2024 Children's of Alabama/UAB Annual Report

Education & Nursing

“We really wanted to figure out how we could help our communities in caring for sick children, and that meant education,” Rutledge explained. “Transporting sick children from community hospitals can take hours. Our goal was to be able to say: Not only do hospitals have the supplies, the infrastructure, the policies, the education to understand how to manage these sick kids, but they are also able to provide appropriate ongoing management until we can get there.” The COACHES program adopts a multipronged approach to improve pediatric emergency care, with education serving as the foundational element. Rutledge emphasized the importance of approaching underserved hospitals

we provide them with feedback through a detailed report.” This feedback not only highlights successes but also uncovers areas for improvement, ensuring that hospitals are prepared for real-life critical situations. the COACHES program facilitates ongoing relationships between hospitals and specialists at Children’s of Alabama. “We want to be a resource for them, connecting them with others who can help with specific issues, like diabetes management,” Rutledge shared. This collaborative approach has led to successful studies, such as one focused on diabetic ketoacidosis, a critical condition that can arise from poorly controlled or undiagnosed diabetes. By providing education and formal feedback on how to manage this condition, the program has seen measurable improvements in care across multiple hospitals. In addition to improving emergency readiness,

“ “We want to be a resource for them, connecting them with others who can help with specific issues, like diabetes management.”

– Chrystal Rutledge, M.D.

in a nonthreatening manner, saying, “What we really want to do is help you. Helping you helps the patients, and we want to improve patient outcomes and patient safety.” Through simulation-based training, the program assesses the current capabilities of health care providers and hospitals. “It’s a way for us to understand what’s going on in their hospital,” Rutledge noted. “We go through different scenarios that help us assess what supplies they have, and

2024 Academic Annual Report

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