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Rapid Response Team

The Rapid Response Team is available if your child needs help right away.

Dan Patrick, Jennifer McCrory, Allie Simmons

The Rapid Response Team at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a team of specially trained staff members who respond quickly when your child needs urgent medical help.

You are an important part of your child’s care team, and you know your child best. If you are concerned about your child, we are concerned.

Services we provide

The Rapid Response Team does not take the place of emergency care, but you can call them if your child needs help right away. Our team works to prevent medical issues from becoming more serious. We have extra resources to quickly assess and evaluate your child to find out if they need more care and treatments.

When to call the Rapid Response Team

Talk to your child’s care team if your child shows signs of distress. If you are still concerned and your child’s condition is getting worse, call the Rapid Response team.

You may contact this team if you notice signs or symptoms such as:

  • A change in skin color
  • Trouble breathing
  • Unable to wake up
  • A sudden change in behavior
  • A change that you are not comfortable with or do not understand
  • A feeling that something is not right

How to call the Rapid Response Team

You, your nurse, or your doctor can call the Rapid Response Team if you are in the hospital and in a clinical patient care setting. The team usually arrives within 10 minutes.

Dial extension 4444 from any hospital phone and press 1 for emergency as instructed in the automatic voice recording.

Tri Delta Place residents may call for Campus Alert by dialing extension 4444 for any emergency and St. Jude staff will respond along with emergency medical services. Or call 901-595-4444 on your cell phone.

  • Ask the operator to call Campus Alert
  • Tell the operator your child’s name and room number or your current location.

If you are in Ronald McDonald House, Target House, The Domino’s Village, or anywhere off campus, please call 911 in an emergency. St. Jude does not have an emergency room.

If you have concerns that are not about your child’s current medical state, talk to a St. Jude nurse manager or leader. If your concern was not resolved or you need more help, call the St. Jude HelpLine. Dial 2999 from any hospital phone or 901-595-2999 from a cell phone.

 

Your Rapid Response Team

The Rapid Response Team may include these staff members who can quickly respond to your child’s needs:

Nurse: watches your child’s condition and contacts the Rapid Response Team when needed

Intensive care nurse: rapidly assesses your child to find out their problems, provides care to stabilize their condition, and contacts the ICU team about how your child is doing

Primary team or on-call care team provider: orders treatments and work with the ICU care team to get updates on your child’s condition

Respiratory therapist: checks your child’s lung function, breathing, and gives an oxygen treatment when needed

What to expect from the Rapid Response Team

When the Rapid Response Team is activated, they will perform a complete assessment of your child. They may start any treatments your child needs, consult with other care teams as needed, and decide if your child needs to be transferred to a higher level of care such as the Intensive Care Unit.

Your child’s medical team will be notified of the Rapid Response Team activation and any treatments given to your child. The Rapid Response Team will also share any changes to your child’s care plan that were made based on the Rapid Response Team visit.

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