EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center (EIIC): Next Phase

Dell Med Contact: Shahreen Abedin, Shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, c: 347-419-2657. #HealthIsHappeningHere

Date: May 19, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Children Undergoing Emergency Care to Benefit from Greater Focus on Quality Improvement

AUSTIN, Texas – Children seeking emergency care will benefit from a greater focus on quality improvement science to transform the emergency care landscape, thanks to the National Emergency Medical Services for Children Innovation and Improvement Center (EIIC), a federally funded center led by investigators at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin in collaboration with University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.

“While children account for 30 million emergency department visits every year, they represent only about 20 to 25 percent of emergency department visits and thus are not the primary focus in emergency care systems,” said EIIC Executive Lead Katherine Remick, M.D., and an assistant professor in the departments of Pediatrics and Surgery and Perioperative Care at Dell Med. “Yet, because children have unique needs, this work is critical to ensure emergency care systems are ready to meet the needs of critically ill and injured children.”

The EIIC, which aims to help promote and implement best evidence and practices in emergency care for children across the U.S., is funded by a four-year cooperative agreement from the Health Resource and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) grant program. The most recent funding will drive the expansion of current emergency care systems aimed at improving quality of emergency care delivery and health outcomes for pediatric patients. The EIIC is built upon a foundation of evidence-based guidelines, quality improvement science and analytics supported by five geographically diverse centers in the U.S.

“Our aim is to provide health care systems with evidence-based tools and implementation strategies that will result in more rapid positive transformation of the emergency care landscape,” said Executive Director Charles Macias, M.D., MPH, of University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland.

The center will provide enhanced integration of analytics, innovation, technology, value-based care and a family advisory network to improve pediatric emergency medical services across the entire continuum of care.

Since its inception in 2016, the EIIC has worked in partnership with HRSA, MCHB, EMSC program to catalyze collaboration among national stakeholder organizations and professional societies that influence the health outcomes of children receiving emergency medical care. National organizational partners for this work include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Surgeons, Emergency Nurses Association, the National Association of State EMS Officials and other national stakeholder organizations. Federal collaborators in this work in addition to HRSA MCHB include the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of EMS and the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.

Other executive leaders providing support to the program through their own centers include Marc Auerbach, M.D., MSci at Yale University in New Haven, CT, Corrie Chumpitazi, M.D., MS, at Baylor College of Medicine, in Houston, TX, and Mohsen Saidinejad, M.D., MS, MBA at the Lundquist Institute in Torrance, CA.

The EMS for Children Innovation and Improvement Center is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $10M. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.