Under a new law passed during the 2026 Florida Legislative Session, all hospitals with emergency departments must develop and implement policies and procedures for pediatric patient care in the emergency department.[i] CS/HB 355, entitled “Health Care Patient Protection,” passed with strong bipartisan support and was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis on May 22, 2026. The new law took effect on July 1, 2026.
The new law, which amends Section 395.1012, F.S. (“Patient Safety”), requires every hospital with an emergency department to:
- Develop and implement policies and procedures for pediatric patient care in the emergency department which reflect evidence-based best practices relating to, at a minimum:
- Triage
- Measuring and recording vital signs
- Weighing and recording weight in kilograms
- Calculating medication dosages
- Use of pediatric instruments
- Conduct training at least annually on the policies and procedures, which must include at a minimum:
- The use of pediatric instruments, as applicable to each license type, using clinical simulation.
- Annual drills that simulate emergency situations.
- Designate a pediatric emergency care coordinator (PECC) who must be a physician, physician assistant, nurse or paramedic, to be responsible for implementation of the policies and procedures.
- Conduct the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment developed by the National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP)[ii], in accordance with the timelines established by the NPRP. During any year in which the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment is not conducted, hospitals may conduct the NPRP Open Assessment.
The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) is required to adopt rules setting minimum standards for pediatric patient care in hospital emergency departments, in consultation with the Florida Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) State Partnership Program, a quality improvement initiative administered by the University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville. The standards must include availability and immediate access to pediatric specific equipment and supplies. In addition, AHCA must adopt rules requiring hospital comprehensive emergency management plans to include plan components that address the needs of pediatric and neonatal patients.
For years in which the National Pediatric Readiness Assessment is conducted, AHCA will collect and publish all hospital emergency departments’ scores and provide a comparison to the national average score. In addition, AHCA will collect and publish one Open Assessment score per hospital per year and provide a comparison to the hospital emergency department’s most recently published National Pediatric Readiness Assessment score.
If you have any questions about these new requirements, please contact your Dinsmore health care law attorney.
[i] https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=82920&SessionId=113
[ii] The NPRP is an initiative to empower emergency departments to provide effective emergency care to children, led by the federally funded Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Program in partnership with other multidisciplinary organizations. https://emscimprovement.center/domains/pediatric-readiness-project/about/ The National Pediatric Readiness Assessment is a survey developed and administered by the NPRP to measure an emergency department’s pediatric readiness.