New federal Subcommittee on Climate, Emergencies, and Disasters

The Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Town Hall meeting on Nov. 10 featured an update from Cinnamon A. Dixon, DO, MPH, Medical Officer, Pediatric Trauma and Critical Illness Branch at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Dixon is co-chair of the Subcommittee on Climate, Emergencies and Disasters, which was established in June 2021 as part of the President’s Task Force on Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks to Children. The task force has existed since 1997.

“Children are uniquely vulnerable to environmental health risks and safety risks resulting from or exacerbated by climate change, public health emergencies, and disasters,” said Dixon.

She highlighted the intersection and this work and EMSC’s work, and highlighted the subcommittee's specific goals, which are:

1. To strengthen and foster interagency coordination and collaboration by enhancing research outreach and policy to protect children's health.
2. To build partnerships among federal agencies, stakeholders and external partners to increase the reach and effectiveness of our efforts.
3. To build public health awareness and foster understanding of environmental, health and safety risks to kids.
4. To be an avenue to provide expert consultation to other federal and partner activities and, finally, to facilitate the development of a coordinated federal agenda on child health, as it relates to climate change, public health emergencies and disasters.

To learn more about the subcommittee and other updates across EMSC, watch the Town Hall meeting recording. The next Town Hall meeting will be Feb. 9, 2022.