EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN NEWSLETTER 

news

VOLUME 13, NO.3, SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2000

Page 2

Stepping Stones to

Legislative Success

Page 4 

Kick-off Event

Announced for

National

Communications

Campaign

Page 8 

Baldi Accepts New

Position

Page 13 

Plans for EMSC Day

2001 Announced

Page 13 

EMSC Wins

International Web

Site Award

Page 15 

Adolescent Health

Chart Book

Released

T

he National Association of EMS Physicians

is finalizing its National Medical Director’s

Course based on the results of two recent

beta tests. The final document is expected to be

delivered to the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration’s EMS Division this fall. 

The course’s initial beta test was conducted

last year in Montana with the final beta version

conducted in May 2000 in New Hampshire. 

Both beta sites provided valuable information 

for the curriculum’s developers, who are seeking 

National Heroes Awards Nominations 

Now Being Accepted

INSIDE THIS

ISSUE

N ominations for the annual Emergency

Medical Services for Children (EMSC)

National Heroes Awards, which honor individuals for their outstanding efforts to improve

emergency care for America’s children, are now

being accepted by the EMSC National Resource

Center (NRC). Individuals selected by the NRC

Steering Committee will be presented with their

awards during a special luncheon at the 2001

Annual EMSC Grantee Meeting to be held in June

in Vienna, VA.

Nominations are being accepted for the following award categories:

• EMSC Project Coordinator of Distinction, which

recognizes individuals who have made great

progress with integrating the needs of children

into their state’s EMS system;

• EMS Provider of the Year, which honors individuals who have provided the highest level of

care to children;

• EMSC State Achievement, which salutes project

teams that have made significant statewide and

regional improvements;

• EMSC Parent Volunteer of the Year, which

acknowledges a parent who has provided 

particularly meritorious service;

• EMSC Community Partnership of Excellence,

which applauds the efforts of a local business

that has promoted the interests and objectives of the EMSC Program; and

• Innovation in EMSC Product or Program

Development, which recognizes a unique

product, publication, or program designed to

advance pediatric emergency medical care.

For more information about the criteria

used to select awardees or to nominate an individual or state effort, visit the EMSC web site 

at www.ems-c.org. Once there, click on the

banner at the top of the page to download a

nomination form. Completed forms must be

postmarked by February 1, and mailed to:

EMSC National Resource Center, c/o 2001

National Heroes Awards, 111 Michigan Avenue,

NW, Washington, DC 20010-2970.

to finalize a single, one-day course that provides

physicians with the tools needed for being

effective EMS medical directors. 

The Emergency Medical Services for

Children (EMSC) Program is pleased to report

that pediatric emergency care issues are integrated well into the course content. The

course’s writing team has demonstrated its 

dedication to children through various EMSC

projects at the state and national levels.

National Medical Director Course Nears Completion
2 EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 

news

Stepping Stones to Legislative Success:

Lessons Learned by Washington’s EMSC Project 

A

fter five long years, the 1999

Washington legislative session

passed a law requiring children 

12 years and younger to wear life jackets in boats less than 19 feet in length.

Children’s Hospital and Regional

Medical Center of Seattle, WA, and a

coalition of Washington state injury

prevention, public health, and law

enforcement professionals worked 

diligently to educate public policy officials about the need for this legislation.

What seemed like a simple, common

sense measure at the outset needed a

major, long-term educational campaign

to obtain success. 

Staff from the Washington state

Emergency Medical Services for

Children (EMSC) project and the EMSC

National Resource Center agree that a

look at the strengths and challenges of

this campaign can provide useful

lessons for individuals interested in

conducting similar injury prevention

education campaigns in the policy arena.

The Strengths

1. Personal concern, experience, and

commitment of legislative sponsors.

Primary sponsors who are willing to

personalize the value of the legislation,

able to make your issue a primary 

legislative initiative, and willing to

make political sacrifices to keep the bill

alive are essential.

2. Close working relationship with 

legislative sponsors and their staff. It’s

invaluable to have legislative sponsors

regard you as a partner who they can

turn to for advice about concerns with

the legislation and for help in locating

others to provide needed expertise. A

strong working relationship with legislators and their staff will help you stay

informed throughout each session.

3. Advance planning with key 

supporting organizations. Prior to the

start of the legislative session, meetings

should be held with organizations interested in your cause to educate, share

information, and reinforce organizational commitment to the issue.

4. Close monitoring and quick reaction

to new developments. Pay close attention to new legislative developments

and keep in touch with legislative sponsors and their staff on a weekly basis.

In a busy legislative session bills are

changed and acted on very quickly, and

supporters need to respond equally

quickly to be effective.

5. Supporter(s) in place with insider

view of developments. It’s very difficult

to know how, when, and on whom to

expend energy during the course of a

legislative session. It’s doubly difficult if

your campaign is not able to be on-site

in the legislature. Try to establish a

relationship with on-site advocates

that support your issue. They will know

who to talk to at the right time and provide periodic advice and updates.

6. Organized statewide network of 

supporters. Develop a list of individuals

or organizations interested in your

cause. Distribute regular legislative

updates alerting them when the voice 

of EMSC needs to be heard in the State

Capitol. Keep your requests for help

simple. Action steps, such as calling,

writing, e-mailing, or faxing legislators 

is best. However, be sure to provide

talking points, sample letters, and 

supporting documentation. 

7. Multi-year campaign. Having a similar

bill introduced over several legislative

sessions got most legislators used to the

idea that this was an issue that would

eventually be passed. A respect was

developed, even among opponents, for

the integrity and commitment of the

people interested in the legislation. This

helped make it easier to pass the bill in

the long run.

The Challenges

1. Working with interest groups with

different viewpoints on the issue.

A major challenge for the life jacket

campaign was how to work with large

boat owners who were concerned about

restrictions on personal freedom in the

water and believed that life jackets were

not always necessary. Keep lines of

communication open and be respectful

of opposing viewpoints.

2. Statistics that don’t make an urgent

case for legislation. It’s difficult to generate support for a measure when opponents can argue that hard data doesn’t

show it to be what they would consider

a major problem. To overcome this

dilemma, our staff focused on the preventability of boating-related drowning

deaths through the use of life vests.

3. Lack of spokespersons. The impact

of a personal story cannot be overestimated. We were fortunate to have had a

father willing to talk about his daughter

who drowned as a young adult in a boating incident. 

EMSC Program Director, MCHB

David Heppel, MD

Director, EMSC National Resource Center

Jane Ball, RN, DrPH

Managing Editor

Suzanne Sellman, MA

Editor

Margo Gillman

Design 

Design Central, Inc.

EMSC News is a publication of the 

Emergency Medical Services for Children

(EMSC) Program, a federally funded initiative jointly administered by the Health

Resources and Services Administration’s

Maternal and Child Health Bureau

(MCHB) and the National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration. ISSN 1522-5275.

EMSC News is published four times a year

by the EMSC National Resource Center,

111 Michigan Avenue, NW, Washington,

DC 20010-2970; 202/884-4927 (phone);

202/884-6845 (fax); info@emscnrc.com 

(e-mail); www.ems-c.org (web). 

Subscriptions to EMSC News are free.

EMSC News welcomes articles on people,

programs, and procedures related to

emergency medical services for children.

All manuscripts, artwork, or photography

should be submitted to Suzanne Sellman

at the EMSC National Resource Center. 

© 2000 EMSC Program. All rights reserved.
•••••••••• •••••••••• ••••••••••PPUBLIC UBLICPPOLICY OLICYUUPDA PDATETE•••••••••• •••••••••• ••••••••••

EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 3

House, Senate Sponsor Child

Passenger Protection Legislation

Public policy initiatives to improve

child car seats for toddlers and address

the “child safety gap” for older children

were introduced in the U.S. House and

Senate during the second session of the

106th Congress. The Child Passenger

Protection Act of 2000 (H.R. 4145, S.

2070) seeks to improve safety standards

for child restraints in motor vehicles.

Legislation introduced by Senator

Peter Fitzgerald (R-IL) on February 10,

2000, was referred to the Committee on

Commerce, Science, and Transportation

on the same day, where it awaits further

action. There are currently 21 cosponsors of the bill.

On March 30, Representative John

Shimkus (R-IL) introduced a companion

measure, which was referred to the

House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

Sixteen cosponsors have signed on to

the House version.

The Child Passenger Protection Act

of 2000 was introduced to improve child

car seat safety by expanding and updating the federal government’s testing

standards; closing the “child safety

gap,” which leaves many older children

unprotected; and requiring manufacturers to equip car seats with sideimpact padding to protect children’s

heads in side-impact collisions. The

bill also requires the government to

provide reliable and easy-to-understand

information to help parents decide

which car seat is best and manufacturers to print car seat warning labels and

instructions in plain English.

Specifically, the proposal calls for

the National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration (NHTSA) to update

and expand its efforts to ensure that

compliance tests reflect crash conditions in the real world, and that at

least one seat per year is tested in

actual vehicles. In addition, it directs

NHTSA to require child seat makers

to include new features to reduce the

risk of head injuries in rollovers and

side impact crashes. 

“Car seats should be safe for children when the government mandates

their use, and this legislation will

PUBLIC POLICY UPDA

improve car safety seats so that lives TE

may be saved,” said Rep. Shimkus. “I

am also proposing that a larger variety

of ages, really the size of children, be

tested. There is a gap in testing for toddlers (18 months to 2 years of age) and

older children (6 to 12 years of age)

who do not fit into car seats, but who

are too small to be properly protected

by adult seat belts.” 

Sen. Fitzgerald added, “Too many of

our nation’s children are killed or injured

in automobile crashes. We lose as many

as 600 children under the age of 5 to car

crashes every year, and, according to

government figures, car crashes are the

leading killer of children under the age of

14. Many of these child fatalities are

avoidable, according to federal highway

officials. That is why we should not wait

to begin upgrading the safety of child

seats.”

Organizations supporting the Child

Passenger Protection Act are the

American College of Emergency

Physicians, Advocates for Highway and

Auto Safety, the American Academy of

Pediatrics, and Easter Seals.

A greater impact may have been achieved

had we obtained testimony from a parent who had a child younger than 12

years of age drown or nearly drown. 

4. Missing or weak grassroots 

involvement in legislation. Our campaign primarily involved health care,

injury prevention, and marine patrol

professionals. Initially, we did not

involve local citizens. Over time however, increased media exposure did

help keep the public informed and

involved. During the final legislative

session, groups like the state ParentTeacher Association became interested

and helped spread awareness.

Other Lessons Learned

• Not all “no” votes are the same.

Sometimes legislators vote against a

bill because they feel party pressure.

At other times they may not like the

current version of the legislation. It’s

important to know and understand

when each is occurring.

• You need to compromise. The ideal

bill is difficult to craft, and more difficult to pass. Stay open to different versions. Start with what you want, know

where you are willing to compromise,

establish your “bottom line,” and then

communicate clearly if something is

better than nothing in a bill. Politics 

is the “art of the possible.”

For more information about

Washington’s child life jacket legislation or the Washington State

Drowning Prevention Project, contact

Elizabeth Bennett, MPH, CHES, at

(206) 527-5718 or via e-mail at

ebenne@chmc.org. 

Please note that EMSC project

staff who receive funding through a

state agency must conform to any

limitations on advocacy 

at the state level. 
4 EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 

EMSC Accepts Seat 

with American Heart

Association 

B

ob Waddell, EMS systems director

of the Emergency Medical Services

for Children (EMSC) National

Resource Center, has accepted a seat

on the American Heart Association’s

(AHA) Pediatric Subcommittee. For

nearly a year, Waddell has worked with

the Subcommittee’s past and current

chairs on the development of the

Pediatric Advanced Life Support

(PALS) Guidelines 2000. In addition,

Waddell has participated in AHA’s

Scientific and Guidelines conferences

and provided various levels of technical

support to the subcommittee.

Although a late comer into the

process, Waddell is assured that EMSC

concerns are addressed well within the

new PALS curriculum. Lisa Carlson,

former Utah EMSC project coordinator,

and other EMSC advocates, including:

Mary Fallat, MD; Susan Neirmeyer, MD;

and Dianne Atkins, MD, have worked

for many months to ensure that the

most current information is being

included in the course.

AHA will be releasing the new

standards this fall. Although changes

are always controversial, the Pediatric

Subcommittee has stayed true to the

mission given them, providing healthcare providers with the science of their

profession. “Rest assured, this group

has worked diligently to provide science

and consistency,” Waddell said.

EMS Decision-maker

Resource Kit to be

Distributed

O

n October 23, 2000, during the

American College of Emergency

Physicians (ACEP) Annual

Scientific Assembly in Philadelphia,

PA, the Emergency Medical Services

for Children (EMSC) Program will hold

a kick-off event for its National Public

Information and Education (PIE)

Campaign. The event will showcase the

EMSC Decision-maker Resource Kit, a

CD-ROM containing more than 25

products designed to deliver the most

relevant information needed to evaluate pediatric services and bring organization(s), communities, and states into

compliance with accepted standards

for pediatric emergency care.

According to Suzanne Sellman,

communications director of the EMSC

National Resource Center, “The toolkit

takes the most current information

available to the medical community

and, for the first time, incorporates it

into one comprehensive, easy-to-use

package.” 

The toolkit is divided into three

key sections, summarized as follows:

I. Pre-made Solutions: 

A collection of products that

address five major categories—Illness

and Injury Prevention, Patient Care

Training and Safety, Equipment

Guidelines, Medical Direction, and

Public Policy. Included are protocols,

procedures, guidelines, and training

courses.

II. EMSC Resource List:

A reference guide providing an

updated list of other available

resources of products and patient care,

advocacy, and education information.

EMSC Holds Kick-off Event for National

Communications Campaign 

III. EMSC Contact List:

Contact information on members

and organizations involved in the EMSC

community to help communicate and

build strategic partners to further 

support the work of decision-makers.

The kits will be distributed to

approximately 5,000 decision-makers

throughout the U.S., including: state

health commissioners and public

health directors, state hospital association representatives, state fire chiefs,

state EMS directors, state medical

directors, state senate and house

health care committee chairs, state

Medicaid directors, state health insurance directors, EMSC grantees, and

state maternal and child health directors to name a few.

In addition, the kit will be available

as a free downloadable document on

the EMSC web site at www.ems-c.org.

It is anticipated that this kit will also

appear on the web sites of each EMSC

Partnerships for Children Consortium

member and on several hospital and

health/pediatric emergency care web

sites, such as WebMD, MDConsult,

and InteliHealth.

“This event is just the start of

our three-year national campaign,”

Sellman said. “It will be complemented

in years two and three with outreach

to parents, caregivers, and children.”

Emphasis will be provided on prevention methods and preparation for

pediatric medical emergencies, such

as identifying illness warning signs,

choosing the best hospitals for pediatric emergencies, and guidelines for

treating children who are ill or injured.

For more information about the

campaign, contact Sellman at 

ssellman@emscnrc.com.
EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 5

EMSC National Resource Center Contact List

✁

T he staff at the Emergency

Medical Services for Children

(EMSC) National Resource

Center recently received new telephone numbers. For your convenience,

listed below is the name, title, telephone extension, and e-mail address

for each employee of the Center,

including those affiliated with the

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Technical

Assistance Center (TAC). Please clip

and post this information for future reference. Staff members are available

anytime to address readers’ 

questions and concerns.

Staff Name and Title Extension* E-mail

Jane Ball, Program Director 6866 jball@emscnrc.com

Jennifer Beery, State Outreach Coordinator 6812 jbeery@emscnrc.com

Sharon Cassell, Senior Administrative Assistant(Field) 6842 scassell@emscnrc.com

Kenneth Currier, TBI-TAC Director 6861 kcurrier@emscnrc.com

Donna Davidson, TBI-TAC Outreach Coordinator 6869 ddavidson@emscnrc.com

Mary Davidson, Office Coordinator 6891 mdavidson@emscnrc.com

Illesha Davies, Senior Administrative Assistant (Systems) 6831 idavies@emscnrc.com

Sharon Dukes, Meeting Planner 6880 sdukes@emscnrc.com 

Leslie Green, Communications Assistant 6879 lgreen@emscnrc.com

Sandra Knutson, TBI-TAC Outreach Coordinator 6837 sknutson@emscnrc.com

Shulamit Lewin, Child Care Health Specialist 6836 slewin@emscnrc.com

Eddie Liao, National Field Director 6862 eliao@emscnrc.com

Isabelle Melese-d’Hospital, Research Specialist 6859 imelese@emscnrc.com

Jean Moody-Williams, Associate Executive Director 6863 jmwilliams@emscnrc.com

and Health Care Finance Specialist

Shirley Nahabedian, Executive Assistant 6890 snahabedian@emscnrc.com

Wayne Neal, Children with Special Health Needs Specialist 6881 wneal@emscnrc.com

Darlene Queen-Gray, Senior Administrative Assistant 6816 dqgray@emscnrc.com

(Policy and Meetings)

Crissy Rivers, Public Policy Associate 6832 crivers@emscnrc.com

Suzanne Sellman, Communications Director 6843 ssellman@emscnrc.com

Bob Waddell, Systems Development Director 6867 bwaddell@emscnrc.com

Derrick Williams, Administrative Manager 6838 dwilliams@emscnrc.com

Kathryn Willis, EMSC Librarian 6835 kwillis@emscnrc.com

Rebecca Zeltinger, TBI-TAC Librarian 6813 rzeltinger@emscnrc.com

TBA, TBI-TAC Assistant

TBA, EMSC Communications Specialist

*All numbers are located in the 202 area code and begin with the prefix 884.

Off-site Staff Address/phone/fax ## E-mail

Ken Allen, Meeting and Sponsorship 4494 Cleveland Avenue kallen@emscnrc.com

Director and Injury Prevention San Diego, CA 92116

and Disaster Specialist (619) 299-8990 • (619) 299-8282 fax 

Pam Benson, Policy and 3321 Princeton Mill Pkwy #306 pbenson@emscnrc.com

Partnerships Director Raleigh, NC 27612

(919) 788-7757 • (919) 788-7758 fax

Mailing Address:

111 Michigan Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC, 20010-2916

EMSC Main #: (202) 884-4927

TBI-TAC Main #: (202) 884-6802

FAX #: (202) 884-6845

Web: www.ems-c.org

E-mail Main: info@emscnrc.com
6 EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 

E

very day, millions of American

children walk to school or to a

bus stop. Is their route safe? 

Do they understand key traffic safety

rules? Do the motorists who share

the roadways obey traffic laws and

watch out for kids? Do parents, 

community leaders, and politicians

understand the dangers children face

when walking to school?

On Wednesday, October 4, 2000,

mayors, governors, health and safety

advocates, and community leaders

from throughout the country will join

children, parents, and other caregivers

for a walk to school in celebration of

the fourth annual “Walk Our Children

to School Day.” This international

effort, sponsored by the Partnership

for A Walkable America, is designed to

promote healthy behaviors, create

community awareness about the

walkability of our children’s routes to

school, and, best of all, encourage families to spend valuable time together.

The Partnership for A Walkable

America is comprised of health and

safety organizations, government

agencies, businesses, and individuals

who have joined together to promote

the health benefits of walking, and the

changes needed to make America

safer and more accessible for walking. 

Last year’s event, which was held

on October 6, was a testament to the

strength of “foot power” and community involvement. It united more than

300,000 kids, parents, and community

It’s Time to Start Planning for “Walk Our Children to School Day”

leaders from approximately 850 

elementary schools, in 34 states.

Children used tools like the Walkability

Checklist to identify problem areas for

walking in the community, and ways

for parents and community groups to

make the neighborhood more walkable.

It’s a day made for walking with a

mission. To obtain the Walking with 

A Mission booklet, and for more information about planning a local “Walk

Our Children to School Day,” call

(630) 775-2382 or visit the Partnership

for A Walkable America or Walk Our

Children to School Day web sites at

www.nsc.org/walkable.htm and

www.walktoschool_usa.org, respectively.

News from NEDARC

Y our data is our business! Staff

from the National EMSC Data

Analysis Resource Center

(NEDARC) enjoy working with and

providing technical assistance to

emergency medical services for children (EMSC) grantees and advocates. Some highlights of our recent

technical assistance includes helping

EMSC grantees with:

• data linkage;

• coalition building;

• EMS data collection systems

development; and

• trauma system evaluation.

On a regional level, NEDARC is

working with members of the

Central America Regional EMSC

(CARE) group in developing a survey

tool to determine the status of EMS

and other health care data collection

efforts. NEDARC is also scheduled

to present on multiple data topics at

the September CARE Conference in

Minneapolis.

On a national level, NEDARC is

working with the National Association

of State EMS Directors to determine

the status of trauma data collection

among states. NEDARC also attended

the EMSC Steering Committee

Meeting in Washington, DC, and will

be participating in the upcoming planning meeting for the 2001 Annual

EMSC Grantee Meeting.

In addition, NEDARC continues

to provide training and assistance to

EMSC grantees through a series of

data workshops. Topics include: EMS

information systems, implementation

of the Uniform Pre-Hospital EMS Data

Set, and other issues related to data

collection and analysis. The first

workshop was held on August 23,

2000, in Salt Lake City, UT. The 

second workshop will be held in midJanuary on the East Coast (probably

Atlanta), followed by the third workshop in late-January on the West

Coast (probably San Diego). Further

information regarding the dates, times,

and locations of the workshops will be

made available to all grantees in the

near future.

Remember, NEDARC is here to

help. If you have any questions or

would like more information on these

or any other data-related topics, 

please contact NEDARC at 

(801) 581-6410 or visit its web site 

at http://nedarc.med.utah.edu. 

NEDARC
EMSC News EMSC SYSTEMS SCOOP

SEPT/OCT 2000 7

EMSC Researcher Listserv

Staff from the National EMSC Data

Analysis Resource Center (NEDARC)

and the EMSC National Resource

Center recently met to discuss the

development of an EMSC researcher

listserv, which will enable EMSC

researchers of all disciplines within

and external to medicine and nursing

to communicate with each on EMSCrelated research topics, research challenges, design and methodology issues,

and funding updates. According to its

developers, the primary purpose of the

listserv is to create diverse collaborations on a national level resulting in

better quality and an increased quantity of EMSC research. 

The listserv, which will be maintained by NEDARC, is expected to

debut this fall. It is open to all

researchers who are interested in

EMSC issues. 

To subscribe, send the following 

e-mail to listproc@lists.utah.ed: 

subscribe emscresearch (your e-mail

address)(first and last name)(place of

employment or affiliation)(telephone

number). For example: subscribe

emscresearch imelese@emscnrc.com

Isabelle Melese-d‘Hospital EMSC

National Resource Center 202-884-

6859. Additional information about the

listserv will be posted on the EMSC

and the Pediatric Emergency Medicine

listservs and in a future issue of EMSC

News.

State-by-State Profiles on the

Progress of EMSC 

The EMSC National Resource

Center is moving forward on its stateby-state profile data report, which is

designed to assess the progress of the

EMSC Program by providing a clearer

picture of what states and U.S. territories are doing to address pediatric

emergency needs. By examining several indicators and sentinel outcomes,

the accomplishments of each state’s

EMSC interventions can be evaluated.

Each state profile includes: 

• A pediatric age breakdown (Birth

to 24 years);

• A racial/ethnic distribution;

• Childhood health and social indicators that are relevant to children’s need for emergency care;

• A listing of key clinical resources

that exist in each state or territory; and

• Data from the 1997 Youth Risk

Behavior Surveillance System

(where available).

The report also assesses systems

development; EMSC training and education, including public education;

injury prevention; and data collection.

In addition, it will include brief narratives of each state’s progress since

1995. “This project will allow policymakers and other interested parties to

quantify and compare state efforts in

addressing the needs of children in

emergency situations and in integrating

appropriate pediatric care into the EMS

system,” Melese-d’Hospital said.

The report will be available via the

EMSC web site before the end of the

year. It will be used to update the

Emergency Medical Services for

Children Ten-year Report originally

completed in 1995.

For more information about these

and other research-related projects,

contact Dr. Melese-d’Hospital at (202)

884-6859 or via e-mail at

imelese@emscnrc.com. For general

information on data and research,

including research funding, visit

www.ems-c.org. Once there, click on

“Data and Research.”

••• ••• •••EMSC S EMSC SYSTEMS YSTEMS SSCOOP COOP••• ••• •••

Plan to Prevent Fire 

A

ccording to the National SAFE

KIDS Campaign, fires and

burns remain the third leading

cause of unintentional injury-related

death among children in the United

States. Each year, nearly 800 children 14 years of age and younger die

in residential fires. More than 60% of

these children are younger than 4

years of age. Simple safety measures, such as installing smoke

alarms, can save hundreds of lives

each year. The Campaign recommends the use of the following fire

safety strategies:

• plan and practice two escape

routes out of the house and each

room;

• designate an outside meeting

place to make sure everyone can

be accounted for quickly;

• consider installing both ionization

alarms, which are designed to

detect flaming fires, and photoelectric alarms, which are superior for sensing slow, smoky fires; 

• test and maintain smoke alarms

regularly; and

• teach children to recognize the

sound of a smoke alarm, to crawl

low under smoke, to touch doors

before opening them, to never go

back into a burning building, and

to “stop, drop, and roll” at the

sign of a fire.
8 EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 

EMSC Awards GFWC Junior Clubs at Annual Banquet

O

n June 17, at the Annual GFWC

Convention Juniors’ Banquet in

Boston, MA, the Emergency

Medical Services for Children (EMSC)

Program honored seven junior members of the General Federation of

Women’s Clubs (GFWC) for their

efforts to improve the health of children in their communities. Through

the GFWC Advocates for Children

Project, EMSC has been designated as

one of the Junior Clubs’ priority areas

for community work. 

Shulamit Lewin, MHS, child 

care health specialist for the EMSC

National Resource Center, presented

the national awards on behalf of the

EMSC Program. Lewin spoke about

the importance of the GFWC Junior

Club activities in helping to ensure

that every child is safe and healthy

and receives appropriate emergency

services in the community. Lewin emphasized that whether the

club focuses on injury

prevention activities or

helps to conduct an

EMSC assessment, each

activity is vital to helping the EMSC Program

achieve its ultimate

goal—saving kid’s lives. 

It was with great

honor that the EMSC

Program presented the

following awards:

The National Recognition for

Best Childhood Injury Prevention

Project was awarded to the GFWC

Paradise Valley Junior Woman’s Club

of Arizona for their participation in

the following activities: a safety program during the grand opening of the

Squaw Peak, Highway 51 in Paradise

Valley; the National Association for

EMTs’ EMSC Community Assessment;

a bike rodeo for a local elementary

Baldi Accepts New Position

Maria Baldi, federal co-project

officer of the Emergency

Medical Services for Children

(EMSC) Program, Maternal and Child

Health Bureau (MCHB), recently left

for a new public health assignment

with the Department of Health and

Human Services’ Substance Abuse 

and Mental Health Services

Administration, Center for Mental

Health Services. Baldi will be working

on a suicide prevention program. 

According to Richard Smith, MS,

chief of MCHB’s Injury and Emergency

Medical Services Branch, “Maria is

truly a dedicated public health professional who has worked tirelessly the

last several years to ensure that the

EMSC Program operated in a manner

that best serves all children throughout the United States. Although she

will be missed, we wish her well in this

new assignment and know that she

will carry out the functions of the new

office with the same efficiency and

effectiveness that she provided to

EMSC.” Best wishes Maria from all 

of us in EMSC!

school; and a car seat safety training

presentation. 

The club also presented information on children’s health needs at a

state meeting of members of Arizona

Junior Clubs and distributed suicide

prevention materials to local high

schools. The club contributed a total

of 162 hours to EMSC-related activities and raised $815.

The National Recognition for

Best EMS Equipment or Training

Project was awarded to the GFWC

Junior Women’s Altruistic Club of

Ohio. This club distributed EMSC

training CD-ROMS to local fire departments and worked closely with the

Ohio EMSC program to distribute the

Ohio Emergency Guidelines for

Schools manual to state park officials.

As a result of their work, tens of thousands of children who visit the park

system each year will benefit. A total

of $1,025 was raised on behalf of

EMSC projects. 

Four states received a Junior

Clubs State Recognition Award for

overall excellence in addressing a variety of EMSC issues throughout the

state: New Jersey, West Virginia,

Tennessee, and Arizona. In addition,

the GFWC Pioneer Junior Women’s

Club of Orange, MA, was recognized

for the comprehensiveness of its activities and commitment to EMSC. This

club was presented with the Grand

Prize Award at the National Congress

on Childhood Emergencies held last

March in Baltimore, MD. 

EMSC and GFWC are committed

to continuing this collaboration and

encourage Junior Club members and

state EMSC project staff to work

together. For more information about

the awards or to identify interested

individuals within your state’s Junior

Club or EMSC project, please contact

Lewin at (202) 884-6836 or via e-mail

at slewin@emscnrc.com. 

Pictured above are Shulamit Lewin (left) and Gail LeShane, 

former Juniors special project chairman.
WHAHATT’SS NEW? An EMSC Product Update An EMSC Product Update An EMSC Product Update •••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••

EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 9

•••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••EMSC PRODUCT UPDATE

common pediatric illnesses or injuries

are arranged alphabetically for quick

reference. The guidelines also include

a list of recommended first aid equipment and supplies for schools, and

universal precautions to prevent or

reduce the spread of infectious diseases. These guidelines were originally

produced by the Ohio Department of

Public Safety’s EMSC Program in

cooperation with the Emergency Care

Committee of the American Academy

of Pediatrics’ Ohio Chapter. The

North Dakota Department of Health’s

Divisions of Maternal and Child Health

and Emergency Health Services

revised the manual by adding sections

on frostbite, hypothermia, stabs/gunshots, and tick bites. Both versions

are available as downloadable .pdf files

from the EMSC web site at www.emsc.org. Once there, click on “Products

and Resources” then “downloadable

files.” The Ohio guidelines are also

available as a collection of zipped

Adobe PageMaker files. The cost for a

hard copy of the North Dakota guidelines is $7. Ask for product #849.

Children with Special Health

Care Needs: Part I 

By the District of Columbia EMSC

project in conjunction with the

Virginia State Department of

Emergency Medical Services (2000)

This 63-minute videotape contains two scenarios involving the

emergency management of ill and

injured special needs children. The

first scenario involves an eight-yearold child with tracheostomy and gastrostomy tubes who experienced an

uncontroled seizure. The second 

Giving America’s Children Our Best

By the EMSC National Resource Center

(2000)

Children rely on adults — teachers,

coaches, nurses, and parents — to serve

as their safety nets as they mature and

explore life. But what happens to this

safety net when children enter the

emergency medical system? In the

ever-changing world of health care,

there are issues that if left un-addressed

threaten the provider’s ability to care for

children appropriately and efficiently.

This CD-ROM contains a copy of the

opening video shown at the 2000

National Congress on Childhood

Emergencies, which illustrates the

importance of why working together to

form strong safety nets will help ensure

children receive the best care possible,

especially when entering the emergency

medical system. The CD also contains

valuable resources that thousands of

EMSC advocates have used to stimulate

collaboration among the key constituents

of the child’s safety net: Emergency

Guidelines for Schools; How to

Prevent and Handle Childhood

Emergencies; Office Preparedness for

Pediatric Emergencies; The National

Association of EMS Physician Model

Pediatric Protocols; Basic Emergency

Lifesaving Skills (BELS) Framework;

and more. The cost is $5. Ask for

product #847.

Emergency Guidelines for Schools

By the North Dakota EMSC project

(2000)

These guidelines are color-coded,

first-aid flowcharts intended to serve as

an emergency care resource for school

staff without full-time medical or nursing support. More than 40 of the most

scenario depicts a 12-year-old child

with brittle bone disease who fell off a

sofa and is complaining of neck pain.

The video also addresses correct management of a child on a home apnea

monitor. The cost is $15. Ask for

product #856.

Children with Special Health

Care Needs: Part II

By the District of Columbia EMSC

project in conjunction with the

Virginia State Department of

Emergency Medical Services (2000)

This 55-minute videotape also

contains two senarios involving special

needs children. In the first scenario, a

six-year-old child with Cerebral Palsy

was struck and is trapped in a special

wheelchair. The second scenario presents trouble-shooting techniques for

prehospital providers caring for a

child requiring ventilator support. The

second part looks at the role of EMS

in caring for children with central

lines. The conclusion is an interactive

discussion of prehospital management

of a ventilator dependent child. The

cost is $15. Ask for product #857.

To obtain hard copies of any of

these resources, contact the EMSC

Clearinghouse at (703) 902-1203 or

access the EMSC web site at

www.ems-c.org.
10 EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 

Connecticut

The first EMSC

Focus Group on Children

with Special Health Care

Needs recently convened to identify ways in which the EMS system

interacts with children with special

needs and their caregivers. The group

will discuss the current delivery of

emergency care, identify barriers to

receiving that care, and suggest solutions for enhancing the care received

(e.g. specialized education for

providers, EMS home visits). The

results will be used to determine how

to allocate resources for improving

care provided to this special population. For more information, please

contact Cheryl Mayeran, MPH, at

(860) 509-7975.

Idaho

Idaho’s EMSC project is working

hard to make the state a safer place

for children. The EMSC Task Force

has identified the following action

items as priorities:

• increase the availability of EMS

pediatric protocols, equipment,

and education;

• develop a children with special

health care needs emergency

information database;

• offer a pediatric track at all EMS

regional conferences;

f

• develop a presentation to raise

awareness of EMSC and trauma

prevention; 

• encourage EMSC data reporting 

at EMS regional conferences and

other venues; and 

• establish a regional and state

EMS association.

For more information, contact

Boni Carrell at (208) 334-4003 or via

e-mail at carrellb@idhw.state.id.us

New Jersey 

On May 18, New Jersey held its

first EMSC conference, which featured

eight sessions, a luncheon keynote

address, and an open forum with

members of the EMSC Advisory

Council. Project staff also report that

recently revised Department of Health

and Senior Services hospital emergency department regulations now

require the employment of a pediatric

liaison physician and nurse, as well as

pediatric continuing education for all

nurses and physicians regularly

assigned to the emergency department. For more information, contact

Kelly Goldstein at (609) 633-7777 or

via e-mail at nkellygoodstein@doh.

state.nj.us. 

New York

With additional funding from the

New York State Public Health

Association, the New York EMSC project completed its regional pilot program to increase involvement of prehospital care providers in child injury

prevention activities. For the past

year, EMS providers joined public

health nurses, pediatricians, and staff

at hospital birthing centers in educating the public on the importance of

State of the States •

Gr

antee Up ad oC et

nr er

•

State of the States •

Gr

a

ntee Up ad oC et

nr er

•

E

Arkansas

The Arkansas Emergency Medical

Services for Children (EMSC) Working

Group is currently reviewing the

Pediatric Education for Prehospital

Providers (PEPP) course for consideration as the training tool for EMTs in

the state of Arkansas. To help evaluate

course content, the group’s members

will go through the course in October.

For further information, contact Brian

Nation via e-mail at bnation@mail.doh.

state.ar.us

California

The EMSC project in Merced, CA,

recently completed its needs assessment and is in the first year of developing an EMSC plan. Project staff look

forward to updating standards and procedures for pediatric care in both the

prehospital and hospital settings, and

in promoting the establishment of a

broad-based SAFE KIDS Coalition by

spring 2001. For more information,

contact Frank Kelly, EMS specialist, 

at (209) 381-1256 or via e-mail at

he125@co.merced.ca.us 
v

z

y

EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 11

Form. Children whose physicians 

complete the form will be enrolled in

the Medic Alert Program. Each

enrollee receives a 4 ́ ́x 6 ́ ́ medical

information summary card. For more

information, contact Betsy Smith, project coordinator, at ELSMITH@

cnmc.org

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin EMSC project 

was recently awarded the Wisconsin

Chapter of the American Academy of

Pediatrics’ Community Service Award.

It was presented at the Academy’s

annual meeting. 

In other news, the Curricula

Committee revised the EMT-Basic

National Standard Curriculum Module

6, Lesson 6-1: Infants and Children.

The module, which has been developed as a Powerpoint presentation on

CD-ROM, now includes the pediatric

assessment triangle. An instructor’s

guide and assessment cards complete

the package. For additional information, contact Mary Jean Erschen at

(608) 266-7457 or via e-mail at A erschmj@dhfs.state.wi.us.

Wyoming

In spite of a reorganization within

the Department of Health that

brought with it new leadership, the

loss of all administrative support, and

a hiring freeze, the Wyoming EMSC

project is forging ahead. Project staff

have assumed new duties and are

pulling together to fill in the gaps.

Currently, staff are involved in the following activities:

• participating in various family

safety events statewide;

• assisting in the planning of the

Intermountain Regional EMSC

Coordinating Conference scheduled for the weekend of

September 15, in Tucson, AZ;

• applying for funding from the

rural health initiative to purchase

ambulance equipment; and

• scheduling additional EMSC,

Pediatric Advanced Life Support

Plus, and Pediatric Disaster Life

Support classes for spring 2001.

For more information, contact

Carol Zorna at CZORNA@state.wy.us.STATISTIC

Required Rotation Percent of Programs Ave. Duration in Weeks

Pediatric emergency medicine 85% 12

Pediatric intensive care unit 80% 4

Pediatric ward 49% 4

Pediatric outpatient clinics 29% 4

Urgent care 17% 4

Emergency medical services 10% 10 

for children 

Pediatric transport 10% 2

Step down nursery 6% 4

Source: Tamariz, Vincent, MD; Fuchs, Susan, MD; Baren, Jill, MD; Pollack, Emily, MD; Kim, Joseph,

MD; and Seidel, James, MD, PhD. “Pediatric Emergency Medicine Education in Emergency Medicine

Training Programs.” Academic Emergency Medicine, 7:5 (July 2000).

using seat belts and child safety seats.

EMS providers received additional

training, based on a National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration curriculum, to become certified child passenger safety technicians. This training

enables them to assist in conducting

child safety seat checkpoints in their

communities. For more information,

contact Gloria Hale at ghc08@

health.state.ny.us

Virginia

In collaboration with Lou Romig,

MD, medial director of the Central

Florida Disaster Medical Assistance

Team, and the Virginia Office of EMS,

Virginia’s EMSC project is producing a

video called “JumpSTART,” a tool for

rapid pediatric multi-casualty field

triage. After its evaluation, the video

will be available through the EMSC

Clearinghouse. For further information, contact Petra Menzel at 

(804) 628-EMSC or via e-mail at

pmenzel@hsc.vcu.edu.

Washington, DC

In February, the Washington, DC

EMS and Children with Special Health

Care Needs project began “EMS

Outreach,” a prehospital notification

program. To date the parents of 200

special needs children, identified by

medical personnel at Children’s

National Medical Center, have completed an information form regarding

their child’s pertinent medical information. This information is then forwarded to the appropriate local EMS

agencies. In addition, each child’s

pediatrician is sent the American

Academy of Pediatrics’ and the

American College of Emergency

Physicians’ Emergency Information

Statistic of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Required pediatric rotations for emergency medicine residents.
12 EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 

•••••••••• ••••••••••• LATEST LIBRARY ADDITIONS DDITIONS••• ••••••••• •••••••••

• American Academy of Pediatrics.

“Recommended Childhood Immunization

Schedule United States, January-December

2000.” Journal of Emergency Nursing.

26, No. 3 (2000): 265.

• Bernardo, Lisa Marie; Gardner,

Mary Jane; O’Connor, Joan; and Amon,

Nicole. “Dog Bites in Children Treated in

A Pediatric Emergency Department.”

Journal of the Society of Pediatric

Nurses. 5, No. 2 (2000): 87-95.

• Brown R.; Hernandez, N.; and

Gonsoulin, M. “Layperson Definition of

Emergent Medical Care.” Journal of

Emergency Medicine. 18, No. 1 (2000):

1–5.

• Christopher, Norman. “Pediatric

Emergency Medicine Education in

Emergency Medicine Training

Programs.” Academic Emergency

Medicine. 7, No. 7 (2000): 797-99.

• Committee on Child Health

Financing, American Academy of

Pediatrics. “Guiding Principles for

Managed Care Arrangements for the

Health Care of Newborns, Infants,

Children, Adolescents, and Young

Adults.” Pediatrics. 105, No. 1 (2000):

132-35.

• Gausche-Hill, Marianne. “Pediatric

Continuing Education for Out-of-Hospital

Providers: Is It Time to Mandate Review

of Pediatric Knowledge and Skills?”

Annals of Emergency Medicine. 36, 

No. 1 (2000): 72-74.

• Gilchrist, Julie; Schieber, Richard;

Leadbetter, Steven; and Davidson,

Stephen. “Police Enforcement As Part of A

Comprehensive Bicycle Helmet Program.”

Pediatrics. 106, No. 1 (2000): 6-9.

• Glaeser, Peter; Linzer, Jeff;

Tunik, Michael; Henderson, Deborah

Parkman; and Ball, Jane. “Survey of

Nationally Registered Emergency

Medical Services Providers: Pediatric

Education.” Annals of Emergency

Medicine. 36, No. 1 (2000): 33-38.

• Horwitz, Sarah McCue; Owens,

Pamela; and Simms, Mark. “Specialized

Assessments for Children in Foster Care.”

Pediatrics. 106, No. 1 (2000): 59.

• Jurkovich, Gregory; Pierce, Becky;

Pananen, Laura; and Rivara, Frederick.

“Giving Bad News: The Family

Perspective.” The Journal of Trauma:

Injury, Infection, and Critical Care. 48,

No. 5 (2000): 865-73.

• Knight, Stacey; Junkins, Edward;

and Lightfoot, Amy. “Injuries Sustained

by Students in Shop Class.” Pediatrics.

106, No. 1 (2000): 10-13.

• Mattera, Connie. “Take Aim: 

Hit Your IO Target: A Comprehensive

Approach to Pediatric Intraosseous

Infusion, Including Site Selection, Needle

Insertion & Ongoing Assessment.” Jems.

25, No. 4 (2000): 38-48.

• McGrath, Nancy and Mink,

Chrisanna. “Pediatric Immunizations: Are

You Up-to-Date?” Journal of Emergency

Nursing. 26, No. 3 (2000): 264-67.

• McManus, Margaret; Graham,

Regina; Fox, Harriette; Mercil, Catherine;

and Irwin, Charles. “How Far Have State

Medicaid Agencies Advanced in

Performance Measurement for Children?”

Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent

Medicine. 154 (2000): 665-71.

• Patrick, David; Moore, Ernest;

Bensard, Denis; and Karrer, Frederick.

“Operative Management of Injured

Children at an Adult Level I Trauma

Center.” The Journal of Trauma: Injury,

Infection, and Critical Care. 48, No. 5

(2000): 894-901.

• Sacchetti, Alfred; Brennan, John;

Kelly-Goodstein, Nancy; and Graff,

Diane. “Should Pediatric Emergency Care

Be Decentralized?: An Out-of-Hospital

Destination Model for Critically Ill

Children.” Academic Emergency

Medicine. 7, No. 7 (2000): 787-91.

• Scribano, Philip; Baker, M.

Douglas; Holmes, John; and Shaw,

Kathy. “Use of Out-of-Hospital

••••••••••• LATEST LIBRARY ADDITIONS••• •••••••••

Interventions for the Pediatric Patient

in an Urban Emergency Medical

Services System.” Academic

Emergency Medicine. 7, No. 7 (2000):

745-50.

• Shapiro, Susan. “Outcomes of

Prehospital Care: Do We Really Make A

Difference?” Journal of Emergency

Nursing. 26, No. 3 (2000): 239-41.

• Shelton, Deborah. “Pediatric

Emergency Departments Provide KidSized Care.” American Medical News.

(2000).

• Su, Eustacia; Schmidt, Terri;

Mann, Clay; and Zechnich, Andrew. “A

Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess

Decay in Acquired Knowledge Among

Paramedics Completing A Pediatric

Resuscitation Course.” Academic

Emergency Medicine. 7, No. 7 (2000):

779-86.

• Tamariz, Vincent; Fuchs, Susan;

Baren, Jill; Pollack, Emily; Kim, Joseph;

Seidel, James: For the Society for

Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM)

Task Force. “Pediatric Emergency

Medicine Education in Emergency

Medicine Training Programs.” Academic

Emergency Medicine. 7, No. 5 (2000):

774-78.

• Wilson, Thad. “Factors

Influencing the Immunization Status

of Children in a Rural Setting.”

Journal of Pediatric Health Care. 14,

No. 3 (2000): 117-21.

• Winston, Flaura; Durbin, Dennis;

Kallan, Michael; and Moll, Elisa. “The

Danger of Premature Graduation to Seat

Belts for Young Children.” Pediatrics.

105, No. 6 (2000): 1179-83.

If any interesting publication or

product (written or produced within the

last 18 months) has crossed your desk

that you would like to share, please contact the EMSC National Resource Center

Medical Librarian Kathryn Willis at

(202) 884-6835 or via e–mail at

kwillis@emscnrc.com.
EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 13

EMSC, ACEP, AAP Announce Plans for EMSC Day 2001

T

he Emergency Medical Services

for Children (EMSC) Program is

collaborating with the American

College of Emergency Physicians

(ACEP) and the American Academy 

of Pediatrics to celebrate the first ever

national EMSC Day. To ensure 

a coordinated effort, the event will be

held in conjunction with the EMS

Week observance. 

“EMSC has been an active participant in EMS Week for years,” said

Suzanne Sellman, communications

director of the EMSC National

Resource Center. “Next year, we will

expand this relationship by designating a specific day within the EMS

Week celebration to heighten awareness of EMSC initiatives and to draw

national attention to the essential

need for specialized emergency care

for pediatric patients.”

To help organizations commemorate this special day, next year’s EMS

T he Emergency Medical Services

for Children (EMSC) Program is

“one of the world’s best health

information sites on the Internet,”

according to the Health Information

Resource Center (HIRC), a national

clearinghouse for consumer health

information programs and materials.

This fall, EMSC won the Center’s Gold

award for best government health care

web site. 

In a news release, HIRC officials

stated that “the number of healthrelated web sites are estimated to be

more than 15,000 and growing. Yet

there is no recognition of the quality

of information on these sites. The new

World Wide Web Health Awards

Program is designed to assist consumers and health professionals in

deciding which sites offer accurate,

up-to-date health information.”

EMSC Wins International Web Site Award

Week promotional kit will include a

special EMSC Day Planning Guide, 

featuring clever ideas for special

events and activities, clip art, fact

sheets, and other pediatric emergency

care handouts. 

More information about the EMS

Week and EMSC Day celebrations,

including the dates of observance, 

will be featured in a future issue of

EMSC News.

A panel of 21 international health

information and Internet experts

bestowed Gold, Silver, Bronze, and

Merit awards based on accuracy, success in reaching the targeted audience, and overall quality. Some of

questions used to evaluate the entries

include:

• Is the health information

credible/informative? 

• Is the information appropriate 

for the target audience? 

• Is the information new and/or 

relevant to the user? Is there any 

indication that the information 

is regularly updated? 

• Is the site layout and navigation

user-friendly? Are links easily 

identifiable? 

• Does the site make use of newer

Web technologies (e.g., Javascript,

Java, Dynamic HTML, etc.) to further enhance the user experience? 

Other recipients of this prestigious

award included: Healtheon/WebMD;

more.com; the National Cancer

Institute; Discoveryhealth.com; the

National Dairy Council; drkoop.com;

The Daily Apple; and Healthwise,

Incorporated. For more information

about the awards, access

www.healthawards.com.
14 EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 

S

ix out of 10 parents are unaware

that their children may qualify

for the State Children’s Health

Insurance Program (SCHIP) or

Medicaid, according to a recent study

conducted by Wirthlin Worldwide and

released by the Robert Wood Johnson

Foundation (RWJF) in mid-August.

Yet 82% of these parents said if they

knew their children qualified

for coverage, they

would enroll. 

The survey

shows that the

misperception

that their children

don’t qualify is

highest in households where both

parents are working

(71%) or where annual

income is $25,000 or more (69%).

The study also found that almost all

parents surveyed (97%) whose children are eligible for but not enrolled

in Medicaid recognized the name of

the program, whereas only about half

(49%) had heard of SCHIP. Furthermore, the report revealed ethnic differences pertaining to program awareness. For instance, name recognition

of SCHIP was lowest among Hispanics.

Ethnic groups also differed in whether

parents thought their children were

eligible; white parents were most likely to believe their children were eligible (68%), as compared with 58% of

African-American and 40% of

Hispanic parents. 

“Of the 11 million American children who are uninsured,

seven million of them

could have

health care

coverage

today,” said

Steven

Schroeder,

MD, president

and chief

executive officer of RWJF.

“We must let

their parents know

that their children are eligible

and we must continue to make it 

easier for these parents to apply.” 

To increase awareness, RWJF has

launched a $26 million three-year

public education campaign, which

calls for nationally coordinated enrollment drives during back-to-school

and cold and flu seasons and an

advertising campaign to educate 

parents about the two health insurance programs. 

Pictured left to right are new staff members of the EMSC

National Resource Center: Derrick Williams, administrative manager; Darlene Queen-Gray, senior administrative

assistant for policy and meetings; Jennifer Beery, state outreach

coordinator; and Kenneth Currier, TBI-TAC director. 

Welcome aboard!

Mark Your Calendar

2001 ANNUAL

EMSC GRANTEE MEETING

June 3-5 (tentative date)

Sheraton Premier at 

Tysons Corner Vienna, VA

Additional information will be featured

in future issues of EMSC News

Roving Reporter

Free or Low-cost Child Health Insurance Programs

Unknown to Parents

RWJF to Launch Massive Education Campaign Families who would like to find

out if their children qualify for lowcost or free health care coverage can

call the national toll-free number, 

1-877-KIDS NOW. Callers will be 

connected to appropriate state offices. 

For more information about the

report Covering Kids: National Public

Opinion Survey of Families with

Children who Qualify for SCHIP and

Medicaid Programs access ww.coveringkids.org/exec_summ.html.
EMSC News SEPT/OCT 2000 15

cents who are not white or black may

be characterized as “other”). Data on

some important measures of preventive

care, such as the percentage of adolescents who are up to date on all their

vaccinations, are also unavailable.

In addition, the report identifies the

following research challenges:

• Adolescents have unique health care

needs, and to meet these routine

health services must be made available in a wide range of settings.

However, information about the

health services sought by and provided for adolescents is limited.

• Female adolescents are sensitive

Adolescent Health Chart Book Released

T

he Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention’s (CDC) National

Center for Health Statistics

recently released an adolescent health

chart book as part of its Health,

United States, 2000 report. The publication documents health risks faced

by children and adolescents ages 10 to

19 and points out areas where gaps in

the data exist. 

“This chart book gauges the

extent of many of the health problems

facing young people,” said Jeffrey

Koplan, MD, MPH, CDC Director. “We

all know that adolescence is a challenging time for youngsters and their

families. We need this information to

help teenagers move through adolescence to become healthy adults.”

Noting that the health risks adolescents face increase as they get

older, the report states that older

adolescents are more likely

than preteens to die from a

motor vehicle or firearm

injury; to visit a hospital

emergency department

with an illness or injury;

and to smoke, binge

drink, or use marijuana. 

The report also

states that the many gaps

in data on adolescent

health presents unique

challenges to analyzing

existing information. For

instance, adolescents are

often not considered as a

separate group, and data are

rarely organized by single

year of age. The chart book

addresses this issue by presenting data by single year of age

whenever possible. The CDC

report also asserts that other

obstacles include lack of information on socioeconomic status and on racial and ethnic

minority groups (e.g., adolesabout their bodies and may develop

eating disorders. The prevalence of

eating disorders is difficult to measure, however, because of the

denial and secretive behavior associated with them.

• Although adolescents’ participation

in sexual activity is well documented,

the extent to which such activity 

is consensual has not been fully

evaluated. Because many myths

concerning rape persist among 

adolescents, acquaintance rape 

and date rape are often unreported. 

For more information about the

report or to download it in full or by 

section, access www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/pubs/pu bd/hus/00figidx.htm. 
16 EMSCNEWS SEPT/OCT 2000 

n

2000

BULK RATE

Postage and

Fees

Paid HRSA

Permit No. G-286

EMSC National Resource Center

Children’s National Medical Center

111 Michigan Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20010

September 4-8

American Psychological Association

Annual Conference

Washington, DC

Contact: Jodi Ashcraft at 

(202) 336-5500

September 14-16

National Association of EMS 

Educators and Committee on

Accreditation of Educational

Programs for the EMS Professions

5th Annual Educators Symposium 

Phoenix, AZ

Contact: NAEMSE at (412) 578-3219

September 20-24

American Academy of 

Family Physicians

Annual Scientific Assembly

Dallas, TX

Contact: Vicky Binder at 

(800) 274-2237

September 21-23

Emergency Nurses Association

Scientific Assembly

Chicago, IL

Contact: Carla Lambert at 

(847) 460-4000

September 24-27

National Association of Governors’

Highway Safety Representatives 

Annual Meeting

Biloxi, MS

Contact: NAGHSR at (228) 386-7111

September 25-27

National Association of Children’s

Hospitals and Related Institutions

Annual Meeting

Philadelphia, PA

Contact: Cynthia Shultz at 

(703) 684-1355

October 11

Emergency Nurses Day

Contact: Emergency Nurses

Association at (800) 243-8362

October 10-14

American Association of Poison

Control Centers Conference

Tousant, AZ

Contact: Rose Ann Soloway at 

(202) 362-7217

October 10-14

Back to School/Child Passenger 

Safety Week

Contact: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration 

at (202) 366-9832

September 21-25

American Public Health Association

129th Annual Meeting & Expo

Atlanta, GA

Contact: Lynn Schoen at

(202) 777-2479

October 23-25

American College of 

Emergency Physicians

Scientific Assembly

Philadelphia, PA

Contact: Stephanie Batson at

(800) 798-1822

October 25-29

American School Health Association

74th Annual School Conference

New Orleans, LA

Contact: Mary Bamer Ramsier at

(330) 678-1601

October 28-30

American Academy of Pediatrics

Annual Meeting

Chicago, IL

Contact: Marisa Goldberg at 

(847) 228-5005

October 29 - November 1

Health Insurance Association of

America Forum 2000

Las Vegas, NV

Contact: Diane Fulton at 

(703) 968-8863

November 7-11

National Association of EMTs

Outlook 2000

Reno, NV

Contact: Heather Palmer at 

(800) 346-2368

•••••••• • IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER •••••••••