AdventHealth Porter Earns COPPER Designation, Strengthening Pediatric Emergency Care

AdventHealth Porter is proud to announce that its Emergency Department has earned the Pediatric Advanced COPPER designation, a significant milestone that reflects a deep commitment to providing safe, high-quality emergency care for children.

The Colorado Pediatric Preparedness for the Emergency Room (COPPER) program is a voluntary, state-level pediatric readiness recognition that ensures emergency departments are equipped, trained, and prepared to care for pediatric patients. COPPER provides resources, guidance, and site verification to support hospitals in delivering competent, effective pediatric emergency care.

This designation is especially critical because nearly 70% of children in Colorado receive emergency care in general emergency departments, rather than specialty children’s hospitals. Many of these EDs see fewer than 15 pediatric patients per day, making readiness essential for ensuring children receive the right care, at the right time, close to home.

Prepared to Care for Colorado’s Youngest Patients

“Earning the COPPER designation signals that families can trust AdventHealth Porter Emergency Department to provide thoughtful, prepared, and high-quality emergency care for children,” said Kristin Miller, Director of Nursing Services. “Because most children receive emergency care in general EDs, COPPER is essential to ensuring children in our community receive safe, evidence-based care when they need it most.”

At AdventHealth Porter, COPPER means pediatric-specific equipment and medications are readily available, staff are trained in pediatric emergency care, and protocols are in place to meet the unique physical and emotional needs of children.

“COPPER enhances the experience for children by ensuring care is both medically excellent and emotionally supportive,” Miller added. “Our teams use age-appropriate communication, prioritize pain management, and work to reduce fear and delays, offering peace of mind to parents during stressful moments.”

A Nurse-Led Journey of Collaboration and Growth

Achieving COPPER required more than a year of focused effort and deep collaboration across the hospital. The initiative was led by Amanda Petri, RN, Nurse Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator (PECC), and Dr. Nicholas Rosen, Physician PECC, with regional support from Jen Jones, Meridian’s Lead Nurse PECC.

“The Porter ED team has been intentionally focusing on pediatric education since January,” said Brittney Johnson, Clinical Nurse Manager for the Emergency Department. “We ensured pediatric education occurred alongside adult education, while also strengthening policies, supplies, peer review of pediatric cases, and pediatric surge and disaster plans.”

Throughout the process, a multidisciplinary team came together including respiratory therapy, pharmacy, trauma, radiology, education, safety, nursing, providers, supply chain, and emergency preparedness.

“This designation truly reflects our culture of collaboration,” Johnson shared. “Experts from across the hospital worked together to ensure Porter is ready to care for even our youngest patients.”

Measurable Impact That Saves Lives

Johnson noted that the journey to COPPER has resulted in measurable, life-saving improvements.

“Research shows that emergency departments with pediatric readiness scores above 87 are associated with a 76% lower mortality rate for medically ill children and a 60% lower mortality rate for traumatically injured children,” she explained. “When Porter began this journey, our score was 60 - below the national median. Today, we’ve achieved a 94 out of 100, firmly establishing Porter as pediatric ready.”

She credits the achievement to strong nurse-led change and unwavering dedication.

“Amanda’s work over the past year and a half truly demonstrates our service standards - owning it, loving me, keeping me safe, and making it easy for others to do the same,” Johnson said. “I’m incredibly proud of what our team has accomplished.”

Looking Ahead

With COPPER designation, EMS providers will prioritize transporting pediatric patients to COPPER-designated facilities, further strengthening access to high-quality pediatric emergency care. AdventHealth Porter also participates in the National Pediatric Readiness Quality Initiative (NPRQI), which provides real-time data and insights to continually advance pediatric emergency care.

This achievement reflects the heart of AdventHealth Porter’s mission: delivering whole-person care, grounded in excellence, compassion, and teamwork - especially for the youngest and most vulnerable members of our community.