Since 1986, MIEMSS has received federal EMS for Children grants from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Below are is a brief summary of the grants and their projects and products. For more information please contact the MIEMSS EMSC Program office at 410-706-1758.

Currently MIEMSS has received the fifth Maryland EMSC State Partnership Grant (2009-2012). In accordance with the federal EMS for Children’s program initiatives, this grant will continue program objectives and activities that enhance the system components within Maryland that meeting the ten EMSC State Partnership Performance Measures. More detailed information about these EMSC performance measures is available at http://bolivia.hrsa.gov/emsc/. For a brief summary and history of these three performance measures and their ten components click here.

The Maryland EMSC Partnership grant will focus on three major goals:
  • Continue to implement system enhancements with EMSC initiatives that will move towards achieving targets for the federal EMSC performance measures 66 (the degree to which the State/Territory has ensured the operational capacity to provide pediatric emergency care) 68 (The degree to which the State/Territory has established permanence of EMSC in the State/Territory EMS system).
  • Continue to implement system enhancements with EMSC initiatives that will move towards achieving targets for the federal EMSC performance measures 67 – pediatric education for emergency service providers.

  • Expand the statewide EMSC data activities and analysis to include the ongoing progress toward NEMSIS compliant EMS data sets and the expansion of pediatric data reporting for system evaluation and specific regional quality improvement initiatives.


    • The fourth Maryland EMSC State Partnership Grant (2006-2009). The focus of all 56 state & territory EMSC Partnership grants across the country has been to work towards meeting the ten EMSC State Partnership Performance Measures. More detailed information about these measures is available at http://bolivia.hrsa.gov/emsc/. The Maryland EMSC Partnership grant focused on three major goals:
  • Monitor the impact of the EMSC initiatives within the state based upon the ten federal EMSC performance measures.
  • Enhance the current EMSC data initiatives and activities in both the EMS and Hospital data sets to include provision of state, regional, and jurisdictional information on children.
  • Expand the Pediatric Emergency Care Education available to both out of hospital and hospital providers through regional and state training.

    • Maryland ’s EMSC Program has worked with seven other states in the MidAtlantic region to conduct a series of EMSC Regional Symposia that brought professionals from across the continuum of care together for sharing of best practices, current research and public policy issues that impact children and families. These grants were funded through the federal EMSC Program in supplemental grant awards to states. This MidAtlantic EMSC regional network continues to meet with the Atlantic EMS Council and collaborate on interstate projects. The symposia included :
  • October 2002 – Columbia Maryland
  • June 2003 – Washington DC
  • November 2004 – Wilmington Delaware
  • November 2005 – Carlisle Pennsylvania
  • October 2006 – Family Centered Care forum in Pennsylvania

    • MIEMSS has coordinated a special CPS Hospital Project , funded by the Maryland Highway Safety Office/ NHTSA, that focuses on the promotion of “best practice” child passenger safety (CPS) education and discharge policies for Maryland hospitals and health care professionals. The project maintains a website with information specific to hospitals and EMS providers.

    • 2007 current project year will expand the focus to Emergency Departments and Safe Transport of Children in Ambulances. February CPS Conference Call featured the “Spot the Tot“ program.
    • 2006 project had a special focus on the addition of Spanish Language resources and continued the February CPS Conference Call
    • 2005 project involved follow up surveys to Maryland hospitals, CPS technician liaisons, and health care newsletters to determine which types of educational resources were most helpful and held the first February CPS Conference Call focused on Booster Seats
    • 2004 project worked to ensure education materials were distributed to the all the hospitals in Maryland, along with the launch of the CPS Project webpage, and the development of a DVD/VHS for training - “Proper Occupant Protection”.
    • 2003 project focused on the development of CPS Resource Kit for hospitals with current and accurate safety information. Additionally regional Special Needs CPS training courses were held in collaboration with KISS and MHSO
    • The projects 2002 first year provided the baseline information on the CPS resources and practices in hospitals through a survey to all 48 Maryland hospitals that treat young children. Certified CPS technicians in each county were invited to serve as technical resources for hospitals.
     

    The third Maryland EMSC State Partnership Grant (2003-2006)

    • Integration of EMSC into state public health and primary care practices including: PEPP courses and medical directors, Injury Prevention conference calls and Risk Watch program development, and the development and implementation of Emergency Guidelines for Maryland Schools
    • KIDS Project - Disaster Preparedness for Children and Families including: collaboration with other agencies to review the state, regional and local school disaster plans and development of exercises focused on pediatrics, expansion of JumpSTART training all to public safety providers, interdisciplinary training on caring for children in disasters

    The second Maryland EMSC State Partnership Grant (2000-2004) with the following goals:

    • EMSC Needs Assessment of State and Regional resources for education and training and expansion of pediatric equipment for transport vehicles
    • Prevention Initiatives in Partnership with the Community including expansion of Safe Kids coalitions to include EMS and ED professionals, introduction of Risk Watch, Local EMSC Injury Prevention special project awards
    • ABC's for KIDS: Kids in Disasters with JumpSTART training and pediatric scenario table tops

    MIEMSS was awarded a Maryland   EMSC State Partnership Grant (1997-2000) with the following goals:

    • Public Information, Education, and Relations training and resources for EMS and Hospital professionals across Maryland
    • Creation of educational resources for EMS providers on the care of Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHN)
    • Distribution of the Communication and Cultural Competence in Emergency Care of the Adolescences curriculum developed by the DC EMSC Project

    MIEMSS was awarded an EMSC Enhancement Grant (1994-1997) focused on the following activities:

    • Integration of the treatment of life-threatening illness in children into the existing statewide EMS system in Maryland with the expansion of Pediatric protocols.
    • Establishment of five Regional Pediatric EMS Advisory Committees with ongoing projects in education, data analysis, and prevention
    • Evaluation of pediatric capabilities in emergency care through the development of a resource survey for hospitals and EMS departments
    • Development of Pediatric Continuing Education programs and pediatric tracks within EMS and Emergency Nursing conferences

    The first Implementation EMSC Grant (1986-1989) provided for the expansion of the statewide Pediatric Trauma System, studied the epidemiology and demographics of trauma and critical illness, and developed a modular format for the Johns Hopkins APLS curriculum. Through this grant the following training was brought to Maryland EMS Providers: PALS AHA courses, Airway Training video, and Prehospital Airway skill station module.