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Dear prehospital practitioners,

Children are our most precious patients and require specialized care -- but we also get the least amount of experience with them: nearly 50% of EMS agencies see one or fewer pediatric patients a month (National EMSC Data Analysis Center, “EMS for Children Survey,” July 2021). As a result, pediatric patients often provoke discomfort and anxiety among EMS personnel.

In order to help EMS agencies improve their readiness to care for children, the EMSC Innovation & Improvement Center is leading the National Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project (PPRP). The project is a multi-phase quality improvement collaborative supported by national and federal partners (click here to see all supporting organizations) to ensure that all U.S. EMS agencies have the essential guidelines and resources in place to provide effective emergency care to children. 

We are pleased to share that the PPRP has finalized and launched two foundational resources:

1. An EMS Agency Checklist. The checklist is based on a joint policy statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Emergency Physicians, Emergency Nurses Association, National Association of Emergency Medical Services Physicians, and National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians—and a corresponding AAP Technical Report.
2. An EMS Agency Toolkit. The more than 80 resources in this toolkit have been curated by a comprehensive team of stakeholders. The resources align with the checklist and the joint policy statement and will help prehospital emergency care providers better understand and achieve the components of pediatric readiness in the prehospital environment. 

We encourage you to review these resources and keep an eye out for additional updates. We also welcome you to get involved by partnering with your EMSC State Partnership program manager (contact information can be found here).

Access the checklist & toolkit

To learn more about the PPRP, visit our website.

The National Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project—an initiative of the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Program that aims to improve prehospital care for children across the country—has launched two foundational pediatric resources: an EMS Agency Checklist and Toolkit. The project is a multiphase, multiyear effort that is supported by a Steering Committee composed of 27 national organizations/associations, federal partners, EMSC grantees, and other experts. The two-page checklist is based on the 2020 joint policy statement, “Pediatric Readiness in Emergency Medical Services Systems,” and the toolkit provides resources to help agencies address any gaps in pediatric readiness. The project parallels the emergency department-focused National Pediatric Readiness Project and will develop a voluntary, nationwide prehospital assessment, which aims to launch in 2024. Learn more about the project here.

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• Use "specialized care" graphic
  • Does your EMS agency have the resources, training, and policies you need to care for kids? Find out by using the Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project’s pediatric checklist and toolkit: https://bit.ly/prehospitalpedsready.
• Use "50%" graphic
  • Kids need specialized help when ill or injured in the prehospital setting. View resources to support your EMS agency’s pediatric needs here: https://bit.ly/prehospitalpedsready.
• Use "Kids count on EMS" graphic
  • Make sure your EMS agency has what it takes to provide the specialized care children require by using the Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project’s pediatric checklist and toolkit: https://bit.ly/prehospitalpedsready.
• Use "Explore checklist & toolkit" graphic
  • The Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project Steering Committee is excited to share a checklist and toolkit to support pediatric readiness across the U.S. View the resources here: https://bit.ly/prehospitalpedsready.

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