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.