Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC)

We support the care that saves children’s lives – WE ARE EMSC.

Florida EMS for Children (EMSC) is a nationally funded grant program working to improve health care in the field for children. It is our goal to ensure that pediatric patients receive the best care possible in the prehospital setting. Often viewed as “little adults,” children actually have very different and specific medical needs.

Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC)

The purpose of the Florida Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) State Partnership (SP) Program and PEDReady is to expand and improve emergency medical services (EMS) for children who need treatment for trauma or critical care. To achieve this mission, Florida EMSC is partnering with emergency departments (EDs), EMS agencies, disaster preparedness organizations, and families in the care of ill and injured children to enhance pediatric readiness across the continuum of care.

This is being accomplished by leveraging the existing 23-year collaboration between Florida Department of Health’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Oversight (BEMO) and The University of Florida College of Medicine – Jacksonville (UFCOM-J). This partnership has created ongoing collaborative initiatives and has expanded efforts to attain equitable access to pediatric emergency care and everyday readiness for all children in the state, with emphasis on rural communities.

For more information about the program, please visit https://flemsc.emergency.med.jax.ufl.edu/ or email PEDReady@jax.ufl.edu.  

EMSC Advisory Committee

The EMSC Advisory Committee was established in section 401.245(5), Florida Statutes, to advise the Department of Health on matters concerning preventative, prehospital, hospital, rehabilitative, and other post medical care for children. Members are appointed by the State Surgeon General and Secretary and serve two-year terms. The committee meets in conjunction with the EMS Advisory Council and constituent group meetings.

EMSC is seeking interested individuals to fill 2-year terms as members of the EMSC Advisory Committee with specific clinical area of focus. The State Surgeon General appoints the members to serve on this committee with members eligible to serve up to 2 terms. 

The Department is currently accepting nominations for the following positions on the EMSC Advisory Committee:

• Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic
• Emergency Physician
• Family Advisory Network Representative
• Nurse with Emergency Pediatric Experience
• Physician with Pediatric Experience

Interested persons with the above backgrounds should complete the Florida Department of Health Appointment Questionnaire and email it along with your résumé to EMS@flhealth.gov no later than August 30, 2024.

Resources

• Interfacility Transfer Guidelines Toolkit and Form Template

• Emergency Guidelines for Schools, 2019 Florida Edition

         Student Injury Report Form

• Protecting Children During Emergencies

• Preparedness Guide for Child Care Providers

• National Pediatric Readiness Project
  

  The National Pediatric Readiness Project is a multi-phase quality improvement initiative to ensure that all U.S. emergency departments (EDs) have the essential guidelines and resources in place to provide effective emergency care to children. The first phase of this project was a national assessment of EDs' readiness to care for children.

  To find out where Florida ranked in the nationwide assessment, click assessment.

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