Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Pediatric Protocol—Safety First

Alice Hyde Medical Center's new program is designed to ensure safe medication administration in the inpatient, outpatient, emergency and surgical settings. The fine line between therapeutic and toxic pediatric doses presents potential risk. The hospital uses an evidence-based protocol based on scaled weights and dosing verification by pharmacy and nursing. Two licensed staff are required to check and co-sign all pediatric medications. The Broselow packs now house plastic boxes containing pediatric-specific emergency medications, and staff use laminated, colored sheets that correlate information for medications and supplies with the corresponding weight categories (colors) of the Broselow system. Upon admission, the appropriate card is posted in the child's room or on the surgical chart.