Committee approves pediatric emergency care rule updates, exempts board-certified ER physicians from short-course requirement

The Joint Government Operations Committee on Sept. 17 gave a positive recommendation to permanent rules from the Health Facilities Commission intended to modernize standards for pediatric emergency care across Tennessee.

The changes include state designation of pediatric trauma centers, requirements for pediatric intensive care units, and the addition of pediatric emergency care coordinator positions responsible for assuring staff and facility readiness, Katie Thomas of the Health Facilities Commission told the committee.

The rules drew questions from members about national guidance. Kevin Brinkman, a pediatric intensive care doctor in Knoxville and chair of the Facilities Standards subcommittee on pediatric emergency care, told the committee that the packet draws on national work, naming the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Emergency Medical Services for Children program. “For many years, a lot of organizations collaborated on…rules. What you have before you represents that today,” Brinkman said.

Public comment came from John Proctor, a pediatric emergency physician representing the Tennessee College of Emergency Physicians, who sought a clarification about a short certification course included in the rules. Proctor said the certification is a two‑day course with a one‑day renewal every two years and that it is mainly taken by nurses, paramedics and EMTs. “Physicians who have completed a 3 or 4 year residency in the specialty of emergency medicine should not be mandated to take a 1 or 2 day course,” Proctor said. Committee staff and Health Facilities Commission representatives told the committee that interpretive guidance will make clear that board‑certified emergency physicians are excluded from that short‑course requirement.

There were no further substantive questions from committee members. A motion for a positive recommendation was made, and the committee recorded an affirmative vote in the House and a roll call in the Senate. The clerk read members voting in favor, and the chair announced the measure will move forward with a positive recommendation.

The Health Facilities Commission and the committee said the rules are intended as minimum standards; the commission will issue interpretive guidance on certification and other implementation details.

The committee did not amend the packet during the Sept. 17 hearing. The rules will move forward to the next step in the administrative process for finalization and implementation.