Overview What's New!Are you prepared to care for a sick child? What comes next in the care of a newborn? The Florida EMSC Program and the Florida Neonatal & Pediatric Transport Network Association have partnered together to conduct FREE pediatric/neonatal training for prehospital and hospital professionals. The Florida EMSC education programs are designed to enhance pediatric/neonatal skill sets in the EMS community. Funding for these programs is provided by our federal partnership grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau. If interested in having a FREE pediatric/neonatal education program conducted at your agency/organization, please click on the link
below to complete the request form. New Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Tool Helps Hospitals Evaluate Disaster Drills Hospital disaster response drills are real-time tests of a facilitys readiness to respond to a sudden demand for services resulting from a community-wide disaster. Routine evaluation of these drills can help a hospital make sure it is ready to meet community needs and provide high-quality care during a disaster event. Beginning in September, hospitals participating in the Hospital Preparedness Program, administered through HHS, will be required to provide executive summaries of the results of disaster drills they conduct. AHRQs new Tool for Evaluating Core Elements of Hospital Disaster Drills can help hospitals meet this requirement. The Tool for Evaluating Core Elements of Hospital Disaster Drills is available on the AHRQ Web site at: http://www.ahrq.gov/prep/drillelements. Single, free copies can be ordered by sending an e-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.hhs.gov or by calling 1-800-358-9295. For more information about the Hospital Preparedness Program, visit http://www.hhs.gov/aspr/opeo/hpp. Emergency Guidelines for Schools (PDF 438kb/63 pages) MeetingsThe next Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Advisory Committee meeting will be held on
June 30, 2009. Listed below
are details pertaining to the meetingl. 2009-2011 EMSC Advisory Committee Nomination Submission DeadlineThe EMSC Program is soliciting nominations for the EMSC Advisory Committee. The upcoming term will begin on October 7, 2009, and will end on October 6, 2011. Candidates should be involved in the overall care and treatment of children, be a child advocate, and possess a genuine commitment to promote prevention and improve emergency care outcomes for children. Candidates should be mindful that the EMSC Advisory Committee members participate in meetings, conferences, workgroups, and communicate through phone calls as requested. Appointments to the EMSC Advisory Committee are made by Ana M. Viamonte Ros, M.D., M.P.H., State Surgeon General, Florida Department of Health. The Bureau of EMS will submit recommendations for appointments to Dr. Viamonte Ros. (Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing.) If you would like to be considered or make a recommendation for appointment to the EMSC Advisory Committee, please send a letter of interest or recommendation along with a current CV/resume to Patricia Kenyon via email to EMSC Advisory Committee or fax at (850) 488-2512 by August 3, 2009. Florida EMSC Program Highlights2008 Major Highlights
In 2009, EMSC is looking forward to providing pediatric equipment and educational opportunities to prehospital and hospital providers statewide. A third annual symposium and additional educational programs will be offered to prehospital and hospital professionals to enhance their skills. And let us not forget, our important role in assuring the objectives in the 2008-2010 EMS Strategic Plan assigned to EMSC are being achieved. Overview
EMSC has been active in the Florida EMS system for several years, with the help of a group of dedicated EMS and pediatric health care providers. The lead agency is the Department of Health Bureau of Emergency Medical Services. Due to combined, diligent efforts, the 1997 Florida Legislature established a committee to advise the Department of Health on matters concerning preventative, prehospital, hospital, rehabilitative, and other post medical care for children (Section 401.245(6), Florida Statutes). Members are appointed by the State Surgeon General and serve two-year terms. The committee meets quarterly in conjunction with the EMS Advisory Council and constituent group meetings. Member List (PDF 51.5 KB) On August 25, 1997, the Florida Department of Health was awarded a federal partnership grant by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Maternal and Child Health Bureau to support the activities of the Florida Bureau of EMS and its EMSC Advisory Committee. Since then, the Bureau has consistently applied for and received funding for federal EMSC partnership grants every three years. The most recent grant became effective March 1, 2003 and will end on February 28, 2006. The primary goal for the years 2003-2006 is statewide integration of children's issues into the EMS system. This goal reflects one of the key goals in the National EMSC Program's Five Year Plan.
The Florida EMSC program will continue its efforts to improve statewide communication and education by regularly updating the web site, strengthening liaisons with other state agencies, organizations and consumer groups, and continued partnership with SAFE KIDS , NFPA Risk Watch, and other educational and prevention programs. The Florida EMSC program has made great strides in becoming a sustained program in the Florida Bureau of EMS and the Florida Department of Health. There is a legislatively mandated EMSC Advisory Committee and in-kind support from the Bureau of EMS by way of a permanent EMSC coordinator, a nurse director, a program specialist, and other administrative personnel. The EMSC program has become more integrated with the EMS system by changes in committee structure, reporting procedures, and improved communication. The EMSC program is also well supported by other state agencies and organizations, including the Florida College of Emergency Physicians, Children's Medical Services, Florida Pediatric Society, Florida Hospital Association, Florida Committee on Trauma and many more. In addition to these partnerships, there is a new and expanded leadership group in the Florida EMSC program that is dedicated to making Florida a model EMSC state. Helpful Links
Florida Department of Health - Children's Medical Services Florida Institute for Family Involvement (FIFI) - FIFI Disaster Planning, Response and Recovery FLORIDA EMSC PublicationsEMSC Newsletter EMSC Federal Partnership Grant Activities2006-2009: The bureau will collect baseline and annual data for each of the performance measures by the end of each grant year. The bureau will develop a policy for submission to legislation that requires paramedics to have pediatric continuing medical education for recertification. The bureau will develop Florida's capacity to obtain EMS and pediatric specific data, in accordance with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Data Set to document the status and progress of emergency care in Florida. Previous years activities can now be found on the Archives Page EMSC Advisory CommitteeFlorida law has established an EMSC Advisory Committee to advise the Department of Health on matters concerning preventative, pre-hospital,
hospital, rehabilitative, and other post medical care for children. Members are appointed by the State Surgeon General and serve two-year
terms. Some files on this page may require WinZip to open them. Download WinZip for trial version. |