Emergency Medical Services for Children program ensures high-quality emergency care for young patients.

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. (Aug. 26, 2019) – The Emergency Nurses Association commended the recent signing of important legislation that reauthorizes the Emergency Medical Services for Children program, which will help guarantee that children receive appropriate health care they need during an emergency.

With 30 million children and adolescents visiting emergency departments each year, ENA recognized the unique challenges – including the need for specialized supplies, equipment and medications – this patient population presents. As part of its commitment to care, ENA encouraged lawmakers to reauthorize the EMSC program to ensure it continues to make a positive impact on the treatment of children in the emergency department.

With the president’s signature on Aug. 22, the EMSC program can continue to be funded through 2024.

First established in 1984, EMSC is the only federal program dedicated to improving emergency care for children and adolescents by ensuring that – no matter where they live, attend school or travel – they receive appropriate care in a health care emergency. The EMSC program, last reauthorized in 2014, gives ED professionals and prehospital emergency medical services personnel with improved access to pediatric-appropriate equipment, medication, supplies and training.

ENA President Patti Kunz Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN, testified before a House committee in June to express the association’s support for EMSC. ENA has long supported the program and made it a focal point of its annual Day on the Hill event in May.

“Reauthorization of EMSC is extremely beneficial to children across our country. The ongoing support EMSC provides to our communities promotes the best possible outcomes for our youngest patients in the prehospital and emergency department settings,” Howard said.

ENA thanks the sponsors of the reauthorization bills, Rep. Peter King, R-NY and Sen. Robert Casey, D-Penn., for their support as champions of the EMSC program.