Prehospital Pediatric Readiness
Prehospital Prehospital PractitionersHelp the EIIC get to know you!
Will you answer a few questions to help us improve our free programs and resources?
About
The National Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project (PPRP) is the leading joint initiative to improve prehospital care for acutely ill and injured children across the United States. The PPRP is funded and led by the federal Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Program with support from more than 30 national organizations and stakeholders.
Through its tools and resources, the PPRP empowers EMS agencies – including fire departments that respond to medical 911 calls – to be prepared to provide high-quality care for children in accordance with national recommendations, also known as being “pediatric ready.”
Goal & Vision
Goal: Ensure emergency care for all children
Vision: That all EMS agencies have the appropriate resources, including physician oversight, trained and competent staff, education, policies, medications, equipment, and supplies, to provide effective emergency care for children.
Recognizing pediatric readiness gaps in emergency systems across the U.S., the Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project has as its primary purpose the improvement of pediatric emergency care outcomes and patient safety within the prehospital environment (local, regional and state levels). The Steering Committee will collaborate to address these pediatric gaps, while creating and sharing guidelines and resources essential to the provision of safe and effective prehospital care to children.
Timeline
- Nationwide rollout of a prehospital pediatric readiness checklist (complete - view Checklist)
- Create and publish prehospital pediatric readiness toolkit (complete - view Toolkit)
- Disseminate national prehospital pediatric readiness assessment (2024)
- Assess the impact of pediatric readiness within EMS systems using at least three quality measures (2024)
Project Support
The PPRP Leadership Team recognizes the tremendous support that the organizations involved in this project are providing. View a Letter of Support from participating organizations.
We are grateful for the additional support provided by other organizations. While these organizations are not members of the Steering Committee, any additional local, regional, or national support is encouraged and welcome! If you would like to add yourself (as an individual) or your organization to this support letter, please email pprp@emscimprovement.center. The current letter is located here.
Project Leadership
The Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project (PPRP) is led by:
Kathleen Adelgais, MD, MPH
PPRP Co-Lead
kathleen.adelgais@childrenscolorado.org More Information
Dr. Adelgais is an Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a Pediatric Emergency Medicine physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, CO. She serves as the Principal Investigator and Program Director for the Colorado EMS for Children State Partnership program, is the past-chair of the Pediatrics Committee for National Association EMS Physicians, and previously represented the American Academy of Pediatrics on the Board of Directors for Committee on the Accreditation EMS Programs. She also serves as the scientific advisor for the Aurora Fire Department EMS affiliate role in PEM-NEWS node within the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). Nationally, she represents the Pediatric Emergency Physician Sector on the National EMS Advisory Council (NEMSAC).
Rachael Alter, BS
Project Co-Lead
alter@nasemso.org More Information
Rachael Alter has been a Program Manager for the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO) for 10 years, providing staff support to both the Pediatric Emergency Care Council and the Data Managers Council. In addition to Prehospital and State Partnership Domain work within the EIIC, she co-leads the Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project, and provided support to the Prehospital Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator Learning Collaborative. Prior to joining NASEMSO, Rachael was the EMSC program specialist for the Idaho Bureau of EMS for five years, which included service to rural providers and trauma registry contract management.