Emergency Medicine

What We Do

The Pediatric Emergency Department (PED) at the Alberta Children's Hospital provides care for over 75,000 patient visits per year. Pediatric Emergency specialist physicians, registered nurses, and respiratory technicians with pediatric emergency skills are present 24 hours a day. The Department serves as the pediatric tertiary medical and trauma referral centre for southern Alberta, eastern British Columbia and western Saskatchewan, as well the primary emergency department for children in the immediate local area.

Facilities

In September of 2006, the PED moved to its present location at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. The PED is a state-of-the-art facility consisting of resuscitation rooms, a procedure room, and private monitoring/observation rooms. Additional areas for minor emergencies, orthopedic management and urgent mental health assessment complete the patient care environment.

At the beginning of 2013, pediatric emergency services were expanded to the South Health Campus (SHC). We are the first city in Canada to provide specialized emergency care to children at two sites under one unified system. In the past year, over 14,000 pediatric patients were seen at SHC.

Research Activities

ACH Pediatric Emergency Research Team (PERT) 2021 Annual Report (Click to access)

ACH Pediatric Emergency Research Team (PERT) 2020 Annual Report (Click to access)

ACH Pediatric Emergency Research Team (PERT) 2018 Annual Report (Click to access)

ACH Pediatric Emergency Research Team (PERT) 2017 Annual Report (Click to access)

ED Research and Quality Improvement Initiatives

Appendicitis
- Precision Medicine (metabolomics/proteomics/transcriptomics) for diagnosis
- Optimizing Imaging Strategies (US, MRI)
Asthma/wheeze
- Effectiveness and safety of combined beta-agonist and corticosteroid therapy
Concussion/Head Injury
- Novel ED assessment tools (cognitive testing)
COVID-19
- Predictors of infection and severe disease
- Household transmission
Gastroenteritis (Vomiting/Diarrhea)
- Clinical trials – anti-emetics
- Epidemiology
- Novel diagnostics
Medical education research
- Competency based medical education
Mental Health
- Acute care bundles
Pain
- Pediatric pain measurement, management and treatment
Patient Safety and Quality
- Performance measurement (development and application of quality indicators for pediatric emergency care)
- Patient safety and quality improvement research
- Emergency department flow and efficiency
Sepsis
- Precision Medicine (metabolomics/proteomics) for diagnosis
- Management Strategies (optimizing fluid management, clinical pathways)
Simulation Education and Feedback Research
- Identifying the most effective methods of simulation-based education
- Improving the quality of CPR and outcomes from pediatric cardiac arrest
- Debriefing methods
- Faculty development and quality assurance
- Teaching parents and families

The Section promotes ongoing research in collaboration with the Department and other partners.

Research

Education & Training

HEAL (Health Education and Learning) Program: The HEAL website empowers families to manage common minor acute emergencies at home and know when to seek additional care. The top 10 minor illnesses that appear in the ACH ED are covered. To find out more, visit: www.ahs.ca/heal

Education & Training

Emergency Medicine

What We Do

Research Activities

Education & Training

Who We Are

Contact Us