Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital joins Eastern Great Lakes Pediatric Consortium for Disaster Response

October 21, 2019

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Oct. 21, 2019 – Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital is proud to join the Eastern Great Lakes Pediatric Consortium for Disaster Response (EGLPCDR) as a Center of Excellence.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response recently awarded six hospitals in Michigan and Ohio a total of $3 million to support the creation of this consortium as a pilot project to improve disaster response capabilities in the region. Of the $3 million, $350,000 is designated for work at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.

The overall goal of the EGLPCDR is to harness and develop best-practices around disaster preparedness and response to be shared with other children’s and non-children’s hospitals and affiliated entities in the region.

While all of the hospitals in the consortium provide excellent care for children on a day-to-day basis, a regionally-based pediatric disaster care capability is needed to manage the overwhelming and unique medical needs of children who might be impacted by a disaster.

“We see new threats from disasters every day, and as a hospital it is important to create models for a coordinated response,” said Matthew Denenberg, MD, vice president, Medical Affairs, Spectrum Health. “The creation of this new consortium will ensure that there is a clear plan in place to care for children and families in the event of a natural or man-made disaster.”

Pediatric care requires specialized training, equipment, supplies and pharmaceuticals that may not be readily available in an emergency. Minimizing the impacts of children’s exposure to trauma, infectious diseases and other hazards during a public health emergency or disaster can challenge health care facilities that do not specialize in pediatric care and stress the health care system as a whole.

The consortium includes:

UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
CS Mott Children’s Hospital/University of Michigan
Children’s Hospital of Michigan
Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital/Spectrum Health
Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital is the only pediatric level 1 trauma center in West Michigan and is a 234-bed regional referral center and teaching hospital. The hospital offers advanced pediatric specialty care with more than 300 pediatric physicians who practice in more than 50 pediatric specialties and programs. Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital is also Michigan’s largest neonatal center. More information is available online.

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