ROCKPORT — Pen Bay Medical Center is being recognized for its readiness to care for the youngest members of the community.

Wil O’Neal, Maine Emergency Medical Services director, will formally recognize Pen Bay as a Pediatric Innovator during a ceremony in front of the hospital’s Emergency Department entrance on Tuesday, May 7, at 11 a.m. This event is free and open to the public.

“As a father of young children who live in this community, this work feels personal,” said Tyler Giberson, MD, chair of Emergency Medicine at Pen Bay, in a news release. “We all want our communities to be the healthiest in America and being ready to care for the ill and injured child is such an important part of that.”

Pen Bay is only the second hospital in the state to be recognized as a Pediatric Innovator, joining Maine Medical Center in Portland. Pediatric Innovator is the highest designation offered by the Always Ready for Children (ARC) Program.

The ARC program is a voluntary recognition program that aims to ensure that every ill and injured child receives appropriate emergency medical care within Maine-based emergency departments. In order to receive the Pediatric Innovator designation, a hospital must have a physician and nurse pediatric emergency care coordinator, be willing to share resources with other hospitals in Maine to improve pediatric care and receive a high score on the National Pediatric Readiness Project.

The National Pediatric Readiness Project is a survey of the “readiness” of an Emergency Department to care for an ill or injured presenting child. With a score of 93, Pen Bay’s Emergency Department has received one of the highest pediatric readiness scores in the state of Maine and is significantly above the national median of 69.

Dr. Giberson said Pen Bay’s high pediatric readiness score is due in large part to Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator Diane Hynes, RN, who worked with nursing leadership and the department’s nurse educator to ensure the ED has the resources, supplies and training needed to care for the sickest pediatric patients. He also credits Pen Bay’s collaborative care team as being key to the ED’s success.

“Caring for the sickest of children requires a true inter-disciplinary effort.” Dr. Giberson said. “In addition to our dedicated ED providers, we are fortunate to have support from well-trained respiratory therapy teams, nursing staff and our local pediatricians, who we can’t thank enough for their immediate availability for consultation and assistance.”

Pen Bay’s ED physicians, nurses and emergency care technicians treat patients from infancy through adulthood, no matter the illness or injury or ability to pay.

For more information about emergency care at Pen Bay, visit pbmc.org.

Pen Bay Medical Center

Pen Bay Medical Center is part of MaineHealth, a not-for-profit integrated health system consisting of nine local hospital systems, a comprehensive behavioral healthcare network, diagnostic services, home health agencies, and more than 1,600 employed and independent physicians working together through an Accountable Care Organization. With more than 19,000 employees, MaineHealth is the largest health system in northern New England and provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. For more information, please visit pbmc.org.