Emergency Medicine

Who We Are

You may see us first
The Emergency Department (ED) is the heart of the Division of Emergency Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, and is often the first stop for families whose children are admitted to the hospital.  Take the time to discover Emergency Medicine and meet our team!

Our staff understands your child—and you
Families who visit the ED are treated by our highly skilled staff, who are available to help with all of a patient's emergency medical needs—from the time she comes through the door, throughout her stay, and following admission or discharge. And our sub-specialty doctors, nurses, child life professionals, social workers, and other experts, who are world-ranking in their respective fields, provide patients with the highest quality clinical care, delivered with compassion and professionalism.

Our innovations mean better service
Children's ED is an innovator, developing cutting-edge medical techniques and patient-service initiatives. We continually evaluate patient needs, research new methods and design best practices to advance emergency care.

Some of the initiatives that have put Children's ED at the forefront of emergency services include:

• Reduced wait time.  Children's has developed a parallel admissions process that has reduced the average time between arrival and seeing a physician to 32 minutes—one of the lowest in the United States!
• Discharge follow-up.  We call all patients in high-risk groups after discharge to follow-up on their condition, and to answer any questions about their care.
• Participation in a hospital-wide and national initiative to improve asthma care.
• Bedside testing.  Our doctors can conduct many lab and ultrasound tests right in the exam room, allowing patients to remain comfortably in one place. This saves precious time waiting for results to come back, so making a diagnosis and beginning treatment can happen faster.
• Unified care and computerized charting.  These initiatives allow nurses and doctors to more easily share data regarding patients, improving communication among staff, and ensuring that patients won't have to repeat information with each caregiver they see.
• Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network.  Children's is part of a nationwide, multi-institution effort to study patterns of illness/injury, as well as best practices for caring for patients with rare or infrequently seen conditions.
• Leader rounding.  Nurse leaders regularly check in with patients in the ED to make sure patients are comfortable, facilitate communication and update them on the status of their care.