About EMS for Children:
The Office of Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) leads and coordinates resources to
address the unique needs of children and families across Maryland. It focuses on injury and illness prevention,
clinical protocols, standards of care, facility recognition, quality improvement, data analysis, interagency
collaboration, and professional education. The goal is to enhance the efficient and effective delivery of
out-of-hospital, hospital, and restorative care, promoting the health and wellbeing of children, youth, and families
statewide.
EMSC coordinates state-level advisory committees, leads federal grant projects, and collaborates with state and local
agencies on childhood health promotion and emergency care. It provides educational resources for families in
partnership with other professional organizations. EMSC coordinates Maryland’s Pediatric Emergency Medical Advisory
Committee (PEMAC) and its subcommittees, the State Pediatric Quality Improvement Committee (QIC), and the Pediatric
Data Analysis and Research Team (DART).
PEMAC, the Pediatric QIC, and DART meet bimonthly and support the PEMAC Annual Research Forum each November. PEMAC,
with its interdisciplinary membership, develops and revises guidelines, legislation, policies, and protocols
affecting emergency medical care for children and youth. Current PEMAC working groups focus on the Family Advisory
Network, injury prevention, and pediatric disaster preparedness. The Pediatric QIC coordinates the online Pediatric
Base Station Course for Maryland's two pediatric base stations, which offer statewide pediatric medical direction
and community education. Pediatric DART provides support for focus groups, pilot research projects, funded
multicentered studies and quality improvement initiatives.
EMSC is an active member of the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO) Pediatric Emergency Care
Council, East Region, and serves in a leadership role on the Committee for the Safe Transport of Children in
Ambulances. EMSC works closely with the Maryland Emergency Nursing Association (ENA) Council and three local
chapters to promote pediatric education for all hospitals across Maryland and to distribute current prevention
information.
Maryland EMSC State Partnership Grant
The Maryland EMS for Children program has received an EMS for Children State Partnership Grant from the Maternal and
Child Health Bureau/Health Resources Services Administration for 22 consecutive years. This funding supports the
integration of pediatric readiness into hospital emergency departments and EMS across Maryland, aiming to meet
federal EMS for Children Performance Measures and the Maternal Child Health Core Performance Measure. In alignment
with Maryland EMS Vision 2030, the grant now focuses on pediatric readiness in emergency departments and EMS
agencies, pediatric disaster preparedness, and family advocacy to expand the Right Care When It Counts initiative.
To advance pediatric readiness, the EMSC staff leads three Pediatric Champion teams: EMS, emergency department
nursing, and emergency department physicians.
EMSC Grants Page
Prehospital Pediatric Readiness – Pediatric EMS Champions
The Maryland EMS for Children (EMSC) program supports the Pediatric EMS Champions within the EMS Operational
Programs. Selected for their commitment to pediatric care and their representation of local communities, these
Champions play a key role in advancing pediatric EMS practices. They promote and facilitate pediatric continuing
education, support safety and injury prevention initiatives, and encourage adherence to current pediatric care
guidelines. Using “Sim on the Go” pediatric simulations and training equipment, Champions provide local education
and expand access to enhanced pediatric skills training and simulation experiences. This work helps align Maryland
with federal EMSC performance measures for pediatric readiness in EMS.
The 2024 National Prehospital Pediatric Readiness Project (NPPRP) assessment was used to survey EMS agencies
regarding their pediatric capabilities. During
the summer, EMS Pediatric Champions lead all Maryland EMS operational programs through the review and submission of
assessments. The aggregate results provide guidance for the development of new pediatric education programs,
performance evaluation tools, and family-centered care guidelines.
This year, two in-person forums produced new
training resources for pediatric burn assessment, crash response and injury risk, EMS protocols and training tools,
and programming of simulation monitors.
Pediatric
Readiness for EMS Page
Pediatric Readiness in Emergency Departments – Pediatric Nurse and Physician Champions
Initiated in 2022, the Pediatric Readiness Emergency Department collaborative holds quarterly webinars for nurse and
physician champions. This group includes the designated Pediatric Champion from each of the 52 emergency departments
in Maryland along with members from the Maryland Emergency Nursing Association (ENA), the Maryland American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP), and the Maryland American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).
This year, Pediatric Nurse Champions attended an in-person forum that launched the Maryland Pediatric Facility
Recognition program. The workshop reviewed application materials, the sitevisit agenda, and shared pediatric
reference tools at the forum, the State ACEP annual conference in April and the ENA by the Bay conference in May. A
new pediatric trauma and burn reference tool and poster were created and disseminated. Pediatric Physician Champion
forums continue virtually each quarter and feature specific clinical presentation to Emergency Departments and
provide guidance on assessment and management updates.
The EMSC team and faculty from pediatric specialty centers hosted a Pediatric Simulation training workshop in the
winter. This event piloted six scenarios and introduced manikin and simulation monitors, provided by Maryland EMSC,
for physician and nurse Pediatric Champions.
Pediatric Readiness for
Hospitals Page
Pediatric Prehospital Care Education
The Maryland EMS for Children (EMSC) program provides opportunities for pediatric-focused EMS and emergency
department courses, nursing seminars, and training sessions through the continuing education and skill development
conferences held across Maryland. Topics for 2024-2025 included pediatric critical care presentations in the field,
vehicle crash scene evaluation, pediatric respiratory and diabetic emergencies, trends in pediatric poison exposure,
neonatal assessment and triage, and injury prevention tools for outreach. The full-day preconference curriculum
focused on caring for the child who is critically ill and escalating care. EMSC offered the Pediatric Education for
Prehospital Professionals, Fourth Edition (PEPP-4) hybrid course for ALS and BLS clinicians, both as a standalone
course held in western Maryland and supported courses on the Lower Eastern Shore.
Pediatric Education for
Prehospital Professionals
Child Passenger Safety and Occupant Protection Healthcare Project
Funded by the Maryland Highway Safety Office, the Child Passenger Safety (CPS) and Occupant Protection Healthcare
Project aim to reduce the number of injuries and deaths from vehicle crashes and related incidents in Maryland.
Educational efforts this year focused on proper and consistent use of seatbelts and car safety seats, for passengers
and caregivers. A new webinar addressed maternal and fetal safety on the road, emphasizing restraint use and best
practice emergency medical care for pregnant women in vehicle crashes. The CPS project encouraged EMS clinicians and
hospital staff to become certified CPS Technicians by offering free event registrations and educational credits. The
project provided limited car seats and specialized restraints to healthcare clinicians to support safe transport and
overall community safety: 16 hospital nurseries or NICUs and 23 emergency departments obtained car seats for
families with financial need; healthcare providers treating children with special needs could borrow adaptive
restraints through this project; and, the project provided “all-in-one” car seats to EMS agencies for transporting
children in non-ambulance vehicles, when the child is not the patient.
This year, EMSC and the CPS project, in collaboration with Media Services, developed a new resource on safe ambulance
transport that emphasizes the correct use of harnesses on ambulance cots. CPS project staff continued to assist at
community car seat check-up events and
teach in the national CPS Technician courses throughout Maryland. Daily outreach included advising hospital staff on
safe transport of vulnerable children, conducting regional and national education programs for hospital and EMS
clinicians, and distributing multilingual materials focused on safe travel for all ages, with an emphasis on
children.
The CPS project leads public education on the dangers of leaving children alone in vehicles. Temperature
displays are used to illustrate how quickly interior temperatures of vehicles rise to deadly levels to convey the
critical message, “Never Leave a Child Alone in a Vehicle” or “Where's the Baby?”. Six of these outdoor displays are
strategically positioned in regions across the Maryland for use at community health and safety events.
The CPS Healthcare Project partners closely with Maryland Kids in Safety Seats (MD Dept of Health), Maryland Highway
Safety Office, Safe Kids Maryland and CPS instructors statewide on child-centered activities. An additional ongoing
partnership with Crash Core/Impact Research. in Ellicott City, Maryland, conducts educational workshops and on-scene
crash tool development, with the goal of enhancing EMS clinician knowledge, skills, and abilities to assess
potential occupant injuries at crash scenes and plan optimal transport and treatment.
Child Passenger Safety Page
Safe Kids Maryland and Maryland RISK WATCH®
Coordinated by Maryland EMSC, MIEMSS is the lead agency for the Safe Kids Maryland® state coalition. This year, Safe
Kids Maryland® hosted statewide educational meetings with seven local Safe Kids coalitions and 15 community
partners. EMSC, in collaboration with the Maryland State Firefighters Association (MSFA), Office of the State Fire
Marshal, and the Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute, supported the Public Fire & Life Safety Educators Seminar held
in March 2025. The Seminar focused on Injuries at Home and innovative programs across Maryland for local community
risk reduction outreach.
Safe Kids Maryland® maintains membership in the Maryland division of the American Trauma
Society, Maryland State Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), Partnership for a Safer Maryland, and the Maryland
Trauma Center Network (TraumaNet). This year, EMSC facilitated the distribution of educational materials and
resources for the Maryland Highway Safety Office grants. This effort targeted rural, suburban, and urban communities
in Maryland. These efforts ensure that consistent injury prevention information is shared with MIEMSS' Regional
Advisory Councils and PEMAC.
Maryland Risk Watch®, led by EMSC and the Family Advisory Network (FAN), collaborates
year-round with the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the MSFA Fire Prevention and Life Safety Committee, and other
significant jurisdictional partners to provide resources that promote injury prevention. The “Steps to Safety”
program provided 10 interactive displays at the MSFA Annual Convention and Conference in June. These displays
addressed various high-risk injuries and provided information for children, caregivers, and local injury prevention
advocates, along with resources to take back to their communities. In addition, the FAN Council offered a standard
babysitting course for youth at the Convention.
Safe Kids Maryland Page
Maryland Risk Watch Page
Bike Safety Project
Funded by the Maryland Department of Transportation's Maryland Highway Safety Office (MHSO) for seven years, the Bike
Safety Project (BSP) team coordinated bike safety marketing through new educational materials, social media
communication, and dissemination of information to new and existing partners to include EMS, Fire, Rescue, and
Emergency Department professionals in Maryland. During the project period, EMSC was able to distribute over 7,000
bike helmets to children, youth, and parents through local Safe Kids partners, trauma program managers, and
Pediatric EMS Champions. Tabletop and Banner displays were developed and distributed across the state to provide
interactive and static bike safety messaging. This year, Safe Kids Worldwide provided Maryland with a mini grant for
helmets that were distributed with educational information to over 80 families at the Maryland State Firefighters
Association Annual Convention and Conference in June. Through Safe Kids Maryland® and Risk Watch Maryland outreach,
the bike safety education will continue with social media and in-person training to promote bike safety across
Maryland communities.
Bicycle Safety Project
Grant Page
Family Advisory Network Council / Right Care When It Counts
The Maryland EMS for Children program and the Family Advisory Network (FAN) Council annually recognize children and
youth in Maryland who have demonstrated “the right steps to take” in an emergency or preparedness for an emergency.
In May, three children and youth were recognized for their actions to assist another citizen during an emergency or
to provide education to other children and youth on what to do when an emergency happens. This year, the Right Care
When It Count awards were presented in Regions III and V to children and youth for calling 9-1-1 and providing care
until paramedics arrived and for starting CPR after a sudden emergency. The Right Care criteria were updated by the
FAN Council for 2025 to simplify the nomination process. FAN Council members attended the EMS conferences to promote
Right Care nominations, which are now open year-round as of June 2025.
Right Care When It Counts
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