By KRISTA CONGER

The emergency room can be a scary place for a sick young child. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Hospital, which share emergency staff and facilities, are now working to change that feeling.

Construction slated to begin in March in the Emergency Department of Stanford Hospital will provide a separate, Packard-style, kid-friendly waiting room stocked with toys, games and videos, as well as an additional seven examination rooms designed and decorated with kids in mind and supplied with scaled-down medical instruments to improve patient care.

“We know that treating children can be different from treating adults,” said Bernard Dannenberg, MD. “Children who need emergency care are often frightened and their families are stressed. There’s lots of anxiety. Creating a child-friendly environment will allow us to better treat these patients.”

Dannenberg, who arrived at Stanford Feb. 2, is Packard’s first Davies Family Endowed Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. He has the rare distinction of completing two medical residencies: pediatric medicine and emergency medicine.

Bernard Dannenberg is the first Davies Family Endowed Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Packard Children’s Hospital. He will oversee the pediatric emergency program at the medical center. Photo: Krista Conger

“We specifically looked for someone who had completed both residencies, rather than a residency followed by a brief fellowship,” said Robert Norris, MD, Stanford Hospital emergency medicine chief and associate professor of surgery. “This allows him to swim in both oceans, so to speak.” Dannenberg is board-certified in pediatrics, emergency medicine and pediatric emergency medicine.

Dannenberg most recently served as assistant professor of emergency medicine and residency director of pediatric emergency medicine at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Los Angeles. His arrival and the planned construction reflect Packard Hospital’s commitment to developing a pediatric emergency program within Stanford Hospital’s emergency department.

“This is a major step in the evolution of pediatric emergency medical care for kids in our community,” said Christopher Dawes, president and CEO of Packard Children’s Hospital. “Dr. Dannenberg has excellent experience in what has become a highly specialized field.” Last year the emergency room served about 10,000 children, and that number is expected to grow.

“Many of the current emergency room faculty love to see kids and will continue to do so,” said Norris.

“Everybody who works in the emergency department has pediatric expertise and experience, but we now want to focus on some of the unique needs of children.”
Norris and Dannenberg are in the process of recruiting other pediatric specialists to contribute to the effort.

“A pediatric nurse educator is already on-board and soon we will be adding two pediatric emergency medicine specialists, a pediatric social worker, and a child life specialist,” said Dannenberg. All of these people will work together to reassure the child and the family.

“We are creating an atmosphere that is physically and emotionally comforting for children,” said Dannenberg.

“All of us who work in emergency medicine are thrilled about what this means for kids and their families,” said Norris. “This new department will also enable us to advance the research and teaching of pediatric emergency medicine through training programs and fellowships.”

“It’s very exciting to be leading such an important project,” said Dannenberg. “Packard and Stanford’s emergency services already provide world-class care to the community, but now we’re creating a brand-new standard for children in our community.”