EMSC Pulse

A digest of EMSC Program News and Activities

Issue #46 | Feb. 20, 2020


Top News

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CDC Issues Interim Guidance to EMS for COVID-19

Emergency medical services (EMS) play a vital role in responding to requests for assistance, triaging patients, and providing emergency medical treatment and transport for ill persons. However, unlike patient care in the controlled environment of a healthcare facility, care and …

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Featured Articles

Save the Dates!

EMSC Town Halls Occur Quarterly: Block your calendar now!Please save the 3-4pm ET hour on the second Wednesday of the second month of each quarter. *Except February’s call will be on February 19, 2020.


  • 2020 Annual EMS Today Conference – …

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Family Advisory Network (FAN) Mail!

This section was meant to provide helpful tips and discussion about topics important to families and their advocates – and hopefully some fun stuff along the way too! To continue to provide the best content and information for our FANs …

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SAMSHA Rural Health Emergency Services Training

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will make 25 awards with a total investment of $5 million to recruit and train emergency medical services (EMS) personnel in rural areas.

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to ensure EMS personnel are trained on mental and substance use disorders and care for people with such disorders in emergency situations. Applicants can also apply to use the funds to buy equipment.

  • 25 awards up to $200,000 a year for up to 4 years
  • Application Due Date: Monday, March 30, 2020

https://www.samhsa.gov/grants/grant-announcements/fg-20-005

Get Ready! ENA, EMSC, ACEP and AAP jointly Announce PedsReady

The National Pediatric Readiness Project is a multi-phase quality improvement initiative to ensure that all U.S. emergency departments have the essential guidelines and resources in place to provide effective emergency care to children.

The unique needs of children and their families are often left out of hospital disaster plans. Integrate pediatric disaster preparedness into your ED by downloading the All-Hazard Disaster Preparedness Checklist.

Prepare now to be PedsReady before taking the assessment starting June 2020 at pedsready.org.

Pulse Get PedsReady

AAP Response to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Academy monitors updates from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention specific to the public health emergency 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on a daily basis. The AAP offers a web page for pediatric health care providers that summarizes the situation, clinical guidance, and the most recent recommendations within the Outbreaks section of Red Book Online. Also see details on the coronavirus outbreak for families within the AAP website for parents (HealthyChildren.org). For more information about AAP response efforts, see www.aap.org/disasters or e-mail DisasterReady@aap.org.

HRSA Telehealth Resource Center Program: Comments Requested

HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Office for the Advancement of Telehealth seeks public input on how the Telehealth Resource Centers may be better designed to serve HRSA’s rural and underserved populations To improve HRSA’s understanding of this issue, HRSA encourages input from a broad range of stakeholders, including healthcare providers –e.g., rural health clinics, critical access hospitals, federally-qualified health centers and look-alikes, other rural hospitals, etc.; researchers; community members; advocates, telehealth experts; State, local and Tribal governments; past and current FORHP grant recipients; and other interested parties. Specific questions pertain to use of TRC services and their effectiveness. The responses and/or a summary of the responses will be shared with the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth in HRSA’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Deadline for comments: March 6. https://www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/rfi-telehealth-resource-center-program

Rural Community Action Guide: Toolkit for Opioid Addiction in Rural Communities

ONDCP

The Rural Community Action Guide includes background information, recommended action steps, and promising practices for a range of issues related to drug addiction in rural America.

The Action Guide complements both the Community Assessment Tool, which gives county specific data about deaths and factors which may make a community more vulnerable to addiction, and the Federal Rural Resources Guide, which includes comprehensive information about different federal funds for rural communities impacted by addiction.

The Action Guide is based on lessons learned from rural roundtable discussions held in over a dozen states, as well as the experiences of several rural stakeholder partners.

Chemical-Biological Terrorism: Impact on Children

Children are potential victims of chemical or biological terrorism, so it is necessary to prepare for and respond to their needs during these events. The updated American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy statement and new technical report provides clinical information for pediatricians and others who care for children in an emergency regarding chemical and biological terrorism as well as recommendations for the health care sector and the government to improve pediatric preparedness and response. Details on pediatric decontamination strategies and appropriate use of personal and protective equipment are included.

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Provide Your Input on the Latest Draft of the National EMS Education Standards

Pulse In the Know

The second draft of proposed revisions to the National EMS Education Standards is now available for public comment. Members of the EMS community and the public are invited to review the document and provide feedback to the team leading the effort by Tuesday, March 17, using this online form.


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