Emergency medical services for children: what is the pediatric surgeon's role?

Comprehensive pediatric emergency care should be integrated into an overall emergency care system and organized regionally to address the special needs of children. Some pediatric voices have suggested that emergency care for children be organized separately in a parallel system with adult emergency systems, but this plan would put children in competition with adults for federal and state funding. Equally important is the natural overlap of many emergency services with obstetric, perinatal, adolescent, and young adult programs, all of which will be strengthened by integration, not by separation. The one non-negotiable principle must be that any emergency medical system that includes children must use the best and most experienced pediatric specialists available in the area.