Once all comments are reviewed and taken into consideration by members of the NYS EMSC Subcommittee, a final version will be mailed to every ambulance service in the state. The final version will also be made available on the web via the NYS Department of Health, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services web page. The development of the Prehospital Pediatric Care Reference Card was made possible through EMSC grant funding provided by the Health Resources and Services Administration, United States Department of Health and Human Services, in cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The NYS EMSC Program was honored to have Nadine Levick, M.D., of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins Children s Center in Baltimore, speak at the EMSC Subcommittee s meeting on September 30, 1999. Dr. Levick s presentation focused on the understanding and evaluation of occupant safety for pediatric patients transported in ambulances.
Ambulances do crash and have high morbidity and mortality per mile traveled.
Dr. Levick s research, funded in part by the federal EMSC Program, is likely to drive the development of national guidelines for the safe transport of children in ambulances. Until then, she urged caution to states and regions in forging ahead to develop their own guidelines at this time. Guidelines must be developed based on sound research, and must include a multi-disciplinary team with representation and input from engineering and safety experts in addition to EMS personnel. They expect to have some information available next month. The safety testing standards for child safety restraint devices for use in ambulances are still under development.