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EMSC News

This page is divided in to three sections: EMSC Program News, featuring the latest information about the federal program, and its state grantees and national partners; EMSC-related Activities, featuring information about independently funded activities of interest to the EMSC community; and Meetings and Events of interest to EMSC colleagues.

EMSC Program News (Click here to see archives.)

  • 6/15/2008 NRC Releases New Family Representative Toolkit

    To assist parents and caregivers in their efforts to support the EMSC Program at the national and state levels, the EMSC National Resource Center (NRC) has released “Getting Started, Staying Involved: An EMSC Toolkit for Family Representatives.” This guide provides tips on everything needed to help family representatives get started and stay involved in the planning and implementation of state EMSC activities -- including maintaining an effective working relationship with the state EMSC program manager, recruiting community partners, and educating legislators.

    The guide is available as a downloadable file from the "Products and Resources" section of this website.

  • 6/12/2008 Annual EMSC Grantee Meeting Approved for 13.5 CME Hours

    The EMSC National Resource Center (NRC) has just been notified that up to 13.5 nursing and physician Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits have been approved for this year’s Annual EMSC Grantee Meeting. The NRC is working with the Indian Health Service (IHS) Clinical Support Center which is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians. The IHS is also accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center ’s Commission on Accreditation.

    To receive CMEs, attendees must complete a sign-in sheet and an evaluation for each designated session. The Overall Conference Evaluation must also be completed. The IHS Clinical Support Center will mail CME certificates to attendees following the conference.

  • 5/22/2008 Toolbox on Cultural Competency Added to EMSC Website

    The EMSC National Resource Center has posted a new toolbox on cultural competency to this website. The new toolbox features the latest information and web resources on cultural competency, as well as a pre-populated Pub Med search string and the section “Example Practices,” which showcases the successful efforts of the Minnesota EMSC program.

    Eight additional toolboxes are available through the EMSC website: Pediatric Pain Management, Pediatric Disaster Preparedness, Prehospital Education, Medical Direction, and Interfacility Designation, Facility Categorization, Pediatric Equipment Guidelines, Coalition Building . Access the website to see all that the toolboxes offer. Toolboxes are updated annually.

  • 5/15/2008 NRC Cooperative Agreement to Continue under Children’s National Medical Center

    The EMSC Program announces that Children’s National Medical Center is the successful applicant in the recent competition to continue EMSC National Resource Center (NRC) operations. Children’s National has served as home for the NRC since 1991.The NRC is organized under the Child Health Advocacy Institute (CHAI) at Children’s National, which is led by CHAI Executive Director and NRC Medical Director Joseph Wright, MD, MPH. Dr. Wright congratulates NRC Director and Principal Investigator Tasmeen Singh and her staff on their important achievement.

    The NRC received more than 60 letters of support for this application. The Center thanks all grantees and national organizations for this overwhelming response.

    Previously funded under a Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) contract, the NRC will now be funded as a cooperative agreement with HRSA’s Maternal Child Health Bureau. This new structure will allow the NRC to better assist grantees and affords greater flexibility in the development of grantee resources. The NRC will continue to provide technical assistance to grantees, develop resources, provide electronic communications for the Federal Program, serve as the clearinghouse for EMS products and resources, conduct legislative analysis, work with national organizations, and support the EMSC Program officers Dan Kavanaugh and Tina Turgel.

EMSC-related Activities (Click here to see archives.)

  • 6/12/2008 AAP to Offer Neonatal/Pediatric Critical Care Transport Medicine Course

    The Neonatal and Pediatric Critical Care Transport Medicine course is being offered October 12-14, in conjunction with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) 2008 National Conference and Exhibition. Renowned faculty will lead participants through discussion panels and case-based scenarios with specialized clinical and administrative tracks on: (1) therapeutic interventions for brain injury, (2) innovations in high-risk “outborn” deliveries, (3) the latest research on neonatal and pediatric transport medicine and (4) the S.T.A.B.L.E. cardiac module.

    For more information, visit: http://www.aap.org/sections/transmed/TransportBrochure08.pdf (not a U.S. government website).

  • 6/5/2008 New Guide for Establishing a Patient Safety Advisory Council Now Available

    The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) researchers have developed a new guide for hospital leaders and those who are interested in learning how to encourage patients and families to partner with health care providers on community-based patient safety advisory councils. “The Guide for Developing a Community-Based Patient Safety Advisory Council” was developed through AHRQ’s Partnerships in Implementing Patient Safety grants program. This team of researchers was led by Kathryn Leonhardt, M.D., of Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin.

    To view the guide, visit: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/advisorycouncil/.

  • 5/22/2008 ACEP Releases Report on Boarding Patients in the ED

    A new report on patient boarding, titled “Emergency Department Crowding: High-Impact Solutions,” has just been released by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). The document discusses several issues that are created when hospital patients are boarded in the emergency department (ED) as well as several innovative solutions.

    The report is available at:http://www.acep.org/WorkArea/downloadasset.aspx?id=37960 (not a U.S. government website).

  • 5/16/2008 New Study Evaluates Drug-Related Harm among Hospitalized Children

    A study published in the April 2008 issue of Pediatrics found that a new "trigger tool" dramatically increased the detection of adverse drug events in hospital settings. With this tool, the authors of this study found a significantly higher rate of adverse drug events than previous studies (11.1 adverse drug events per 100 admissions)

    Twelve children’s hospitals, convened through the Child Health Corporation of America (CHCA), worked to adapt the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Adverse Drug Event Trigger Tool for adults to more appropriately and accurately detect adverse drug events in pediatric hospital settings.

    Experts from the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality provided both improvement and safety expertise in support of a CHCA collaborative improvement program to reduce the frequency of these events in pediatric hospitals.

    To review the April 2008 issue of Pediatrics, visit: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/121/4/e927 (not a U.S. government website).

Meetings and Events (Click here to see archives.)

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