PROBLEM: The primary goal of this project is to provide coordination and integration of activities directly affecting the emergency care of children in the state of North Carolina. The NC EMSC Task Force is a consensus building group of emergency care providers, community and parent members who are addressing the following problems identified in North Carolina: a lack of pediatric emergency care education, few standardized pediatric emergency care protocols, errors in pediatric emergency care based on inadequate education and standardization.

The projects being developed and implemented through NC EMSC have applicability for other disciplines and to colleagues in other states.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES:

Goal I: Improve Pediatric Emergency Preparedness in at least 50% of North Carolina’s Hospital Emergency Departments.

Goal II: Improve Pediatric Emergency Preparedness in at least 60 EMS agencies.

METHODOLOGY: North Carolina Emergency Medical Services for Children is housed within the NC Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Facility Services, Office of Emergency Medical Services. Its purpose is to address the needs of children within the EMS continuum. The principle investigator and project director for the NC EMSC grant will be the Chief of the Office of EMS, who will provide direct oversight of the program to assure that the objectives of the program are attained. The Assistant Chief of the Office of EMS will act as a project consultant, working as a team member with the EMSC State Specialist. The EMSC State Specialist provides project management and reports to the Chief of the Office of EMS. The EMSC Secretary will provide clerical support to the EMSC State Specialist, and reports to the Assistant Chief of the Office of EMS. The Chair of the NC Office of EMS Subcommittee on Injury and Children acts as pediatric medical advisor to the Office of EMS. The State Physician Medical Advisor also provides input and guidance for the EMSC project.

EVALUATION: The NC Office of EMS will oversee the implementation of the EMSC grant project. The current plan for monitoring education includes pre- and post-evaluation by all attendees of EMSC-sponsored educational activities. The projects will have ongoing and continuous objective and system evaluation with modifications in documents and curriculum determined by input from focus groups, analysis of written evaluations, and instructor critiques. The success of the education and products will be evident in the demand from the in- and out- of hospital EMS community.

EXPERIENCE TO DATE: To date, the NC EMSC project is on target to meet Goals I and II by evaluating the Emergency Preparedness of more than 60 NC hospitals and 40 EMS Agencies. A randomized ED study was completed and presented at the 2000 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Chicago, IL in October 2000, as well as at the Federal Pediatric Patient Safety Forum in Washington, DC in January 2001. The study is being duplicated by Tennessee EMSC after training by North Carolina EMSC. Goal II, evaluating EMS agencies, continues to progress.

Key Words: Color-coding; Nurse Education; Physician Education; Prehospital Education; Primary Care Provider Education.

ANNOTATION: Preparedness for Pediatric Emergencies continues to be the focus of the North Carolina Partnership EMSC Grant. Activities include mock pediatric emergency programs in various medical settings, including Emergency Departments and EMS field agencies. Health Care Provider pediatric emergency education is the primary method for promoting preparedness.