Abstract
The emergency medical services for children (EMSC) program was established in 1984 to improve the quality of emergency care for children. Since that time, all 50 states and Wash-ington, DC, 5 US territories, and 3 freely associated states have received federal funding to achieve this goal.There have been many unique training and education programs developed, along with quality improvement and pediatric research initiatives.This article provides a history of the EMSC program and its accomplishments.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | e150-e154 |
| Journal | Pediatric annals |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2021 |
Funding
In 1979, Dr. Calvin Sia, president of the Hawaii Medical Association, urged members of the American Acad emy of Pediatrics (AAP) to develop a multifaceted EMS program designed to decrease disability and death in children. He worked with US Senator Daniel Inouye, who had learned about the deficiencies in emergency care pro vided to the daughter of one of his se nior staff members. He was joined by US Senators Orrin Hatch and Lowell Weicker in sponsoring the first EMSC legislation, which was passed in 1984 as Section 1910 of the Public Health Service Act.3,4 This provided federal grant funds ($2 million) in 1985 to help states improve the emergency care administered to children. These initial funds were awarded as demonstration grants to Alabama, California, New York, and Oregon, and specifically earmarked to improve pediatric emergency medical services. Over the following years, grant funds were awarded to Arkansas, Washington, DC, Florida, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Washington, and Wisconsin.5 Some of these grants led to development of pediatric-specific training, protocols, and interventions for all levels of pediatric care. The EMSC program was then reauthorized in 1988, and additional states received funding to establish an EMSC program. Currently, all 50 states, Washington, DC, 5 US territories, and 3 freely associates states receive funding from the EMSC program, which is allocated $22.3 million annually.6
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health