The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at West Virginia University is the newest division in the Department of Emergency Medicine, formed in the fall of 2020, in anticipation of the opening of WVU Medicine Children’s Hospital. The division aims to provide cutting edge, evidence-based, and family centered care for all acutely ill and injured children throughout the state of West Virginia. The faculty of the division are passionate about educating the next generation of physicians both at the bedside and during didactic and simulated sessions to provide the best care possible for children.
The Division is housed in an 11-bed, state of the art Pediatric Emergency Department, located in WVU Medicine Children's Hospital which was opened in September of 2022. The Pediatric Emergency Department sees 14,500 visits annually. It is fully equipped with everything needed to provide top-notch emergency care to all of West Virginia’s children, including point of care ultrasound, spacious resuscitation bays, and video laryngoscopy.
The Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine has partnered with the residency leadership team in the Department of Emergency Medicine to ensure a longitudinal model of pediatric education for emergency medicine residents. EM residents develop their foundation in pediatric emergency medicine during their Peds-EMS month in the intern year. During this month, the resident will spend Monday through Wednesday in the Pediatric Emergency Department. The remainder of the week allows for flexibility to complete EMS assignments. Throughout training, residents will be assigned 3-4 pediatric shifts with each Ruby-based EM rotation. With this longitudinal construction, residents can be assured that they will see every facet of PEM—from RSV in the mid-winter, to traumatic injuries in the summer, and croup in the fall—our educational model has it covered!
The division also partners with the Pediatric and Family Medicine residency programs to provide high quality educational rotations for residents in both of those specialties to ensure they are ready and prepared to care for acutely ill and injured children in any setting upon their graduation.