PEAK: Multisystem Trauma is live

Traumatic injury is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children in the United States. Timely, effective management of injured pediatric patients is essential. Check out our new Pediatric Education and Advocacy Kit (PEAK) on multisystem trauma to help ED and EMS clinicians identify and manage children with multiple serious injuries. PEAK: Multisystem Trauma includes pediatric imaging guidelines, shock management massive transfusion protocols, podcasts, simulation resources, and more. View the resources here.

Prehospital Pediatric Readiness: Next Steps

The 2024 National Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project (PPRP) assessment closed with a remarkable 46% response rate and participation from over 7,000 EMS and fire-rescue agencies nationwide. The foundation of data collected will help guide the development of tools and resources to help agencies improve care for children.  

Next steps: 

• EMS and fire-rescue agencies are encouraged to share the assessment results with leadership. Discuss a plan for addressing gaps and explore our improvement resources, particularly the PPRP Toolkit.
• The assessment website will reopen in the future for agencies to take any time for their internal use and assess progress from 2024. Keep an eye out for updates.
• The data is being cleaned and analyzed, with the goal to release key state results later this fall. National results are anticipated to be available later next year. View this video created by the EMSC Data Center explaining the PPRP Assessment Data Life Cycle: Processes, cleaning, and analysis in more detail.

Thank you for your incredible work in bringing us closer to our vision: that every child, every day, receives the best possible care.

NPRQI releases 1st annual report after reaching 11,000 patient records milestone

Engaging in pediatric-specific quality improvement in emergency departments (EDs) is associated with high levels of Pediatric Readiness and, subsequently, lower mortality risk for children. However, fewer than 50% of EDs track pediatric quality metrics. The National Pediatric Readiness Quality Initiative (NPRQI) offers a free quality improvement (QI) tool that helps EDs easily track and analyze up to 28 nationally vetted quality metrics. The platform recently achieved a milestone of 11,000 patient records, thanks largely to the support of EMSC managers and partner organizations who helped recruit participating EDs, as well as “NPRQI Pioneers,” the early adopter EDs that helped with field testing.

NPRQI was developed specifically with small EDs in mind and provides performance dashboards, benchmarking data, and reports that demonstrate improvement over time. Metrics cover common pediatric complaints, including respiratory complaints, seizures, head injury, vomiting, and suicidality. No QI experience is required to participate. NPRQI is your ED's next step in becoming Pediatric Ready. Enroll in NPRQI today or learn more via the new flyer and annual report.

AMCHP Town Hall to Highlight Pediatric Readiness

The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs (AMCHP) will feature Mark X. Cicero, MD, FAAP, FAEMS, Clinical and Scientific Specialist for the Division of Child, Adolescent, and Family at the Health Resources and Services Administration, presenting about Pediatric Readiness at its Sept. 12 Policy and Partnerships Town Hall. AMCHP’s mission is to advance the health of women, children, youth, families, and communities by strengthening governmental public health and deepening community partnerships through a health equity lens. Register for the Sept. 12 Town Hall.

Meet the Managers: Welcome the newest State Partnership Program Managers!

Help us welcome new managers for Kansas, Wisconsin, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands:

• Jessica Baker, AAS, Paramedic - Kansas
• Carissa Brunner, MPH, CLC - Wisconsin
• Julie Ann Toves Laniyo - Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

Get to know the new managers.



FAN work in the field: Guam

Learn more about how Family Advisory Network (FAN) representatives make a difference for children.

Name: Sharon Manibusan

State/Territory: Guam

Sharon Manibusan serves as the FAN representative for the Island of Guam. In collaboration with Breanna Sablan, EMSC Program Director, their team has been focused on acquiring vital medical supplies to enhance the hospital's Pediatric Readiness, including pediatric carts, immobilization boards, pediatric blood pressure cuffs, intraosseous needles, Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) kits, pediatric airways, arm boards, restraints, and stethoscopes.

In addition, they are working to provide Basic Life Support (BLS) CPR and First Aid training for local daycare providers, summer camp supervisors, and school nurses. Each year, they organize outreach events that focus on "Stop-the-Bleed" and hands-on CPR training for children. Their outreach efforts also include working with other public health divisions and various agencies to promote the Special Needs Identification Project (SNIP), a prehospital notification system for EMTs, nurses, and physicians designed to improve prehospital emergency care for children with special health care needs and other pre-existing conditions.