EIRMC’s increasing ability to serve children with severe or traumatic injury
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IDAHO FALLS — CRACK.
It was a sound that made Mandy Finlinson’s heart sink as she turned to watch her 9-year-old daughter Lydia crumble to the ground next to her.
The accident happened during a Chukars game in August. The Finlinson family were awaiting hamburgers in the Melaleuca Field barbecue pit when a fluke foul ball bypassed the safety nets and struck the child squarely on the head.
“We heard this huge crack,” Finlinson said. “She didn’t know what happened and we didn’t see it happen, because we were waiting for food. But as soon as she got hit, people came running.”
The odd thing was, that shortly after she was hit, Lydia claimed the injury wasn’t causing her any pain. Additionally, there was no swelling or bruising on the right side of her head where the ball had hit.
“She looked OK and she didn’t pass out,” Finlinson said. “But we knew something was wrong. We just didn’t know how bad it was.”
Her parents immediately took her to Mountain View Hospital for a CAT scan. She was then taken by ambulance across the street to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.
Lydia had a skull fracture and doctors said there was a slow bleed that was building up pressure inside her head.
“This is the type of injury where if the bleed continues, it can continue to push the brain, and if it progresses it can lead to death,” said Dr. Jeremy Hertzig, medical director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at EIRMC. “The injury itself can be life-threatening and requires emergency surgery.”
Lydia was rushed to a trauma room, where a pediatric surgeon relieved the bleed and rebuilt a portion of her skull.
The surgery was a success — one the family says is a testament to the specialized pediatric care they received at EIRMC.
A children’s hospital within a hospital.
Specialized pediatric care wasn’t always available at EIRMC. Less than a decade ago, many of the major pediatric trauma cases were transferred to out-of-state children’s hospitals.
“Previously, a lot of our sick kids would end up having to go to Salt Lake City,” Emergency and Trauma Service Director Barry Hawthorne said. “But with the advent of pediatric urgent care, we can keep most of the kids that are sick now.”
EIRMC opened a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in 2009, and a six-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in 2013. Both units have brought pediatric specialists to Idaho Falls, which is having a big impact at the hospital.
This year, EIRMC is reporting a 24 percent increase in trauma patients compared to 2014. Over the last four years, the hospital has seen around 1,200 trauma patients per year, but as of mid-September the hospital had already served some 1,010 patients.
Although a number of factors are contributing to the increase, hospital officials say children remaining in Idaho Falls for treatment is a major part of the growth. Currently, children make up about 25 percent of EIRMC’s trauma patients.
“The community is looking for more pediatric sub-specialty care locally, and the hospital’s response has been to build up its service line,” Hertzig said.
Hospital administrators say they are continuing to focus on expanding pediatric care.
“It’s a long-term strategic plan for the hospital to grow what we refer to as a children’s hospital-within-a-hospital,” Hawthorne said. “If you look at (Primary Children’s Medical Center), that will never be our mission, but we still want to build a lot of those services here at (EIRMC).”
The hospital is already planning its next big expansion. In 2016, EIRMC will remodel to create two additional trauma rooms, and one will be dedicated specifically to emergency pediatric care. The expansion is slated to be complete by 2017. The children’s trauma room will be specially design to make children comfortable in the hospital.
“In the final design, we will have a separate and unique pediatric ER that fits in concert with our pediatric unit and our pediatric ICU,” Hawthorne said. “This is the next evolution of building pediatric care in Idaho Falls so we can keep kids home and local without having to send them to Salt Lake City for expanded care.”
It’s a vision the Finlinson family can get behind.
“We’re from Utah … and I was nervous to move to Idaho and not have Primary Children’s Hospital close by,” Finlinson said. “But Lydia’s recovery has been amazing. We’ve had good doctors and nurses and they just took care of her. It was a really great experience!”