WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass Congresswoman Kim Schrier’s, M.D. (WA-08) bill to improve health care for children during emergencies - the Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act. The House passed this bill on suspension by a vote of 399-13.
Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) is a federal program that provides funding for training, research, data collection, and resources to improve care for children in medical emergencies. Congresswoman Schrier’s bill would reauthorize the program for five more years.
“As a pediatrician, I have seen firsthand how quickly children can become medically unstable due to injury or illness,” said Rep. Schrier. “ The Emergency Medical Services for Children Reauthorization Act is vital in getting pediatric patients the care that they need in the field during emergency response. As a community pediatrician, this program has greatly supported my work and my patients through research, training, grant funding, and data collection that has resulted in better emergency care and a decline in pediatric injury-related deaths by over 40% since the program began in 1984. I am proud to have introduced this bill with my Democratic and Republican colleagues and look forward to it being signed into law."