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UVA Health Children’s, the #1 children’s hospital in Virginia, is celebrating the first anniversary of its Pediatrics Emergency Department (Peds ED).

“It’s been a busy, busy year,” says Nurse Manager Alex Kasmere, MSN, RN, CPEN, TCRN, EMTP, (above, right) who has been with the department since day one. “We hired 18 full-time nurses, two charge nurses, an administrative assistant, a unit secretary, and eight techs. We saw more than 18,000 patients.” 

Distinction in Education

From the beginning, Kasmere has made education a big part of how he leads. He ensures new nurses receive comprehensive pediatric training, followed by annual competencies — and most recently, the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) triage course. “More education is only going to benefit them,” he claims. “For me, it’s all about setting nurses up for success.”

Growing Stronger Every Day

That focus on growth and support is paying off, with many Peds ED nurses earning individual recognition. “In our first year, three of our nurses won DAISY Awards, and we had a total of five nurses nominated,” says Kasmere. “We don’t have everything figured out, but we have a lot more than we did when we started. I really think we have something special here, and I’m just so excited to be able to continue to grow this department and care for our community.”

Kasmere says the partnership with Medical Director Elisabeth A. Rogers, MD, has been critical to the success of the Peds ED. “Dr. Rogers has brought in a great team of physicians who really want to take care of our kids,” he explains. “I definitely would not be able to do what I do without having her as a partner.”

What's Next?

With a strong first year behind them, Kasmere and his team now are focused on FY2026. He shares a few of their goals:

• Kasmere is onboarding three new graduate nurses, who joined the team in July. “I’m so excited for them to be coming in now. Our preceptors have gone through a whole year of pediatric education and are getting to lean in more. It excites me that I have a department that people want to stay in!”
• “The goal in the next year is to hire an assistant manager,” says Kasmere. “I don’t want another one of me — that’s not going to be efficient. Splitting responsibilities will allow us to do even more for our patients and our teams.”
• Kasmere loves that the mural in the Peds ED waiting room with “fantastical creatures in a magical forest” has been received so well. He is working on additional projects to make the environment fun for kids. “From the time a patient comes through our front door to the time they go upstairs or get discharged, I want our feel to be a door-to-door children's hospital.”
• In April alone, Peds ED cared for 1,599 patients and only three left without being seen (LWBS) — a rate of 0.19% — far below the national standard of 2% or less. “We’ve been doing really well with our LWBS numbers, but our new goal is to have a month in which nobody leaves without being seen,” says Kasmere.

Seeing the Difference

While there’s still much work to be done, the Pediatric Emergency Department is serving more and more patients every day.

As the department expands, families are noticing the difference. “We’re building our patient population by word of mouth. When they get to us, they see the difference. I have parents who will say, ‘I’ll drive the extra hour and a half instead of being transferred,’” Kasmere recounts. “If a patient shows up, we’re going to take care of them. For us, a child will never just be a number.”