New pediatric system to improve emergency care for D.C. kids

Meanwhile tonight, Larry. Providing emergency treatment for children can be very stressful. DC Fire and EMS is now implementing a new system to improve accuracy and treatment. Ryan Hughes shows us how the department is taking math out of the equation.

When the siren sounds every second can mean the difference between life and death. And when children are involved, it can be one of the most stressful situations for first responders.

I knew there had to be a better way.

Dr. Peter Anteby is training D.C. fire and EMS members how to use his new system for treating sick kids. The department is implementing the hand heavy pediatric system. It helps firefighters and EMTs determine how much medication a child needs in an emergency based on their age and weight.

With our system, the medic does not have to do any calculations and they know the dose before they get to the scene.

The mobile application is customized for DC Fire and ems. When responding to a call, all they have to do is plug in the patient's age and it gives the appropriate dosage based on the situation.

They can have the medications calculated and in the syringe and ready to go by the time the emergency transport unit arrives at the scene.

Under the current method, D.C. fire and EMS has to measure the child with this tape and under stress. Use mental math to calculate the correct dosage. Data shows 50% of the time it's the wrong amount.

This is going to take the guesswork out of this process and and make it very simple.

And the hands heavy system will be on every fire truck and every medic unit starting in the spring of next year. In northwest D.C. ryan Hughes, ABC7 News.