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  • PREVENTION, PREPAREDNESS, & RESPONSE

    This section provides educational materials to healthcare and non-healthcare providers alike. Here you will find information about disaster preparedness, injury prevention, and emergency response.

    DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

    Pediatric Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness
    A Resource for Pediatricians -This new comprehensive report serves as a practical resource that pediatricians can consult in planning for and responding to natural disasters and bioterrorist events. The accompanying 35-page summary highlights significant parts of the report for quick reference.
    JumpSTART Triage Tool and Other Resources
    The JumpSTART Triage Tool was developed to guide EMS proivders during times of disaster and mass-casualty incidents when resources are not available to meet the need. Specific to pediatrics, this tool allows the triaging EMS provider to quickly and accurately determine the severity of a patient’s condition for faster treatment and transport determinations.
    Save the Children 2013 Disaster Report
    Save the Children’s National Commission on Children and Disasters first report on the status of children and disasters. This report highlights many areas that remain unsatisfactory when it comes to children during periods of disasters, such as acts of nature and acts against humanity.
    Disaster Hero Online Game
    Produced by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), Disaster Hero is a game designed to teach families how to prepare for all types of hazards or emergencies.
    Maintained by the American Academy of Pediatrics, this page contains abundant resources and information regarding children and disasters, including natural disasters and Mass-Casualty Incidents.

    INJURY PREVENTION

    PA Violence and Injury Prevention Program
    The purpose of the Violence and Injury Prevention Program is to prevent deaths and disability from intentional and unintentional injury through assessing the incidence of injury and developing programs to reduce injury risks. Services are provided through a contracting process with state and local agencies. Violence and Injury Prevention Program services include injury surveillance systems and data use, training, and prevention and education programs.
    Safe Kids Worldwide
    Safe Kids Worldwide is a global network of organizations whose mission is to prevent accidental childhood injury, a leading killer of children 14 and under. Visit Pennsylvania’s Chapter of the PA Safe Kids Coalition.
    The San Diego Burn Institute’s ‘Fire Safe Kid’ website is designed to be a fun, interactive place for kids to learn all about fire and burn prevention. Parents and other adults can benefit, too. In the families section, there are a variety of topics related to fire and burn prevention with hundreds of lifesaving tips to keep your family safe throughout the year. On this page, you can learn how to recognize fire hazards in the home, what to do if fire occurs, and how to protect your family and loved ones.
    Playground Safety
    Because playgrounds go hand in hand with childhood fun and innocence, few people look upon them as a threat to their children’s safety. Unfortunately, playgrounds and playground equipment can prove deadly to unsuspecting children. In fact, there are over 205,000 injuries associated with children and playgrounds on an annual basis. To prevent children from sustaining minor and major injuries while playing at public or private playgrounds, parents, teachers, and caregivers must understand what factors can make these areas unsafe.
    PA Child Death Review
    The PA CDR is a multidisciplinary approach to reviewing circumstances of child deaths to learn how to prevent future child deaths and serious injury. Its goal is to assist state agencies and local communities to take action to prevent injury and death among the child population.
    Youth Suicide
    This is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Website on Suicide and contains information specific to that involving youth. Suicide is a serious public health problem that affects even young people. For youth between the ages of 10 and 24, suicide is the third leading cause of death. It results in approximately 4,600 lives lost each year. The top three methods used in suicides of young people include firearm, suffocation, and poisoning.
    Every day more than 2000 children and teenagers die from an injury which could have been prevented. This joint WHO / UNICEF report is a plea to keep kids safe by promoting evidence-based injury prevention interventions and sustained investment by all sectors. The report presents the current knowledge about the five most important causes of unintentional injury – road traffic injuries, drowning, burns, falls, and poisoning – and makes seven recommendations for action.
    Whether it’s overtly aggressive or not, bullying is detrimental to students of all ages. The various forms that bullying can take — verbal, social, physical, and cyber — present different challenges, but all are ultimately harmful. Over 28% of students aged 12-18 have reported being bullied and over 43% have witnessed or experienced cyberbullying online. This online resource discusses bullying, the various types of bullying, the effects of bullying, and what to do if you or your child is being bullied.

    EMERGENCY RESPONSE

    This presentation, created by Joe Thompson from Huntingdon County, PA 9-1-1, focuses on 9-1-1 and information teens need to know. This presentation also described protections under the Good Samaritan Law when it comes to calling for help who has had too much to drink or has overdosed on drugs.
    This article, freely published, explores different options available to EMS providers to provide emergency medical care to children with special needs. For more information on prehospital care of children with special needs, please view our webinar on children with special needs.
    This lecture explains the unique challenges for EMS providers responding to children with autism. Additionally, this presentation highlights different ways that children can be approached and provides tips to EMS personnel on treating these special kids.
    Check out this short video produced by the Emergency Health Services Federation on how simple it is to help improve someone’s chance of survival of sudden cardiac arrest.
    Frederick the Paramedic is a new picture book series written by real Paramedics! Chris and Nicole have over 25 years of combined EMS experience, and want to share their insight on how to prevent common childhood injuries, and also what happens if you DO need to call 911! Based on actual experiences, scientific data, and an interactive story line, your Junior Paramedic will partner up with Frederick the Paramedic to help a person in need!

  • PARTNERS & SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

    This section highlights different partnerships that the Pennsylvania EMSC Program has developed over the years, as well as governmental agencies that provide support for the EMSC Program.  Also included are links to Pennsylvania-specific EMS sites for quick reference.

    SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE & NEGLECT

    Introduced in 2004, Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Education for Emergency Medical Service Providers (SCAN EMS) is targeted to the nearly 55,000 EMT’s, paramedics and pre-hospital registered nurses in Pennsylvania. This is a three hour continuing education program presented by an EMT Instructor, Emergency Department Nurse/Physician and local Children and Youth worker. SCAN-EMS is an interactive, hands-on educational experience that has been well received by the EMS community. SCAN-EMS emphasizes the importance of scene assessment, documentation and teamwork in the recognition and reporting of suspected child abuse.

    For more information, or to schedule this FREE workshop in your agency contact: Teresa Olsen @ tolsen@paaap.org or request online at www.pascan.org 

    Reporting Suspected Child Abuse or Neglect

    The Mission of ChildLine is to accept calls from the public and professional sources 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Cultural sensitivity and courteous demeanor will be displayed at all times to all callers. ChildLine will provide information, counseling, and referral services for families and children to ensure the safety and well being of the children of Pennsylvania.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    All Pennsylvania EMS providers are mandated reporters of suspected child abuse or neglect; however, anyone can make a report of suspected child abuse.  Suspected abuse or neglect can be reported in one of two ways:

    1. By contacting the Department of Human Services (formerly Department of Public Welfare) by calling ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313.  When you call, you will speak to a trained intake specialist who will interview you and guide you through the reporting process.  In addition to calling ChildLine, a reporter must also fill out the CY 47 form within 48 hours of the report and submit it to the county Children and Youth Agency.

    2. By making a report online using the following link:
    https://www.compass.state.pa.us/CWIS
    NEW: Download the Guide for Medical Providers on Reporting Suspected Child Abuse and/or Neglect from the PA EMSC and the PA Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics.

    BACKGROUND CHECK/CLEARANCE INFORMATION

    As of July 28, 2015: Per a release from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Bureau of EMS, working in coordination with the Department of Human Services, Pennsylvania EMS Providers, unless they meet specific requirements, now generally DO NOT have to complete background checks and clearances pursuant to Act 153 of 2014 and Act 15 of 2015.

    The Department of Health does not require these clearances for certification however, to obtain or maintain employment as EMS providers, EMS Agencies may require EMS providers to obtain certain background checks that can include:

    i) Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance;
    ii) Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check; and
    iii) Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Background Check.

    Where required, clearances and checks are required to be every five (5) years.

    Please see the following FAQs from the Department of Human Services:

    Paid Personnel FAQ

    Volunteer FAQ

    Additional guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Health regarding Child Protective Services Law Amendments and EMS can be found here.

    EMS providers are not, however, legally mandated to complete mandated reporter training as required under Act 31 of 2014.  The Department of Health, on the other hand, can require EMS providers complete this important training.

    Volunteers will now qualify for fee waivers for the ChildLine and PATCH clearances.

    ChildLine Child Abuse Background Clearance

    ChildLine Child Abuse Background Clearances cost $13 for paid staff and are free for volunteers, and can be obtained in one of two ways:

    1. By submitting the CY 113 form via mail to the Department of Human Services’ ChildLine Verification Unit.  The fee associated with the clearance must be paid by money order or business/agency check.  DHS does not accept cash or personal checks.

    2. By submitting online using the following link:
    https://www.compass.state.pa.us/CWIS
    Aside from allowing individuals to submit for clearances, the online system will allow organizations to set up business accounts to purchase child abuse history clearance payment codes and distribute those codes to applicants. When an applicant uses a code given to them by an organization, the organization will have access to the applicant’s child abuse history clearance results once they are processed.

    Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check (PATCH)

    The purpose of PATCH (Pennsylvania Access To Criminal History) is to better enable the public to obtain criminal history record checks. The repository was created and is maintained in accordance with Pennsylvania’s Criminal History Information Act contained in Chapter 91 of Title 18, Crimes Code. This Act also directs the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) to disseminate criminal history data to criminal justice agencies, non-criminal justice agencies and individuals on request. Criminal justice agencies can access all of an individual’s criminal history record information (CHRI). The PSP Criminal Record Check costs $22 for paid staff and is free for volunteers,  and can be obtained in one of two ways:

    1. By going online to https://epatch.state.pa.us/Home.jsp and submitting a request (recommended).  The associated fee can be paid with credit/debit card online.

    2. By completing the SP4-164 form and submitting it via mail to the PSP Central Repository.  The fee associated with the check must be paid by money order or business/agency check.  PSP does not accept cash or personal checks.

    Federal Bureau of Investigation Criminal Background Check

    The FBI Criminal Background Check is a multi-step process that includes fingerprinting.  The fee associated with this check is $23.85 for paid staff and $22.60 for volunteers, and can be paid online with a credit/debit card or in-person with a money order. Registration is completed online or over the telephone and must be complete prior to obtaining fingerprinting services.  For more information, please visit: https://www.pa.cogentid.com/index_dpwNew.htm

    NATIONAL EMSC PARTNERS

    The EIIC focuses on accelerating improvements in quality of care and outcomes for children who are in need of urgent or emergency care through an infrastructure that ensures routine, integrated coordination of quality improvement activities between key stakeholder organizations and their champions.
    Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network
    PECARN is the research branch of the national EMS for Children Program. PECARN conducts research on the prevention and management of acute illnesses & injuries in children, generally from an emergency medicine viewpoint.
    National EMSC Data Analysis Resource Center
    NEDARC is the data warehouse for the national EMS for Children Program.  NEDARC assists states with data collection and analysis and provides technical support to the EMS for Children Program when requested.

    GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

    The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s (AHRQ) mission is to improve the quality, safety, efficiency, and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. Information from AHRQ’s research helps people make more informed decisions and improve the quality of health care services. AHRQ was formerly known as the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research.
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
    CDC has remained at the forefront of public health efforts to prevent and control infectious and chronic diseases, injuries, workplace hazards, disabilities, and environmental health threats.
    Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
    HRSA provides national leadership, program resources and services needed to improve access to culturally competent, quality health care.
    Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB)
    MCHB strives for a society where children are wanted and born with optimal health, receive quality care and are nurtured lovingly and sensitively as they mature into healthy, productive adults.
    National Institutes of Health (NIH)
    NIH is the nation’s medical research agency — making important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives.
    United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
    The Department of Health and Human Services is the United States government’s principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves.

    SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS

    American Academy of Pediatrics
    The AAP is an organization of 60,000 pediatricians committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents and young adults.  We also recommend visiting the Pennsylvania American Academy of Pediatrics website.
    The PTSF is the organization dedicated to certifying PA’s trauma centers.  Visit their website for information on which facilities are trauma centers and find the ones that are closest to you.
    American Trauma Society (ATS)
    The American Trauma Society (ATS) is a leading spokes-organization for trauma care and trauma prevention in the United States.  For issues specific to PA, visit the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Trauma Society.

    PENNSYLVANIA EMS LINKS

    The Department of Health is the lead agency for emergency medical services (EMS) in the commonwealth. The department’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services is responsible for the statewide development and coordination of a comprehensive system to prevent and reduce premature death and disability.
    PEHSC serves as the recognized independent advisory body to The Pennsylvania Department of Health and all other appropriate agencies on matters pertaining to Emergency Medical Services. As an advocate for its diverse member organizations, PEHSC’s ultimate purpose is to foster improvements in the quality and delivery of emergency health services throughout the Commonwealth.

    Regional EMS Councils