EMSC Pulse

Thank you, EMS clinicians!


On EMS for Children (EMSC) Day, May 22, as part of National EMS Week, EMSC Program grantees and dozens of national partners united to draw attention to prehospital clinicians’ commitment to acutely ill and injured children. In honor of the 50th anniversary of National EMS Week theme, “Honoring our Past, Forging our Future,” EMSC hosted a webinar, “Prehospital Pediatric Airway Management: The Past, Present, and Future.The webinar offered free CE credit through Prodigy EMS. More than 950 individuals attended. In addition to national EMSC Day activities, many EMSC State Partnership Programs recognized the days within their communities – from awards ceremonies and state capitol celebrations to open houses and learning events. See a gallery of EMSC Day photos from the states and territories here.

"I know they saved my daughter's life."


The EMSC Program and Prehospital Prehospital Readiness Project (PPRP) are thrilled to share a heartwarming story of a pediatric save in rural Iowa. The video highlights how multiple elements came together to save a child with a critical illness. We hope to inspire others with similar success stories, spreading the message of pediatric readiness and its life-saving impact. A special thank you to Iowa EMSC, the Mechanicsville Fire and Ambulance Service, the Lisbon/Mt. Vernon Ambulance Service, and Arlette’s family for sharing their story with us. Share on X/Twitter through this link! 


To ensure your EMS or fire-rescue agency is ready for its next pediatric call, join the 3,000+ agencies that have already taken part in the PPRP Assessment. The assessment takes just 30 minutes to complete, and participating agencies receive a detailed report highlighting gaps and benchmarking information. Access the survey at https://emspedsready.org/.

EMSC Reauthorization Act of 2024 passes in the House


HR 6960, the Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act of 2024, was passed May 15 by the House in a 399-13 vote. Read a press release about the bill's passage from one of the bill’s sponsors, Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter (R-GA), here or from EMSC’s partner, the Emergency Nurses Association here



Advocates continue to follow the companion bill in the Senate, S.3765. Most recently, the bill was discussed at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on May 23. Committee members voted to advance the bill without any amendments. The bill's next step is to be reported to the Senate floor for a full chamber vote. Learn more about EMSC’s impact.

PECARN neck injury prediction rule could decrease imaging exposure


Cervical spine injuries in children are relatively rare but can have serious consequences, like paralysis. The standard method for detecting these injuries involves X-rays and computed tomography (CT) scans, which expose children to radiation and may pose long-term health risks. In a study published yesterday in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, researchers from the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) outline a novel approach to predicting cervical spine injuries in children that reduces the need for imaging by half – while ensuring injuries are not missed.

 

“Quickly and accurately identifying children with potentially severe injuries is crucial for emergency medical providers,” said Julie Leonard, MD, MPH, who led the PECARN study team and is a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. "Our extensive, multicenter study demonstrates that using this rule, which relies solely on self-reported symptoms and physical examination, can prevent unnecessary radiation in children.” Read the press release or post from PECARN’s new blog.

Pediatric Disaster Centers of Excellence launch new website and social media


Hurricanes and wildfires, flash floods and blizzards, pandemics, mass injury events, and human-made hazards – health care professionals must prepare communities for disasters and provide life-saving services afterward. But fewer than half of all hospitals have a disaster plan specific to the needs of children.



The three, regional-based Pediatric Disaster Centers of Excellence (PDCOEs) address this critical gap by training health care professionals, supporting families, and coordinating disaster preparedness efforts at local, state, and regional levels. Funded through the Administration for Strategic Preparedness, their comprehensive expertise covers the entire disaster cycle: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. In their work, the PDCOEs collaborate closely with the EMSC Program and the Pediatric Pandemic Network. Learn more at the PDCOE’s new joint website and joint X account, both of which launched last month.

Goodman receives Pediatric Readiness Improvement Award


Every year, the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) honors one nurse with the Pediatric Readiness Improvement Award. This award recognizes a nurse who has demonstrated outstanding efforts to improve readiness in caring for children as outlined in the joint policy statement, “Pediatric Readiness in the Emergency Department,” which is the foundation for the National Pediatric Readiness Project. We are excited to congratulate EMSC’s very own Robin Goodman MSN, RN, CPEN for being this year’s awardee. Goodman is part of both the EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center and the Pediatric Pandemic Network. She has done amazing work to help advance pediatric readiness in her home state of California – and across the country. Learn more about ENA’s annual awards here

Mental Health Month wrap-up


May was Mental Health Awareness Month. The EMSC Program is working to address the ongoing state of emergency in children’s mental health by offering resources for emergency departments (EDs), EMS clinicians, and primary care providers.


Learn how the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access program is fostering collaboration between EDs and primary care providers. 

  • Learn more about the toolkit they have created to enhance collaboration between providers or view a flyer about the toolkit here.
  • Watch previous webinars here, including most recently “Emergency Department Provider Insights on Pediatric Mental Health” and “Pediatric Needs During Times of Disaster.” 



Plus, explore a mental health webpage - where you'll find clinical resource toolkits like PEAK: Suicide, PEAK: Agitation, and more.

FAN work in the field


Featuring members of EMSC’s Family Advisory Network (FAN). Learn more about the FAN.


Name: Brian Richardson

State/Territory: Maine


In 2021, Maine scored 65 out of 100 in pediatric readiness. Brian Richardson, the volunteer Maine EMSC FAN and senior director of Emergency Management & Preparedness at MaineHealth, saw room for improvement. With children making up 25% of the population and an optimal readiness score being at least 88, the state is constantly seeking to enhance pediatric readiness and outcomes. Working with the EMSC Maine state program manager, Richardson divided his efforts into three areas: family resiliency during disasters, overall pediatric readiness in emergency departments, and increased collaboration at community, regional, and state levels.


In one example of his work in this area, Richardson has collaborated with the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital’s Patient Family Advisory Council to use the Family Voices’ Family Engagement in Systems Tools (FESAT) assessment tool to improve family resiliency. Additionally, efforts are underway to address family education and discharge materials for children with medical complexities.



Another unique example of Richardson’s support is working with Maine EMSC, in partnership with the health care coalition and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program, to bring Pediatric Disaster Response and Emergency Preparedness training from Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service to Maine in December 2024. This training, available to EMS providers, municipal governments, hospital personnel, and disaster planners, aims to enhance pediatric disaster planning. Their goal is to collaboratively improve equitable pediatric care access in Maine, both daily and during disasters.

Resources Round-up:


Featured resource:

View the new Pediatric Clinics issue focused on pediatrics disaster preparedness and featuring EMSC, Pediatric Pandemic Network, and Pediatric Disaster Centers of Excellence experts. Articles include topics like:


  • “Overcoming Vulnerabilities in Our Emergency Care System Through Pediatric Readiness”
  • “Understanding Pediatric Surge in the United States”
  • “Pandemic Planning, Response, and Recovery for Pediatricians: A Focus on Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health”
Read now

Other Resources:

Other Opportunities:


  • Join the Pediatric Pandemic Network (PPN) Disaster Response Collaborative to improve and demonstrate your children’s hospital disaster response capabilities and capacities! This two-year collaborative starts in September 2024, and aims to build on the enhanced infrastructure achieved by children’s hospitals during the PPN Disaster Networking Collaborative.
  • Participate in a study to help the PPN learn how families seek health information during emergencies and disasters. Apply here
  • The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response is accepting applications for the 2024-2028 Hospital Preparedness Program! Apply by June 18.
  • Submit a non-CME course proposal for the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Annual Meeting. Deadline is June 30.
  • Submissions for the 2024 Babble Royale competition are now open. Four contestants will be selected to give their presentation live at the Section on Emergency Medicine session at the AAP National Conference in Orlando. Deadline is June 30.
  • The Safe Streets and Roads for All FY 2024 Grant Applications are open. This program, administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, offers grants to support regional, local, and Tribal initiatives aimed at preventing deaths and serious injuries on the nation's roadways. Apply by Aug. 29.

Honors & Awards:


  • At the 3rd Annual Pediatric Readiness Showcase, held during the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting, the following project teams  were recognized:
  • Best Project in Progress: “OUT AAMPPED: OUTcomes of Acute Agitation Management in Prehospital PEDiatrics,” Rachel Cafferty, MD (Assistant Professor, University of Colorado)
  • Best Completed Project: “Regional Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinators to train Hospital Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinators in Texas and Michigan”, Emily Mathias, MD (Assistant Professor, University of Michigan) and Marc Auerbach, MD, FAAP, MSc (Professor, Yale University and EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center Executive Core Member)
  • Jeff Wilson, NREMT-P, Utah’s Family Advisory Network representative, was named Utah’s EMSC Advocate of the Year for his work as an advocate training first responders on children with autism disorders and how to work with them in the  field. 
  • Nathan Kuppermann, MD, MPH, was awarded the John Marx Leadership Award from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine! Kuppermann  is a research leader within PECARN. 
  • Tresa E. Zielinski, BSN, DNP, RN, APRN-PC, CPNP-PC, received the Villanova University Clinical Excellence in Nursing Award! Zielinski is a member of the National Pediatric Readiness Project Steering Committee and works with Pediatric Pandemic Network.

Research Highlights:


Upcoming Events
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Have news, resources, or events to share? Want to make sure a research paper or award recipient is mentioned? Email us!


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The EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award (U07MC37471) totaling $2.5M with 0 percent financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government. For more information, visit hrsa.gov.

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