Advancing Pediatric Stroke Readiness: Engaging Healthcare Systems to Optimize Care Delivery
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Stroke is less common in children than in adults, yet equally devastating. Nevertheless, children with symptoms of acute stroke commonly present to community hospitals or adult stroke centers where experience and institutional protocols for pediatric stroke diagnosis and management may be limited. Despite advances in pediatric stroke awareness and the implementation of stroke pathways in many children's hospitals, significant gaps remain in the timely recognition, diagnosis, and management of pediatric stroke. A key contributing factor is the lack of system-level infrastructure to guide pediatric acute stroke care. This special report examines the challenges and barriers to achieving Pediatric Stroke Readiness at a national level in the United States and presents 5 engagement case studies highlighting efforts to establish processes and networks for pediatric stroke management across diverse care settings. The cases emphasize the development and implementation of systems of care in which pediatric stroke centers collaborate with first responders, community hospitals, and adult stroke centers to improve the delivery of acute stroke care for children. The strategies underscore different engagement approaches and identify opportunities for future research and quality improvement. These case studies also illustrate educational materials and clinical pathways that may serve as resources for others pursuing similar initiatives.
Source: Stroke
Authors: Rachel Pearson, Stuart Fraser, Lisa Pabst, Maria M. Galardi, Kristin Guilliams, Brian M. Faux, Sarah Lee, Kriti Bhayana, Robin Novakovic-White, Carl H. Schultz, Joshua Bobko, Heather Fullerton, Lori C. Jordan, Christine K. Fox, Gilberto Torres, Lauren Fournier, Christine Reeves, Dan Guzman, Fernando Acosta, Marcela Torres, Rachel Herring, Deidra Lee, David Wampler, Allison Capetillo, Earl Pike, Angela Cornelius, Daniel Davila-Williams, Jennifer Erklauer, Jake Purdy, Lauren Jacobs, Mubbasheer Ahmed, Pamela Petersen, Stuart Fraser, Melika Abrahams, Robert Lapus, Nipa Sanghani, Natalie Montanez, Lakshmi Srivaths, Kevin Schulz, Dominique Diggs, Keely Smith, Amanda Humphries, Robin Novakovic-White, Wilmot Bonnet, Michael Dowling, Daniel Martin, Crystal Bassham, Ashley Garza, Brian Faux, Justin Reed, Stephen Deputy
Institutions: University of California, Irvine, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, University of Utah, Washington University in St. Louis, The University of Texas at San Antonio, Stanford Medicine, Stanford University, Cleveland Clinic, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Arizona State University, University of California, San Francisco, Vanderbilt University, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Epidemiology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7171465731