Medical Diagnosis and Treatment

We diagnose and treat more than over 34,000 patients in the Pediatric Emergency Department each year, with cases ranging from abuse and burns to multisystem illnesses and trauma. Our team also cares for all children with medical and surgical emergencies who are receiving specialty care at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

Pediatric Nursing

Our nurses are educated, trained and certified in pediatric emergency nursing, and are highly skilled in triage and providing bedside care for the ill or injured child.

Social Work Services

• 24-hour Availability: Social work support is always available on-site in the pediatric emergency department.
• Child Protection: The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the regional child maltreatment center and provides assessments of any child who police or Child Protective Services identify as possibly neglected or physically abused. Social work staff maintains communication with all parties involved and helps coordinate services and response.
• Bereavement Support: When a child dies in transport to or while in the emergency department, social workers on the hospital’s bereavement coordinator and pastoral care staff help provide support services and grief counseling to family members and others affected by the child’s death.
• Assessment and Supportive Services: Children are sometimes brought to the emergency department after a traumatic event such as a car accident or house fire, or due to mental or behavioral health concerns. Social work staff members assess functioning, provide supportive counseling and refer patients to community-based services and treatment.
• Material Assistance: Social work staff members can often provide some assistance to a patient or family if there is a need such as personal care items or a change of clothes in order for the child to be appropriately discharged from the emergency department. When families travel long distances for special emergency treatment at Johns Hopkins, the social work staff can help refer them to local hospital housing programs.

Child Life Services

Our Child Life specialists work to support the emotional and social well-being of children and their families, including using developmentally supportive play to help patients understand and prepare for treatments and procedures.

EMS Support

We have been designated a pediatric emergency medical services (EMS) base station by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems. This designation allows our experts to provide online medical direction to the state’s EMS providers.