Hatch Bill to Improve Children's Emergency Medical Services
HATCH BILL TO IMPROVE CHILDREN'S EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) has joined Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) to introduce legislation that gives new life to a program providing emergency medical services for children that President Bush targeted for elimination in his Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 budget.
"More than 31 million children visit the emergency room every year, and this program has helped reduce the pediatric death rate by 40 percent over the last 20 years," Hatch said. "So I was very disappointed to learn that President Bush recommended eliminating its funding. Despite the program's success, we still have a desperate need to strengthen children's care in
life-threatening situations."
Hatch and Inouye worked together to enact the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Act in 1985, which has provided support for states to improve the care of children within their emergency medical services systems. EMSC-supported projects include strengthening emergency care infrastructures, assessing local provider needs, and developing comprehensive education and training modules. The legislation Hatch and Inouye introduced late yesterday, S. 760, extends the authorization period and sets aside $23 million for FY 2006.
"The impact of this program is undeniable," Hatch said. "In 2003, 78 percent of states reported that either all or some of their pediatric emergency training programs were dependent on EMSC grant funding."
Utah has played a vital role in advancing the level of emergency medical care for children and teenagers. The University of Utah is home to both the National Emergency Medical Services for Children Data Analysis Resource Center and the Central Data Management Coordinating Center for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. Utah-based projects also helped pioneer the development of training materials on caring for special needs of pediatric patients.
"The EMSC program has been a great asset to Utah's citizens," said Dr. David N. Sundwall, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Health. "The Utah Department of Health uses funds provided through this program to help us meet our responsibility to improve the health of Utah's children. These funds allow us to work with the private sector to ensure that injured children receive timely care in hospitals or emergency care centers."
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