Henry Chicaiza

MD
Associate Professor
Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Hartford, CT

Dr. Henry Chicaiza began his medical training at Rutgers Medical School (formerly the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey) in Newark, NJ. He completed his pediatric residency in 2011 at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, MA, followed by a Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) fellowship at Connecticut Children’s. After completing his PEM fellowship in 2014, he joined the faculty in the Emergency Department at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital in Stony Brook, NY. After a productive year at Stony Brook, he returned to Connecticut Children’s as an attending physician in the Division of Emergency Medicine. Dr. Chicaiza currently holds the title of Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He served as Director of Emergency Ultrasound in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Connecticut Children’s for 10 years. Last year, he became the Medical Director of EMS and Transport Medicine at Connecticut Children’s.

Everyday to Extreme: Elevating Pediatric Readiness for EMS (Wednesday, October 21, 2026 - 8:00-9:00am)
Pediatric patients represent 5–10% of EMS encounters but remain among the highest-risk populations for adverse outcomes due to limited provider exposure, equipment challenges, and variability in pediatric readiness across systems. This session, hosted by the Pediatric Pandemic Network (PPN) and Connecticut EMS for Children (CT EMSC), will provide EMS clinicians with practical, accessible resources to enhance everyday pediatric readiness. The presentation will highlight three core areas: simulation-based training (SimBox), everyday pediatric readiness success stories, and disaster preparedness strategies involving children. Attendees will be introduced to SimBox, a scalable tool that supports hands-on, low-cost, low-barrier pediatric simulation training that can be utilized by EMS agencies, hospitals, and even office-based environments. Participants will also learn evidence-based strategies, resources, and local implementation success stories that support pediatric readiness in daily EMS operations. Finally, presenters will address pediatric considerations during disasters and mass-casualty incidents, emphasizing planning tools and just-in-time resources available to EMS clinicians to improve preparedness and response for children during both everyday and extraordinary events.