The Abrazo Maryvale Campus has been certified as a Pediatric Prepared Emergency Care hospital by the Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AZAAP).

This voluntary certification means that Abrazo Maryvale Campus, 5102 W. Campbell Ave., is ready to provide emergency care resources and capabilities for pediatric patients every day. If necessary, Abrazo Maryvale Campus can stabilize critically ill or injured children for transfer to a facility that offers more specialized pediatric care. More than 30 percent of Abrazo Maryvale Campus patients are under 18 years old.

The Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of more than 1,100 primary care pediatricians, pediatric specialists, nurses and other pediatric healthcare providers dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.

“Abrazo Maryvale Campus physicians and staff are committed to providing quality emergency care to pediatric patients. Abrazo Maryvale has always taken care of pediatric patients.  The new Pediatric Preparedness certification is an additional accolade for our ED team and allows the ED nurses to take advantage of national pediatric training opportunities with the new Pediatric Preparedness certification. The preparedness survey enabled us to show that our performance meets the academy’s pediatric-focused, emergency care standards,” said Crystal Hamilton, Abrazo Maryvale Campus CEO.

To receive this voluntary certification, an emergency room must pass a broad and in-depth review of pediatric care readiness that includes its equipment, clinical and administrative staffing, policies and procedures and analytics, said Dr. John Pope, board president of Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“The Arizona Chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics believes in access to optimal emergency care for all children,’’ Pope said.

Arizona is among five states to implement a pediatric emergency care system. Certification is a quality improvement process that includes matching hospital capabilities and capacity to established guidelines through a self-assessment process and a site visit by a team of peer professionals. Pediatric Prepared Emergency Care is a private-public partnership among hospitals, health care professionals, emergency personnel and state agencies throughout Arizona, committed to an effective regionalized pediatric emergency care system.

Since 2008, the Arizona Department of Health Services Office of Injury Prevention along with the Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics has spearheaded the effort to launch the pediatric emergency department certification/regionalized system.  In 2010, AzAAP established the certification, and currently conducts certification reviews and offers continuing pediatric emergency education.