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Since 1998, the EMSC National Heroes Award selection committee has solicited nominations from throughout the country to recognize and reward outstanding achievement in emergency medical services for children (EMSC). The individuals who are selected reflect the best of the best. They are compassionate, tireless advocates who have made a real difference within the pediatric health care community at the local, state, and national level.
On June 19, during the Annual EMSC Grantee Meeting in Washington, DC, six individuals received a 2007 EMSC National Heroes Award for their commitment, creativity, and resourcefulness in successfully addressing one or more challenging EMSC issues. They include:
Marianne Gausche-Hill, MD—EMSC Lifetime Achievement Award
Marianne Gausche-Hill, MD, this year’s recipient of the EMSC Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Gausche-Hill has devoted a significant part of her life to promoting and advancing pediatric emergency care. Her contributions to the field have forever changed the manner in which we care for children throughout the entire continuum of care. She is what one nominator described as a “quintuple threat”—a great clinician, a skilled educator, an accomplished researcher and productive writer, an effective leader, and finally a passionate advocate.
Dr. Gausche-Hill has achieved the rank of professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She serves as the director of Emergency Medical Services and the EMS Fellowship and as the director of the Pediatric Emergency Medicine Fellowship Program for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. In addition to her academic work, she also maintains an active practice of emergency medicine at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance.
She is an author of numerous textbook chapters, journal articles, and other educational media. Of special note is her longstanding leadership for both the APLS and PEPP programs.
As a researcher, Dr. Gausche-Hill has been the principal
or co-investigator on several notable clinical studies in the field, including the prehospital airway management project published in JAMA. More recently, she completed an ambitious assessment of emergency department preparedness for pediatric emergencies and an evaluation of pediatric readiness guideline implementation and quality of care.
She has promoted the interests of children and EMSC within such national organizations as the American Academy
of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine,
and the American Board of Emergency Medicine. She has participated on numerous EMSC grant review panels, task forces, advisory committees, and various working groups. The products of these efforts have ranged from Guidelines for Pediatric Equipment and Supplies
for BLS & ALS Ambulances to the Guidelines for Emergency Department Preparedness for Children.
Sue Fuchs, MD—2007 EMSC Advisory Board Member Award
Sue Fuchs, MD, the recipient of the 2007 EMSC Advisory Board Member Award. This award recognizes
an advisory council member who works collaboratively
with EMSC at the state level and has taken on a leadership role to improve pediatric
emergency care in one or more states.
Dr. Fuchs is a highly regarded clinical researcher and an expert in the field of pediatric emergency medicine. For the last two decades she has worked as an emergency or attending physician at two prominent children’s hospitals: Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh and Children’s
Memorial Hospital in Chicago. No matter where she worked, she immediately became a driving
force for pediatric emergency medical care. She served as chair of the PALS Advisory Group for the Pennsylvania American Heart Association, worked on pediatric emergency medicine initiatives through the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and worked with the Pennsylvania EMSC program. In Illinois, she became a member of the Illinois
EMSC Advisory Board in 1997 and then served as its elected vice-chair in 1998. She continued in this role until 2006, at which time she was elected chair. Currently, she serves as the lead physician for a newly formed Pediatric Specialty Team within the Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team.
Dr. Fuchs has contributed to the development of several nationally recognized programs such as TRIPP, APLS, PALS, and PEPP as a reviewer and/or chapter contributor. She has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed
journal articles; written more than 60 reviews, published papers, and textbook chapters; and contributed
to six software and web-based publications.
Marie Renzi of Delaware—EMSC Project Coordinator of Distinction Award
Marie Renzi of Delaware, recipient of this year’s EMSC Project Coordinator of Distinction Award for her comprehensive understanding of her state’s pediatric emergency medical care issues and for successfully
integrated EMSC into state EMS programs for the long term.
In 1997, Marie became a “founding member” of the Delaware EMSC program after the state received its first EMSC grant. Under her leadership, Delaware conducted
two comprehensive pediatric emergency care needs assessments, then implemented and completed a five-year plan based on the findings.
One of Maria’s greatest assets is her ability to bring several organizations together for a common cause. She has initiated and sustained relationships with a number of pediatric-related organizations, including her most recent collaboration with A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children.
With this partnership in place, paramedic students are now guaranteed a significant amount of clinical time in the pediatric emergency department.
Marie has also diligently served on many committees
and task forces over the years. She is currently
a member of the State Coordinating Council for Children With Disabilities, the Delaware Safe Kids Coalition Board, and the State School Health Services Commission. More recently, she was appointed by Governor Ruth Ann Minner to serve on the State’s Child Death and Stillborn Commission.
Elizabeth “Betsy” Smith, RN, NREMT-P of Virginia—EMSC Provider Leadership
Award
Elizabeth “Betsy” Smith, RN, NREMT-P of Virginia, recipient the 2007 EMSC Provider Leadership
Award, which recognizes
a clinically-
based health professional
who has dedicated his or her time, talent, and energy to achieve the highest level of care for children in the community.
For 14 years, Betsy worked in the emergency department at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. In 2002, Betsy moved to Virginia and began volunteering as a paramedic with Roseland Volunteer Rescue Squad. Under her leadership as chair of the Roseland Rescue membership committee, the squad successfully increased its volunteer membership
by 30 percent and increased its EMT pass rates to almost 100 percent.
In addition to her work at Roseland Rescue, Betsy serves on the Board of Directors of the Charlottesville Safe Kids Coalition. When she is not volunteering, Betsy works as a flight nurse for PHI AirCare 5 Medevac.
Betsy’s greatest impact on EMSC has been the countless hours she has devoted to children with special health care needs. She co-authored the Special Children’s
Outreach and Prehospital Education program or SCOPE, an award-winning program designed to improve
the prehospital provider’s knowledge and comfort level when encountering children with special health care needs. In addition to the SCOPE textbook, Betsy developed a corresponding train-the-trainer program
and several educational videos, including: “Children with Special Health Care Needs,” parts 1 and 2; “EMS Outreach and SCOPE;” and “On Scene Challenges.”
Shauna Hatton-Ward of Utah—EMSC Family Representative Volunteer of the Year.
Shauna Hatton-Ward of Utah, selected as this year’s EMSC Family Representative
Volunteer of the Year. This award is given to a family
representative
who has provided commendable service that has made a significant positive impact on addressing the emergency medical needs of the children in his or her community.
Shauna’s expertise in caring for and understanding the needs of children in emergency situations began with the birth of her daughter, Amberlee, 24 years ago. Amberlee experienced an anoxic event at birth that resulted in severe cerebral palsy. Amberlee’s life of medical complications has provided Shauna the experience
that enhances and enlightens her perspective regarding family-centered medical care.
From 1995 to 2000, Shauna was the Parent Support
Coordinator in the NICU at Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City, UT. In this position, Shauna was instrumental in the development of the NICU Cuddle Volunteer Orientation program. The program’s remarkable success landed her a promotion to Director for Family Centered Services at the hospital.
In this position, she chaired the Parent Advisory Board and directed the Family-to-Family Program. Her crowning achievement while with Primary Children’s
was the fundraising and construction of the “angel
garden”—a small, garden-like sanctuary located just outside the hospital where a sick child or weary family member could find a few moments of peace among the flowers, benches, and water.
In addition, Shauna has served on many family-centered care related committees and boards, including serving as the family representative to Utah’s EMSC program. Her never-ending dedication to EMSC was demonstrated most poignantly this past year. In April of 2006, her son, Louie, was diagnosed with Leukemia. Shauna supported Louie’s care non-stop. Throughout this period, Shauna remained dedicated to Utah EMSC, attending all EMSC Advisory Committee Meetings, the Annual EMSC Grantee Meeting, and the Utah EMSC Retreat.
Howard Corneli, MD, MS—Outstanding EMSC Research Project
Howard Corneli, MD, MS, this year’s recipient of the Outstanding EMSC Research Project for his study “Oral Dexamethasone for Bronchiolitis: A Multi-center, Randomized
Controlled Trial.” This award highlights an individual who has completed a significant EMSC-related
research study that confirms current practice or has the potential to impact the provision of pediatric emergency
care at a national or international level.
Bronchiolitis
is the leading cause of hospitalizations
in the U.S. for children
two and younger; resulting
in 100,000 hospitalizations per year and more than $700 million a year in hospital charges. According to Dr Corneli, bronchiolitis may be the most common serious illness of childhood lacking evidence-based treatment.
Using a large, rigorously designed multi-center trial of dexamethasone for infants with moderate to severe bronchiolitis, the authors showed that contrary to current medical thinking dexamethosone is not effective
in treating infant bronchiolitis.
The study was conducted using the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network and enrolled
more than 600 children in three years across 15 sites. This important study has definitively answered an important clinical question.
Dr. Corneli’s study has been accepted
for publication in a leading medical journal
and will be released shortly.
The EMSC National Resource Center (NRC) in Washington, DC, oversees and coordinates the
National EMSC Heroes Awards and the Annual EMSC Grantee Meeting. For more information on either event, contact NRC staff at (202) 476-4927
or at information@emscnrc.com. The official website
for the Federal EMSC Program is located at
http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/emsc.
Click here to return to the National Heroes Awards Recipients page.
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