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Washington • Congress has voted to reauthorize a program to help emergency responders with the unique needs of children and adolescents, a move pushed by Utah's Sen. Orrin Hatch and Rep. Jim Matheson.
The House on Tuesday voted 410-4 to continue the 30-year-old grant program for all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories that helps emergency medical services (EMS) crews stock limited doses of medicine and smaller equipment to help younger patients. The Senate approved the legislation last week. It now heads to President Barack Obama for his signature.
"Children present unique medical challenges and require specialized care, and [this] program continues to give medical personnel many of the tools they need to treat some of our country's most vulnerable patients," Hatch said in a statement Tuesday.
Matheson added that the "common-sense legislation" passed with overwhelming bipartisan support.
"We all agree that keeping our kids safe and making sure that they are well cared for, both routinely and in times of crisis, is a top priority," Matheson said.
In addition to helping EMS providers, the program also offers grants of medicine to schools to help develop improved procedures and protocols in treating younger patients. Two components of the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program are housed at the University of Utah: the National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center, which seeks to improve the quality of care in state EMS systems; and the Central Data Management and Coordinating Center for the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network.