Children’s ER

Highly trained staff provide emergency care for kids

The Breidegam Family Children’s ER is run by board-certified pediatric emergency physicians. They are supported by:

• Advanced practice clinicians who are experienced in caring for kids
• A nursing team specially trained in pediatric emergency nursing
• Pediatric pharmacists for accurate medication dosing
• Child life specialists who make the hospital experience less stressful for children
• Pediatric respiratory therapists to treat airway problems

Children’s ER focused on comfort

A visit to the emergency room can be stressful for children. That’s why we designed the Breidegam Family Children’s ER to help ease anxiety with:

• A dedicated entrance and waiting room so anxious kids won’t have to see sick or injured adults
• Fast-track area so kids get the care they need quickly
• Behavioral health rooms designed to keep kids safe
• Child-friendly designs for kids of all ages – newborn to teens
• Sensory friendly spaces
• Spacious waiting room with a play area and café
• Pain management options like “laughing gas” (nitrous oxide), which has a calming effect

When your child does not require a hospital stay, but may need additional care, Breidegam Family Children’s ER houses a 12-bed observation unit built just for kids. 

Inpatient and intensive care units

Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital's 30-bed pediatric inpatient unit is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by pediatric specialists and hospitalists.

If your child has immediate critical care needs, board-certified neonatologists, inpatient physicians and intensive care specialists provide full-time, in-house coverage for children’s intensive care units. They are supported by highly educated neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) nurses who meet the unique needs of children.

We coordinate trauma and burn care

If your child is in need of more serious care, we provide easy access to pediatric trauma or burn care.

The Mattioli Trauma Center at Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest is a Level II Pediatric Trauma Center. It offers the highest level of trauma care for children in the region.

Care is delivered by an experienced, collaborative team that includes:

• Trauma surgeons
• Pediatric intensivists and hospitalists
• Pediatric surgeons
• Specially trained trauma nurses

Our Regional Burn Center has received pediatric verification by the American Burn Association. Our dedicated burn team responds immediately to improve outcomes and decrease a child’s burn-related pain. For children who suffer a burn injury that doesn’t require hospitalization, they may receive care at the Walter J. and June H. Okunski Burn Recovery Center.

Rapid transportation to the Children’s ER

When your child has an injury or illness that requires emergency care, they may be transported to the Breidegam Family Children’s ER by ambulance or helicopter. Our MedEvac transportation team is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by paramedics and registered nurses with education and experience in providing pediatric critical care.

The health and safety of your child is of the utmost importance. That’s why we’ve designed a sophisticated MedEvac transport service where team members can administer medication and perform procedures that typical emergency medical service crews cannot.

Child life program

Certified child life specialists help kids cope with a visit to the hospital. They are experts in child development, and they partner with doctors, nurses, social workers and other members of your care team to meet the unique needs of your child and your family. 

The child life program at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital is the only one in the area where child life specialists help children receiving medical treatment by offering opportunities for stress relief and relaxation, as well as distractions to make procedures easier.