Seattle Children's Awarded More Than $10 Million From Pediatric Prevention Network

Seattle, WA – Seattle Children’s announced today it will receive $10.75 million over five years to implement the work of the Pediatric Prevention Network throughout the Pacific Northwest to strengthen pediatric disaster preparedness and improve access to high-quality care for children. Formerly known as the Pediatric Pandemic Network, the network received a five-year award of $112.5 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to continue and expand its work.

The continued investment will allow the network, which includes Seattle Children’s and other children’s hospitals plus national partners like Safe Kids Worldwide, to expand its focus beyond pandemic preparedness to bolster pediatric prevention efforts and response capabilities, including in rural, remote and tribal areas.

“Seattle Children’s is proud of what we have accomplished with network funding over the past four years, including partnering with 40 community emergency departments, 25 of which are critical access hospitals, to improve their readiness to care for acutely ill and injured children,” said Danielle Zerr, MD, MPH, division head of Infectious Diseases and PPN principal investigator at Seattle Children’s. “We are excited to build on this work over the next five years, including expanding our reach to Alaska and other areas in our region and strengthening collaborations with rural and tribal communities.”

Seattle Children’s will lead this critical work throughout the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Wyoming. Priorities will include continued work with community emergency departments, improving mental health crisis response for youth, enhancing emergency medical service (EMS) readiness to care for children with complex medical needs, expanding telehealth capabilities and direct engagement with families.  

Over the last five years, the network has leveraged the resources and expertise of children’s hospitals and national partners to empower all healthcare systems and their communities to be prepared to provide high-quality pediatric care in everyday emergencies, disasters, and global health threats.

The network’s mission is to strengthen the pediatric disaster preparedness of every children’s hospital, elevate pediatric healthcare capability everywhere to be better equipped for any crisis that could impact children, establish well integrated and resilient local-regional systems that leverage collaborations and community engagement, and foster workforce development in the field of pediatric emergency management that is rooted in data and quality improvement.

Learn more about the mission and vision of the Pediatric Prevention Network at PedsPreventionNetwork.org.