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

Maryland's sixth EMSC State Partnership Grant (2013-2017). 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, Expand Family Advocacy, and Advance Quality Improvement.

The Maryland EMSC Partnership grant focused on three major goals: 

1. Continue to implement system enhancements with EMSC initiatives that will move towards achieving targets for the federal EMSC Performance Measures 71-80 and support MCHB performance measure standards related to children & family health. 
   
   
2. Expand the Maryland EMSC Family Advisory Network Council’s activities through renewed invitation to rural EMS regions and hospitals for new members of the Family Advisory Network Council to include youth and young adult members, expansion of prevention and disaster preparedness programs identified by FAN Council 
   
   
3. Establish a collaborative for pediatric EMS and ED quality improvement and data analysis through development of standard pediatric EMS reports to promote local and regional quality improvement activities and to monitor compliance with statewide EMS protocols.

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 

 

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.

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

2014 project year includes updating the MIEMSS website with CPS materials for healthcare providers, such as adding the Tween OP program and best practice policies and forms. The PC will continue to participate in the MIEMSS site visits of state NICUs, to better identify CPS needs and deficiencies in the NICU and OB departments and to assist with improvements. Scholarships for healthcare providers to take the CPS certification course will continue to be offered.

2002-2013 Child Passenger Safety & Occupant Protection Healthcare Project descriptions.