A digest of EMSC Program News and Activities
Issue #50 | June 18, 2020
On May 21st Ms. Nanfi Lubogo, presented on “Cultural Implications of Screening for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.” Nanfi Lubogo serves as a Co-Executive Director for PATH Parent to Parent/ Family Voices of CT (PATH/FVCT), a statewide parent support network for …
Read MoreEMSC Town Hall calls are held every three months from 3:00 pm to 4:30pm eastern time on the second Wednesday of the month. The next call is on August 12, 2020. Join here: https://hrsa.connectsolutions.com/emsc_town_hall/Please check with all these organizations …
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The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder of the importance of vaccination. The identified declines in routine pediatric vaccine ordering and doses administered might indicate that U.S. children and their communities face increased risks for outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases. Parental concerns about potentially exposing their children to COVID-19 during well child visits might contribute to the declines observed (5). To the extent that this is the case, reminding parents of the vital need to protect their children against serious vaccine-preventable diseases, even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, is critical. As social distancing requirements are relaxed, children who are not protected by vaccines will be more vulnerable to diseases such as measles. In response, continued coordinated efforts between health care providers and public health officials at the local, state, and federal levels will be necessary to achieve rapid catch-up vaccination.
Fewer children are receiving timely immunizations this year compared to last year. To encourage parents and stakeholders to keep up with these important well-child visits and immunizations, HRSA launched a new social media campaign with the hashtag #WellChildWednesdays. Each Wednesday for four weeks, messages will address well-visits, immunizations, adolescent and young adult care, and nutrition, safety, and mental health as topics to be discussed with pediatric providers. The first message will be posted on Wednesday, 6/17 and more messages will appear on Twitter and Facebook with the handle @HRSAgov and #WellChildWednesdays. Please share, retweet, and promote the hashtag #WellChildWednesdays to help us to amplify this important message!
Approximately 1.5M children will be impacted every year by the work of the national Pediatric Readiness Quality Collaborative (PRQC). Under the leadership of the EMS for Children (EMSC) Innovation and Improvement Center (EIIC) supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) EMSC Program, the PRQC launched in January 2018 with the goal to improve day-to-day pediatric readiness and ensure high quality emergency care for children across the country. Using a train-the-trainer model over 400 champions across 140 hospitals divided into 16 teams spanning 17 states participated in the collaborative.
Each site focused on any of four intervention bundles based on the pediatric readiness guidelines and other evidence-based content known to improve pediatric patient safety, timeliness and effectiveness of care.
A special thank you to: 1) hospital and emergency department leadership who supported these activities, 2) the Subject Matter Experts who provided guidance, 3) the EMSC State Partnership managers who helped recruit and support participants, 4) the National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center that developed the platform, and 5) the PRQC Advisory Committee members representing many partnering organizations who drove us to the finish line! Because of these champions, children have improved access to high quality emergency care every day.
Participating Hospitals:
Advisory Committee Members: Christy Edwards, MPH; Renee Escamilla; Rachel Ford, MPH; Barbara Gaines, MD; Lisa Gray, MSN, BSN, RN, CPN; Beverly Guttman, MSW, RSW; Jocelyn Hulbert; Mona Jabbour, MD; Erica Kane, MPH, CHES; Lorah Ludwig, Tee Morrison-Quinata; Cathy Olson, MS, RN; Diane Pilkey, RN, MPH; Mohsen Saidinejad, MD, MBA, FAAP, FACEP; Sam Shahid, MBBS, MPH; Jeffrey Susman, MD; Sue Tellez, Belinda Waters, RN, CEN, CCRN; Joseph Wright, MD, MPH; Cyndy Wright-Johnson RN, MSN
Subject Matter Experts: Sue Cadwell, RN, BSN; Sarita Chung, MD; Oscar Enriquez, EMT; Patricia Frost, RN,MS, PNP; Ireal Fusco, MD; Marianne Gausche-Hill, MD; DeAnna Gillespie, MD; Madeline Joseph, MD; Brent Kaziny, MD; Steven Krug, MD; Lisa Nichols, MBA, BSN, RN, CCRN; Sally Snow, BSN, RN, CPEN, FAEN; Tony Woodward, MD
The updated National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) Toolkit is now available as a free open-access resource intended for use by all providers (e.g. technicians, nurses, physicians, EMS providers, and ancillary staff) across the spectrum of pediatric emergency care to help facilitate delivery of high quality care to all children. The content is organized by the seven domains of pediatric readiness: Administration and Coordination; Healthcare Provider Competencies; Quality Improvement; Policies and Procedures; Patient Safety; Support Services; and Equipment, Supplies, and Medications. The tools and resources align with the joint policy statement “Pediatric Readiness in the Emergency Department” and will assist pediatric emergency care providers to better understand and achieve the components of pediatric readiness in their emergency department. The NPRP toolkit also provides support and recommendations for other stakeholders involved in pediatric emergency care such as hospital directors, quality improvement leaders, family advisory network personnel, caregivers, and patients.
The materials included in the NPRP Toolkit will be updated periodically to ensure the latest recommendations and guidelines are included. Sign in or create an account to stay connected to receive notifications when new materials are added and help ensure we are meeting the needs of all users
Dr. Patty Fanflik will serve as a Health Scientist and Project Officer in the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Branch in the Division of Child, Adolescent, and Family Health in the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Dr. Fanflik brings more than 20 years of research and evaluation experience to DCAFH.
Dr. Fanflik joined MCHB in 2017 as a Public Health Analyst in the Division of State and Community Health. She supported the Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant program as the Project Officer for states in Regions IV. More recently, she supported the State Systems Development Initiative Grant Program, which aims to develop, enhance, and expand state and jurisdictional Title V MCH data capacity for its needs assessment and performance measure reporting.
Prior to coming to MCHB, Dr. Fanflik served as Deputy Director of Evaluation for Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services managing large-scale studies focused on youth, trauma, and juvenile justice. In addition, Dr. Fanflik has served as the Deputy Director of Research and Evaluation for the National District Attorneys Association.
Dr. Fanflik earned a Master of Science degree in Human Development and Family Services from Kansas State University, where she trained as a marriage and family therapist; a Master of Arts degree in Sociology from Southern Illinois University; and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Family Science from the University of Maryland, School of Public Health, where she holds an adjunct professor appointment. Patty enjoys spending time with her family, including her rescued fuzzy family members, Teddy, Biscy, and Yoshi.
Share Your COVID-19 Story with AAP
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is collecting stories during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the AAP can lift up and thank the heroes among us and advocate for the needs of on-the-ground physicians and others who care for children in emergencies. The AAP will share select stories in blogs, social media, and other communications, with permission. To share your story, visit www.aap.org/COVIDstory. The AAP will post select stories on the AAP Voices blog and share them in social media with the hashtag #PedsPutKids1st. Your voice can make a difference in making sure the needs of pediatricians are heard. If you have questions, email DisasterReady@aap.org.
Join the AAP Council on Children and Disasters
The AAP leadership launched the Council on Children and Disasters and appointed its executive committee in 2019. The council is continuing the work of the AAP Disaster Preparedness Advisory Council and helping to raise awareness about children's needs that should be considered and addressed in all aspects of disaster management. Please consider partnering with the Academy by joining this new council. Review membership criteria and consider joining the Academy as a council affiliate member. If you have additional questions, please email DisasterReady@aap.org.
In preparation for the eventual launch of the NPRP Assessment, hospital lists are now available for EMSC managers to update in the Contact List Management System. To better assist manager is this process, NEDARC hosted a webinar, Understanding CLMS: Reviewing and updating hospitals lists that you can access on our website by scrolling down the following link: https://nedarc.org/pedsReady/index.html
For the latest information and resources about pediatric readiness, visit, like, and follow the National Pediatric Readiness Project Facebook page. You can also help promote NPRP by clicking on this post to access new email signature banners with instructions on how to add them in your Outlook. Keep checking back and get PedsReady!
2020 National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Assessment
This National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Assessment 2020 is the culmination of work begun in October 2018 and completed in March 2020. It updates our knowledge of the state of EMS systems in the United States first established in the 2011 National EMS Assessment. You can review the report here.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) provided $225 million to Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) for COVID-19 testing. These investments will support over 4,500 RHCs across the country to support COVID-19 testing efforts and expand access to testing in rural communities. Rural Health Clinics are a special designation given to health care practices in underserved rural areas by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that help ensure access to care for rural residents. You can read more here.
Be sure to watch for items of interest to the EMSC Community including national projects, webinars, and opportunities to support EMS for Children on the EIIC Facebook page and Twitter. We use these channels to announce items on short notice.
Beginning in 2021 the PECC collaborative will help train and support future pediatric champions across the emergency care continuum, followed shortly thereafter by PRQC version 2.0.
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