UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER TRAINING THROUGH THE PEDIATRIC ADVANCED RESUSCITATION AND EMERGENCY READINESS (PARTNER) PROGRAM PROVIDES RESUSCITATION EDUCATION AND TRAINING TO PROVIDERS IN 8 RURAL HOSPITALS ACROSS MISSISSIPPI

The Pediatric Advanced Resuscitation Training and Emergency Readiness (PARTNER) program provides resuscitation education and training to providers in rural hospitals across Mississippi. Many small community based emergency providers do not have the resources necessary to provide optimum clinical stabilization foryoung patients who present with life threatening medical emergencies. This gap can be a result of an infrequency of pediatric encounters, the lack of specialized equipment, the funding available to pay for training or even inadequate staffing levels.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Pediatric and Neonatal Transport Teams created  the PARTNER program and are implementing it across the state. This 4 hour course includes information, hands-on simulation training and a leave-behind ‘kit’ with neonatal and pediatric resuscitation supplies that might be needed while managing a pediatric emergency. The training is designed to help reduce the high mortality rate of our youngest and most vulnerable citizens by improving the management of pediatric emergencies. Thevision is to provide children in Mississippi’s most rural communities the greatest chance of survival when a serious illness or injury occurs.

This past year, life saving training was delivered to 8 rural hospital facilities throughout Mississippi and a total of 72 healthcare professionals were trained. This training has given them a better understanding, and theequipment necessary, to help resuscitate pediatric and infant patients facing medical  emergencies.

Professionals trained through PARTNER included Emergency Departments, Labor & Delivery, Respiratory,EMS, Med/Surg, and ICU. The largest percentage participating were nurses.

Every child who faces a medical emergency, and presents to any of the rural hospitals that participated in the PARTNER training, should have a better chance of improved morbidity than they would have before.  An average of 70 pediatric and neonatal patients are transported each month. Most of these transports come from rural area hospitals and some from facilities who have been provided the PARTNER education.

The standard of care for infants in Mississippi is being changed by teaching evidence based protocols that are consistent with those utilized at Mississippi Children’s Hospital regarding  trauma, asthmatic emergencies, DKA, sepsis, and newborn resuscitation and stabilization. PARTNER education is allowing incremental steps towards improving and standardizing  care for children and infants across the state.

Based on pre and post training self-evaluations, the PARTNER attendees evaluated their  pre-course knowledge of ‘how to manage pediatric trauma/shock emergencies’ rose from 2.78 to 4.13.

The project has been so effective that plans are in place to create a similar training program for obstetricalemergencies. This new program will include precipitous delivery and neonatal management in emergency settings and focus on many of the same rural and critical access hospitals that have been involved in PARTNER training.

The data collected from the PARTNER training, and the reported usage of equipment from the PARTNER kits is being used to outline quality improvement and create standards of care. All improvements are being done in collaboration with the Children’s Hospital to improve outcomes statewide.

One important impact of the PARTNER program has been the ability to establish strong relationships between our Peds/Neo team members and the rural hospitals where PARTNER is taught. Trainers have become a trusted resource for clinical guidance once the line of communication is open through the PARTNER training.The PARTNER team is working to strengthen these connections in an effort to see long term improvements at some of Mississippi’s most critical healthcare hot spots.

With every PARTNER class they are potentially helping every child that a provider sees for years to come.  In addition, extending PARTNER training to every rural hospital and every emergency provider in Mississippi can have a positive effect on the childhood mortality rates in that state.

 

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