatric ED helps us ensure that every child who seeks our aid will receive nothing less than the best treatment.