Researchers aimed at evaluating if high emergency department (ED) pediatric readiness is correlated with long-term survival among injured children presenting to 146 trauma centers.

• Retrospective cohort study including 88,071 injured children who were residents of 8 states with admission, transfer to, or injury-related death at one of 146 participating trauma centers.

• There was a 30% lower hazard of death to 1 year in correlation with receiving initial care in an ED in the highest quartile of readiness.

• Even after removing children who died early, the findings remained consistent.

• Overall results suggest an independent correlation of high ED readiness with long-term survival among injured children.