A digest of EMSC Program News and Activities
Issue #40 | Aug. 15, 2019
The 2019 EMSC All-Grantee Meeting is August 20-23, 2019 in Washington, DC. These four days will give all of us across the EMSC spectrum and our partners an opportunity to interact, network and plan innovative ways to move the EMSC …
Read MoreThe Health Resources and Services Administration’s Emergency Medical Services for Children program is pleased to announce seven cooperative agreement awards for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) program for the 2019-2022 grant cycle to the following sites:Returning …
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Corrie Chumpitazi completed her undergraduate degree in Chemistry with Honors from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and received her medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. She completed her Pediatric Residency at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, …
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Charles G. Macias MD, MPH, Executive Director of the EMS for Children Innovation and Improvement Center has transitioned to a new academic and health care system role that will allow an even broader expansion of the EIIC. On August 1, 2019, Macias began a new dual leadership role in the University Hospitals Rainbow enterprise as Chief Quality Officer-UH Rainbow/Vice Chair of Quality and Division Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. He will retain his role as Executive Director of the EIIC and PI of the HRSA/EMSC EIIC grant as an adjunct faculty at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas where the grant has been housed since 2016. UH Rainbow will become a new partner in the EIIC. Additionally, Corrie Chumpitazi MD, MSCR will assume the concurrent role Macias had as site PI for the EIIC at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children's Hospital assuming some of the daily operational activities of the EIIC. Given the virtual nature of the national team of experts in the EIIC that span the country's geography to support the EMSC assets, Macias' institutional move will be seamless to the EMSC community but will facilitate further growth of EIIC by drawing a bigger talent pool and workforce and providing more "pediatric readiness" best practices in different regions of the country. Add new email address
The EIIC works to drive quality improvement and improved outcomes, focusing its support on national initiatives that enhance pediatric capabilities in systems for prehospital and emergency department care, disaster preparedness and recovery, trauma, injury prevention, research, all across the entire continuum of emergency care for children. The center works in partnership with the EMS for Children federal program, which is dedicated to improving pediatric outcomes in emergency events by expanding and improving emergency medical services to ensure children and adolescents experiencing physical trauma and critical illness receive appropriate care
The Emergency Medical Services for Children Program Reauthorization Act of 2019 (H.R. 776) passed in the House of Representatives and the Senate (S.1173), sending it on to the president for signature into law. Sponsored by Representative Peter King (NY), this bill reauthorizes the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program through FY2024, which is a grant program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration. The EMSC program works to ensure that every child has access to appropriate emergency care regardless of where they live.
The program focuses on improving emergency health care for children who are seriously ill or injured. Providing critical support to emergency departments and EMS agencies across the nation as they work to deliver high-quality, appropriate medical care to children and adolescents.
Click here for look back on the history and impact of the EMSC program.
In early July, the National Resource Center for Patient/Family-Centered Medical Home (NRC PFCMH) and the National Center for Care Coordination Technical Assistance announced the launch of the Pediatric Care Coordination Curriculum, 2nd Edition. Grounded in American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy, the curriculum is designed to build capacity among diverse stakeholders through the following activities:
The curriculum also provides tools to measure care coordination activities and support continuous quality improvement efforts. The curriculum can be used for all populations of children, including those with special health care needs. For more information visit the NRC PFCMH Web site or contact medical_home@aap.org.
The NRC PFCMH is a cooperative agreement between the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) of the Health Resources and Services Administration and the AAP. The AAP joined with Catalyst Center (Boston University) and Got Transition (The National Alliance to Advance Adolescent Health) to form a national network of technical assistance resource centers, Advancing Systems of Services for CYSHCN Network. These organizations will develop shared goals and activities to address three main areas to improve outcomes for CYSHCN and their families—health care financing, transitions, and patient/family-centered medical home.
Supported by the American Board of Pediatrics Foundation, the Michael Shannon Humanitarian Award recognizes a pediatric emergency medicine physician who has demonstrated excellence in clinical care, mentoring, didactic and bedside teaching, voluntary service and scholarly activities, and who has the potential to emulate the career accomplishments and personal excellence of the late Dr. Shannon.
Congratulations to Dr. Susan Torrey of Texas Children’s Hospital on being the 2019 recipient. Dr. Torrey’s career in pediatric emergency medicine has included administration, education and clinical care. She now focuses primarily on faculty development, mentoring and global health. In addition to her role in the Section of Emergency Medicine, she is an associate division director for Global HOPE, a TCH initiative to develop pediatric hematology and oncology resources in Africa.
Congratulations to Dr. Marianne Gausche-Hill, MD FACEP FAAP, for being the recipient of the Jim Seidel Distinguished Service Award. The Jim Seidel Distinguished Service Award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of pediatric emergency medicine.
Dr. Gausche-Hill is the Medical Director for Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency, Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and serves as Clinical Faculty at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, CA. She is nationally and internationally known for her work as an EMS researcher and educator, and for her leadership in the field of EMS and pediatric emergency medicine. She is best known for her study of pre-hospital airway management for children published in JAMA 2000 and her work on the National Pediatric Readiness Project published in JAMA- Pediatrics in 2015. She has won numerous national awards for her leadership in emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine and EMS. Dr. Gausche-Hill currently serves as a senior editor for the textbook, Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice, and serves on the American Board of Emergency Medicine Board of Directors.
Supported by EBSCO-PEMSoft, The Technological Innovations in Pediatric Emergency Medicine Award recognizes technological innovations in pediatric emergency medicine. Congratulations to Dr. Marion Sills for being honored as the 2019 award recipient.
Dr. Marion Sills., is a Professor of Pediatrics – Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and an attending physician in the emergency department at Children's Hospital Colorado. She received her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1993 and completed her residency in pediatrics there in 1996. She is board-certified in pediatrics emergency medicine and in pediatrics, and is a member of the Academic Pediatric Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
A new white paper on quality improvement and emergency medicine, Quality Improvement in Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC), is now available. The purpose of this paper is to describe for EMSC grantees and stakeholders how quality improvement (QI) is an effective method for testing and spreading the delivery of optimal, effective pediatric emergency medicine. This paper gives a brief overview of the QI approach, explores QI measures and the potential approaches to measurement in emergency care, discusses how EMSC actively applies QI to advance its mission, highlights successful examples of QI as applied to improving pediatric emergency care, and discusses opportunities for EMSC stakeholders to actively engage in existing and future QI efforts. These include participating in QI collaboratives, integrating QI into research priorities and disseminating evidence to stakeholders, the broader field and the public. This paper was produced by Atlas Research for the EMSC program with input from both the EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center (EIIC) and National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center (NEDARC).
Injuries and violence are leading causes of morbidity and mortality among U.S. children and adolescents. These injuries are preventable. Researchers have identified many strategies that are effective in preventing injuries in this population. “Evidence-based and Evidence-informed Strategies for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention” synthesizes findings from recent systematic reviews conducted or disseminated by five organizations that specialize in evidence-based public health.
The Critical Crossroads toolkit is a new resource to help hospital emergency departments better manage and coordinate care for children and adolescents in mental health crisis. You can tailor the resources to your specific needs, patient population, and community.
Anyone who establishes policies and protocols in emergency departments can use this toolkit. This includes:
Critical Crossroads is a product of a partnership between HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau - Emergency Medical Services for Children Program and Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
Developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), this Topic Collection from TRACIE (Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange), provides resources that focus on safety strategies (e.g., preventing fatigue, ensuring the availability and correct use of personal protective equipment) and maintaining behavioral health (e.g., working through stress and preventing/addressing compassion fatigue). Resources are categorized in topics that include Behavioral Health and Resilience; Education and Training; Occupational Safety; Personal Protective Equipment; Plans, Tools, and Templates; Responder Fatigue; and Select Occupational Safety and Health Standards.
Resources are categorized in topics that include:
In early July 2019, the Puerto Rico EMSC Program hosted a site visit that included representatives from the Federal EMSC Program and National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center (NEDARC). The site visit included meetings with the PR EMSC Program, PR Emergency Medical Services, and the PR EMSC Advisory Committee. Federal partners became familiar with the program’s status and its recovery efforts from Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Irma. EMSC SP Performance Measures remain a priority for PR EMSC Program staff, even though the devastating impact of the storms has redirected some resources.
Members of the PR EMSC team have engaged in many projects to improve emergency medical services for children. We are looking forward to supporting their continuing efforts helping make connections to other program grantees, program resources, and assisting them with site visit recommendations.
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