Wakefield Act

Floor Speech

Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I wish today to speak in support of S. 408, legislation that I introduced along with my colleague, Senator Inouye, to reauthorize the Emergency Medical Services for Children, EMSC, Program administered by the Department of Health and Human Services', HHS, Health Resources and Services Administration's, HRSA, Maternal and Child Health Bureau, MCHB. It is fitting that we do this in the year of the program's 25th anniversary.

The purpose of the EMSC Program is straightforward: to ensure state-of-the-art emergency medical care for ill or injured children and adolescents. Children have different medical needs than adults, and that presents special challenges for emergency and trauma care providers. These differences do not solely relate to medical supplies. They are also physiological and emotional. Not only will an adult-sized facemask not adequately administer oxygen to a child; but, for example, children's respiratory systems function differently, so they are more at risk for inflammation and infection; and they maintain fluid balances differently and thus are more prone to dehydration and death due to blood and fluid loss. Kids even may not be old enough or sufficiently cognizant to communicate what exactly is wrong with them or how they got hurt.

The EMSC Program has helped educate and train medical professionals to provide emergency care for children appropriately, because children are not just small adults.

The program has made extraordinary contributions in its 25 years--but disparities in children's emergency care still exist. According to the Institute of Medicine, IOM's 2006 report: ``Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains,'' children account for nearly one-third of all emergency department visits, yet many hospitals are simply not prepared to handle pediatric patients. The IOM reported that only 6 percent of EDs in the United States have all of the necessary supplies to appropriately handle children's emergency care.

I am proud that my home State of Utah has played a special role in advancing the level of emergency medical care for children and teenagers. Working with the EMSC Program, Utah has participated in the Intermountain Regional Emergency Medical Services for Children Coordinating Council. The University of Utah is home to both the National Emergency Medical Services for Children Data Analysis Resource Center, NEDARC, and the Central Data Management Coordinating Center, CDMCC, for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network, PECARN. Utah-based projects also helped pioneer the development of training materials on caring for special needs pediatric patients.

Each year, representatives of Utah's medical workforce come to visit and talk about the wonderful accomplishments and importance of the EMSC Program.

The IOM report also recommended doubling the EMSC Program budget over the next 5 years. Over the past several years, there has been a heightened interest in emergency preparedness and emergency services coordination. Despite this, there has been little concern with pediatric emergency readiness. The interest and financial support has gone to predominately support communications and coordination of local, State, and Federal emergency resources. The focus has been on the general population, on adult care; there is not a national strategy to address the complex emergency care needs of children. In light of the recent and current events related to national readiness, such as a potential influenza outbreak, bioterrorist attack, or natural disaster, children's readiness must also be acknowledged and funded.

The EMSC Program last expired in 2005. EMSC remains the only Federal program dedicated to examining the best ways to deliver various forms of care to children in emergency settings. Its reauthorization is long overdue.

The House passed its version of the EMSC reauthorization bill in April of last year by an overwhelming vote of 390 to 1; but, unfortunately, the Senate was not able to take up the bill before the 110th Congress adjourned. While I surely understand the uncertainties of the Senate's legislative agenda, I am disappointed we were unable to pass this very important reauthorization legislation to which there was no opposition.

S. 408 contains the same language that received such tremendous bipartisan support, and I urge my colleagues to support its timely passage.

Source