EMSC State Partnership, Texas

Congratulations to our 2022 Texas EMS for Children Crew of the Year Award recipients! Paramedic Margaret Williams and Paramedic Bradley Starkey of the Galveston Area Ambulance Authority received the award for their exceptional effort in the development of a pediatric quality improvement program. This included developing an EMS specific pediatric epidemiology tracking system they integrated into the Galveston County Health District's reporting system and surveillance reports.

Governor's Proclamation Recognizes EMS for Children Day in Texas!

Texas Governor Greg Abbot issued a proclamation observing May 18, 2022, as Emergency Medical Services for Children Day in Texas. In the proclamation he encourages “all Texans to recognize the important work of EMS practitioners and the entire pediatric emergency care profession, appreciate the vital contribution they make in safeguarding the health, safety, and well-being of their communities, and advocate for the continued importance for specialized emergency care for children.”

https://files.constantcontact.com/a2806160801/20437d7c-a80c-40bc-b005-7cbaa854246f.pdf?rdr=true

The Winter 2022 edition of the Texas EMSC Pony Express newsletter is now available! To access the newsletter please visit:https://cdn.bcm.edu/sites/default/files/pony-express-newsletter-winter-2022.pdf

The Fall 2021 edition of the Texas EMS for Children Pony Express Newsletter is now available! To access the current edition please visit:https://cdn.bcm.edu/sites/default/files/pony-express-fall-2021.pdf

Thank you to all who responded to the National Pediatric Readiness Project (NPRP) Assessment and your continued interest in evaluating readiness to care for children in your emergency departments!

The assessment closed on August 31, 2021. The final response rates are:
Nationally, there were 5,147 hospital and free-standing emergency departments that received the assessment. 3,647 responded for a national response rate of 70.9%.
In Texas 525 hospital and free-standing emergency departments received the assessment. 267 responded for a 50.9% response rate.

To see specific state response rates,please visit the 2021 National Pediatric Readiness Assessment Response Rates.

If you have any questions about the assessment or would like further information about the National Pediatric Readiness Project, please contact the Texas EMS for Children Program Manager, Sam Vance at 832-824-EMSC(3672) or [email protected]

For additional help and resources related to Pediatric Readiness, please visit pediatricreadiness.org

Thank you for contributing to the improvement of emergency care for children across Texas and the United States!

The Summer 2021 edition of the Texas EMSC Pony Express Newsletter is now available!https://cdn.bcm.edu/sites/default/files/pony-express-summer-2021.pdf

Sally Snow BSN, RN, CPEN, FAEN, member of the Texas EMSC Advisory Committee, has been awarded the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) 2021 Judith C. Kelleher Award. The award, named for one of ENA’s co-founders, is the association’s most prestigious honor. To read more, please visit:
https://www.ena.org/press-room/articles/detail/2021/06/14/ena-foundation-chair-longtime-ena-supporter-receives-association-s-highest-honor

The Texas EMS for Children (EMSC) State Partnership is happy to announce the return of the Pony Express newsletter! The Pony Express is the quarterly newsletter of the Texas EMSC State Partnership. The name for this publication was chosen with it's inaugural edition in September 2009. It is based on the idea that information should be timely and efficient, and should flow in all directions among EMSC partners and stakeholders across Texas. Partnership is meaningless without collaboration, and collaboration is impossible without communication. To view the newsletter, visit:https://cdn.bcm.edu/sites/default/files/volume-9-issue-1.pdf

We are proud to announce the recipients of the 2020 Texas EMS for Children Crew of the Year Award are Paramedic Heather Waites and EMT Ryan Wilkenfeld of Acadian Ambulance of Texas, Southeast Texas Region, Beaumont. Paramedic Waites and EMT Wilkenfeld received this award for the crew’s life-saving response to a traffic accident they witnessed during the historic ice storm in February 2021. Waites and Wilkenfeld were transporting a non-critical patient as a vehicle passed their ambulance. The vehicle’s driver lost control on the icy highway, flipped, and landed overturned in the median filled with ice and freezing water. The crew pulled off the road to render aid and summoned additional units to respond. They began extrication and successfully rescued four patients before reentering the vehicle to find an infant submerged in the water and unresponsive. For the full nomination, please visithttps://www.bcm.edu/sites/default/files/nomination-of-paramedic-heather-waites-and-emt-ryan-wilkenfeld.pdf

EMS for Children Day is a time to honor those of you who take care of our children in an emergency. The Texas EMS for Children Program would like to thank the thousands of health care professionals – EMTs, Paramedics, nurses, and physicians – who for the last 37 years have worked with the Program at the state and national levels to improve the care provided to children in the emergency setting. We honor you for your continued dedication to the children of Texas and the nation!

National EMS Week is a time to celebrate the dedication and commitment of EMS providers all over the country making a difference in the lives of millions of Americans every day. On behalf of the Texas EMS for Children State Partnership, thank you for all you do!