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PALS program teaches employees to save lives

Kendra Bradley, RN, (l) and Courtney Toltz, RN, practice pediatric life-saving techniques in a PALS class.

ver the past three and a half years, the Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) program has trained more than 1,500 members of Children’s staff in life-saving techniques for young children. Because children are developmentally different than adults, age-appropriate strategies, including breathing tube and IV use, and CPR are highly recommended for nurses, physicians, paramedics, and any other staff who work closely with children. The 16-hour, two-day certification courses are held twice a month in the Longwood Galleria Conference Center, offering both practical and didactic instruction. An eight-hour refresher course is required every two years to maintain certification, and an instructor’s course is available annually for those interested in teaching.

“The feedback from the training courses is very positive,” program coordinator Jeanne Moore says. “People say that the course was great and they’re impressed by how much it has improved over the years. They like how hands-on it is.”

Moore is directly responsible for the positive strides the PALS program has made during the past few years. While working as an administrator for the Transport Team, she took interest in PALS in 2001, shifting more of her time and energy into the project until it eventually became her full-time job. She has increased the volume of people trained as well as the number of affiliated institutions and community training sites. And the work will not be slowing down anytime soon for Moore, as the Department of Public Health recently recommended that all ICU nurses become PALS-certified by year’s end.