At MUSC Children’s Hospital, kids and adults are the same Not!! MUSC Children’s Hospital has gone out of its way to create an environment wholly devoted to children. Every room, every wall, every television has been set with children in mind. Patients are seen in private rooms, each equipped with its own monitoring equipment. The Pediatric Emergency Department is the only one of its kind in the state. It has nine beds, allowing patients to be placed in exam rooms quickly. It also has its own entrance and is completely separate from adult services. The pediatric emergency department is designed to create a child-friendly environment. Among the features are private patient rooms, each colorfully decorated to follow a different theme – animals, fish, boats and such. Every room is also equipped with a TV, VCR and DVD player. Another kid-friendly feature is the presence of child life specialists, who are on hand to help ease the fears of young patients and make them feel more comfortable. All types of emergencies
The MUSC Pediatric Emergency Department is prepared to handle everything from minor emergencies such as fever, ear infections, minor cuts and sprains, to life-threatening injuries and illnesses. All exam rooms in the department are fully equipped for emergencies, and each patient room has a cardiac monitor that is wired to the nurses’ station at all times. “Our nurses have highly specialized training in pediatric care,” says Ellen Ruja, R.N., nurse manager for MUSC Emergency Services. “They have all completed either the Pediatric Advanced Life Support coursework or the Emergency Nurses Pediatric course, the gold standard for pediatric nurses.” MUSC Children’s Hospital, which first opened its dedicated pediatric emergency unit in 1999, has the region’s only dedicated pediatric intensive care unit and pediatric cardiac intensive care unit. MUSC offers the highest level of neonatal intensive care and trauma care and the state’s only pediatric burn center. | 
