Johnson County Healthcare Center recognized as Pediatric Receiving Facility

Having to take a child to the emergency room is never easy, but thanks to the work of the Emergency Department at the Johnson County Healthcare Center, every child who comes to the ER in Buffalo will be well cared for.

The Emergency Department at the Johnson County Healthcare Center was recently recognized as a “Pediatric Receiving Facility,” which means JCHC is equipped with the required specialized tools, training and preparedness to make sure children receive the best care possible.

“We were already meeting all of the criteria, meeting all the qualifications and the staff was educated appropriately, but having this designation, both statewide and nationally, allows the community to know that we are prepared to care for any pediatric emergency,” said Haley Odenbach, JCHC ER manager. “It’s important for us to be able to care for all ages in the community to the best of our ability.”

The Wyoming Pediatric Recognition program, managed through the Wyoming Department of Health, ensures services, equipment, disaster preparedness and staff competencies are in place in a facility that may treat an acutely injured or ill child in Wyoming.

“We are extremely proud of our Emergency Department team for earning this designation,” said Luke Senden, JCHC CEO. “Taking care of the community is our priority, and this is another tool in our toolbelt to ensure that we are offering the best care.”

“The Emergency Department team at Johnson County Healthcare saw this as something they had to do for the people they serve,” said Brandon Kelley, Wyoming EMSC program manager. “They committed to meeting the measures in the program, trained, organized and closed every gap we found in the process, not because they had to, but because they saw the benefit and decided to accept nothing less.”

More information on the National Pediatric Readiness Project, Wyoming’s past performance, and upcoming measurements can be found at https://emscimprovement.center/domains/hospital-based-care/pediatric-readiness-project/.

Additional information about the Wyoming recognition program can be obtained by contacting the Office of EMS at wdh-oems@Wyo.gov.