Children’s National and Virginia Tech spotlight innovative approaches to pediatric emergency care
Watch a video on the impactful pilot program between Virginia Tech’s Sanghani Center for AI and Data Analytics and Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C.
On June 24, Kenneth Walter McKinley, MD, from Children’s National Hospital, delivered an inspiring talk at Virginia Tech’s “Tech on Tap” event, sharing new ways data and technology can improve care for children in crisis. The event, part of a special speaker series, highlighted an ongoing collaboration that is transforming how hospitals respond to pediatric emergency department (ED) crowding.
Crowding in the ED has been a major challenge nationwide, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. To tackle this urgent problem, Dr. McKinley and a team of physicians and nurses developed a machine learning model designed to predict the number of high-acuity patients likely to leave the ED without being seen. When the model predicts a spike in risk, Dr. McKinley and a select group of colleagues step up to provide additional care in flexible clinical spaces. This proactive approach helps ensure every child gets timely, life-saving attention.
In addition to these real-time interventions, the team also alerts ED and hospital leadership when predictions show extremely high levels of risk, allowing leaders to make fast, informed decisions to protect patient safety.
The partnership with Virginia Tech has been essential to the project’s success. By combining clinical expertise from Children’s National with advanced data science from Virginia Tech, the teams have been able to compare a range of algorithms, refine the machine learning models, and explore new ways to forecast ED crowding. While some new models are still being evaluated, the early results are promising and could lead to even more effective tools in the future.
Dr. McKinley created the initial version of the model to try to mitigate patients leaving the ER without being seen. Photo by Craig Newcomb for Virginia Tech.
During the talk, Dr. McKinley emphasized the importance of teamwork and innovation in healthcare. “When we can predict when and where problems might occur, we have a chance to act before they become crises,” said Dr. McKinley. “Our goal is to keep every child safe and make sure no one falls through the cracks — and working together across institutions is the key to making that possible.”
The event sparked meaningful discussions among students, faculty and clinical leaders about the future of pediatric emergency care and how technology can help hospitals respond faster and more effectively.
This partnership serves as a strong example of how cross-institutional collaborations can lead to innovative, practical solutions for some of healthcare’s toughest challenges. As the models continue to evolve, the team remains focused on one shared mission: making emergency care safer and more accessible for every child.
Click here to learn more and watch a video on the impactful pilot program between Virginia Tech’s Sanghani Center for AI and Data Analytics and Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C.
Reached after his talk, Dr. McKinley wanted to emphasize not only the promise of teamwork across institutions, but also the amazing support for fostering innovations here at Children’s National. He is grateful for the unwavering support from his mentors, James Chamberlain, MD, and Marius Linguraru, DPhil, MA, MSc, the energy of his co-investigators and surge team colleagues Brandon Kappy, MD, Sarah Isbey, MD, and Julia Volcjak, RN, the enthusiastic ED leadership support from Joelle Simpson, MD, and Theresa Schultz, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, and the insights from NERDS (Nexus for Emergency Research and Data Science) colleagues: Trang Ha and Lauren Waterhouse.
