View as webpage

The inaugural Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project Assessment launches in May for EMS and fire-rescue agencies! Learn more and access a preview here.

Welcome the 2024 EMSC Scholars and Fellows

The EMSC Program has announced the 2024 cohorts of fellows and scholars. Get to know this year’s fellows and scholars.

ED STOP Suicide comes to a close

EMSC’s ED Screening and Treatment Options for Pediatric (STOP) Suicide Quality Improvement Collaborative has concluded. This collaborative focused on optimizing clinical care processes for children and adolescents facing acute suicidality across four key clinical areas—screening, assessment, interventions, and discharge/follow-up. Watch a video celebrating participants’ efforts and impact here. You can also access recordings of learning sessions or explore collaborative-related resources.

FAN work in the field

Featuring members of EMSC’s

Family Advisory Network (FAN).

Name: Jeff Wilson, NREMT-P

State/Territory: Utah

Jeff Wilson, NREMT-P, inspired by a tragic incident where an teen with autism spectrum disorder was shot in Utah, took steps to address inadequate awareness of and preparedness for children with autism in emergency situations. Jeff joined the EMSC as a FAN member, setting goals to provide autism training for all agencies in Utah and develop an autism kit for distribution. The John Wilson Autism Kit, named after Jeff's son, includes sensory poppers, silencing headphones, non-verbal cue cards, and an American Sign Language card. See media coverage about his work here.

EMSC out and about

A number of EMSC experts took part in the National Association of EMS Physicians' annual conference this month. EMSC-related presentations included the Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project with Kathleen Adelgais, MD, MPH, FAAP, FAEMS, and Kathryn Kothari, MD; a workshop on prehospital pediatric readiness from EMSC Missouri’s Liz Kendrick, EMT-P, BA; the COPE project (developed through EMSC Targeted Issues) presented by Benjamin Lang, MD, MPH; and PECARN’s clinical study on treatment for status epilepticus (PediDOSE) from Manish I. Shah, MD, MS.

Resources Round-Up:

Policy statements and major reports:

• AAP: The Built Environment and Pediatric Health
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: The Future Pediatric Subspecialty Physician Workforce: Meeting the Needs of Infants, Children, and Adolescents

Condition-specific resources:

• AAP: Pediatric and Adult Brain Death/Death by Neurologic Criteria Consensus Guideline Statement of Endorsement
• AAP: Considerations on the Use of Neonatal and Pediatric Resuscitation Guidelines for Hospitalized Neonates and Infants
• AAP: Suicide and Suicide Risk in Adolescents Clinical Report
• AAP: Supporting the Family After the Death of a Child or Adolescent Clinical Report
• OpenPediatrics: Two-part video series
• Pediatric Behavioral and Mental Health: Trauma-Informed Care - Part 1
• Pediatric Behavioral and Mental Health: Trauma-Informed Care - Part 2

Disaster resources:

• ASPR TRACIE: Managing a Pediatric Tripledemic: Lessons Learned from 2022
• FEMA: 2023 National Preparedness Report
• FEMA: Funding Alternatives for Emergency Medical and Fire Services
• WRAP-EM: Kids in Crisis Initiative

EMSC grantee resources:

• PEAK: Child Abuse
• EMSC Overview handout
• EMSC Impact webpage (includes printable overviews of EMSC and each EMSC component, along with state funding overviews)
• EMSC State Partnership Dashboard
• EMSC 40th Anniversary Toolkit
• Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project Materials

Upcoming Events:

• ASPR TRACIE Medical Leadership in Disaster Preparedness and Response Virtual Conference - Feb. 7-8
• National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners Conference - March 13-16
• National Association of County and City Health Officials 2024 Preparedness Summit - March 25-28
• Pediatric Academic Societies 2024 - May 2-6
• NASEMSO Annual Meeting 2024 - May 12-16
• EMS Week - May 19-25 and EMSC Day - May 22

Other Opportunities:

• Grant funds are available from the Pediatric Pandemic Network (PPN) and the Alliance for Pediatric Device Innovation (APDI) for innovators concentrating on FDA-regulated pediatric medical devices, diagnostics, and digital health solutions, with a specific emphasis on medical countermeasures to address preparation for and response to the needs of children during pandemics and other disasters. Apply by Feb.15.
• The AAP Board of Directors is soliciting nominations from members of the Council on Children and Disasters (COCD) to fill member vacancies for terms beginning July 1, 2024. Deadline for nominations is Feb. 16.
• The PPN Mentored Disaster Research Career Development Award program gives clinical and health services research-oriented physicians and PhDs the opportunity to develop skills and gain experience to become independent investigators conducting disaster science research. The application deadline is Feb. 29.
• The AAP Section on Emergency Medicine would like to announce the 25th Ken Graff Emerging Investigator Award. The award will provide up to $15,000 for a research project that addresses issues pertinent to the acutely ill or injured child. Application deadline is March 1.
• NOFO: 2024 Rural Emergency Medical Services Training Grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Apply by March 20.
• Request for Information from several federal entities: HHS Initiative to Enhance National All Hazards Hospital Situational Awareness.
• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is seeking public comment regarding the upcoming revision of the 2000 EMS Education Agenda for the Future: A Systems Approach. Submit comments here through March 31.

Honors and awards:

Congratulations to Jane Brice, MD, MPH, Principal Investigator of a Targeted Issues Grant in North Carolina, on winning the Nancy Caroline Award for Mentorship and Education from the National Association of EMS Physicians!

Research Highlights:

• The Association between Pediatric Readiness and Mortality for Injured Children Treated at US Trauma Centers - Annals of Surgery, Oct. 26*
• Increasing the use of anxiolysis and analgesia for paediatric procedures in a community emergency department network: a quality improvement initiative - Emergency Medicine Journal, Nov. 28*
• Exploring cultural sensitivity during distance simulations in pediatric emergency medicine - AEM Education and Training, Nov. 30
• Emergency Department Care for Children During the 2022 Viral Respiratory Illness Surge - JAMA Network, Dec. 7
• Evidence-Based Guideline for Prehospital Airway Management - Prehospital Emergency Care, Dec. 22
• Children and Adolescents With Suicidal Ideation and the Emergency Department - JAMA Network, Dec. 28

Headline Highlights:

• Regional Health Services of Howard County receives state recognition for pediatric readiness - Decorah News, Dec. 3*
• Pediatric Readiness Training makes a difference at SLV Health - Alamos News, Dec. 5*
• Are You Ready for This? Pediatric Readiness of Emergency Departments - The Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine Podcast, Jan. 6*
• Geisinger looks to make ERs better for child patients - Northern Central PA, Jan. 11*
• New program gets Colorado emergency rooms more prepared for children - KVDR, Jan. 13*
• Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project - Pediatric EMS Podcast by NAEMSP, Jan. 13*
• ‘A National Crisis and People Don’t Know About It’: American Emergency Rooms Are Failing Its Children - New York Sun, Jan. 16*

Share your story! We're looking for patient and provider stories about children's health care needs in everyday emergencies and disasters. Your story is vital to help us raise awareness about the need to improve outcomes for children. Learn more and share your story here.

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

EMSC grantees are welcomed to repurpose newsletter content.

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.

Connect with us on social media