DHSS Press Release |
Date: December 12, 2000 DHSS-DPH67-2000 |
| Gregg C. Sylvester, M.D., Secretary Janis D. Shields, Communication Director (302) 255-9037, Pager (302) 247-8523 |
Contact: Allison Taylor Levine, DPH Phone: (302) 744-4907 Pager: (302) 247-1560 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW PEDIATRIC BACKBOARDS TO IMPROVE EMERGENCY CARE FOR CHILDREN
DPH and First Backboards and Training to be Presented Wednesday at Christiana Fire Company
CHRISTIANA - The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) and the Delaware State Fire School is equipping all ambulances in Delaware with new pediatric backboards and training the state's emergency medical technicians (EMTs) on how to best help children who suffer traumas involving the head and neck. Presentation of the first pediatric backboard and initial EMT training will take place at a press conference on Wednesday, December 13, 2000, at 7 p.m., at Christiana Fire Company, Station 12, in Christiana, Del.
The statewide initiative, sponsored by DPH's Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program and the Fire School, will significantly improve emergency care for Delaware's children. This key piece of pediatric equipment and spinal immobilization training is now available to all state 911-ambulance agencies through federal EMSC funding.
The emergency care system was not originally designed to meet the needs of children. Rather, early EMS systems were geared to adult-only trauma and cardiac care. In Delaware, children's emergency care needs were formally assessed in 1998, and the Office of EMS has been working to address those needs. The pediatric backboard is the most expensive piece of equipment not required by Delaware Ambulance Regulations, but it can be very important for children involved in trauma, said Bill Stevenson, Director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS).
"Children are not small adults, and they need a backboard that is the right size should they suffer any traumatic injury that could involve the head or spinal cord," Stevenson said.
OEMS also is working with the Delaware State Fire School to provide pediatric spinal immobilization training for all ambulance companies who wish to participate in the project. After 50 percent of ambulance personnel complete the training, they are awarded a free backboard, compliments of the EMSC program.
Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.
