Advisory committee on children and disasters hosts inaugural public meeting

The National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters (NACCD), which was established to provide expert advice and consultation to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the medical and public health needs of children in disaste​rs, held its inaugural public meeting on Feb. 17.

Among the 13 inaugural members of the NACCD are four domain leaders within the newly formed Pediatric Pandemic Network (PPN)–Rachel Charney, MD, Sarita Chung, MD, Mark Cicero, MD, and Brent Kaziny, MD. Chung and Kaziny are also part of the EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center.

The meeting featured an overview of the PPN from Sara Kinsman, MD, PhD, Director of the Division of Child and Family Health, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration. Kinsman highlighted the hub-and-spoke model of the new network.

A major focus of the meeting was lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric mental health.

To learn more about the NACCD, visit ASPR’s website. Materials from the Feb. 17 meeting will be posted soon.

To learn more about the PPN, visit its new interim website: https://pedspandemicnetwork.org/.