National emergency medical services for children (emsc) resource centers demonstration CA

The Health Resources and Services Administration awarded the University of Texas at Austin $4.115 million on September 1, 2026, through the Emergency Medical Services for Children program (CFDA 93.127) to establish and operate the National Pediatric Readiness Coordinating Center (NPRCC).

The NPRCC will decrease childhood mortality from acute illness and injury by increasing pediatric readiness across the emergency healthcare system, serving children in prehospital and emergency department settings. The center will develop and maintain centralized, evidence-based resources and tools to support emergency health care providers in achieving high pediatric readiness scores. Work includes converting national pediatric readiness guidelines into national assessments, measuring pediatric readiness in prehospital and emergency department settings, and providing tailored outreach and support programs to critical access hospitals and Indian Health Service/tribal hospitals, which currently score below the national median. The award funds activities through August 31, 2030, with place of performance in Texas.

The source indicates that high pediatric readiness scores in emergency departments correlate with 76 percent decreased mortality risk for critically ill children and 60 percent decreased mortality risk for critically injured children, with an estimated 2,143 preventable pediatric deaths annually in U.S. emergency departments through universal adoption of high pediatric readiness standards.

Abstract

National pediatric readiness coordinating center the global aim of the national pediatric readiness coordinating center (nprcc) is to decrease childhood mortality from acute illness and injury by increasing pediatric readiness (PR) across the emergency health care system to include children cared for in the prehospital and emergency department (ED) settings. Over the last 3 decades, leading medical professional societies have steered the development and revision of national guidelines for PR. These PR guidelines have been converted into national assessments and used to measure PR in the prehospital and ED settings. High PR (score =88 on the national PR project (nprp) assessment) in EDS is associated with a 76% decreased mortality risk for critically ILL children and a 60% decreased mortality risk for critically injured children. An estimated 2,143 pediatric deaths in united states (U.S.) EDS could be prevented each year through universally high PR. Yet the median PR score for the U.S. (70 out of 100) still falls far below the threshold needed to impart a survival benefit. Certain types of hospitals standardly fall below the national median, including critical access hospitals (65) and indian health service (IHS)/tribal hospitals (60.9), emphasizing the need for more robust support and effective outreach programs tailored to these communities. In prehospital settings, research into the association of high PR and survival benefit is now possible following completion of the first national PR assessment of emergency medical services (EMS) agencies in 2024 - the first baseline medfian score for EMS agencies (66 out of 100) suggests significant opportunities for improvement. Adoption of high PR in every ED and EMS agency requires easily accessible, navigable, centralized, evidence-based resources and tools to support frontline emergency health care providers (ehps) and administrators with local implementation. The nprcc brings together national leaders from austin, TX, salt lake city, UT, cleveland, OH, LOS angeles, CA, durham, NC, SAN francisco, CA, new haven, CT, and denver CO along with other collaborators including medical professional societies, regulatory and accrediting bodies, government officials, public health organizations, and family organizations. Additionally, the nprcc will collaborate with entities that influence organizational change and adoption of PR guidelines locally including state-based programs and title v recipients, disaster networks, subject matter experts, and families to advance PR. To increase awareness of and drive improvements in PR, the nprcc will use quality improvement (QI) methodology, centralized data collection and analytics, near-time performance reporting and feedback, and coordinated, centralized communications. The nprcc will support ED and EMS clinicians, as well as healthcare administrators and state officials and the communities they serve through various activities designed to improve PR. These include development and dissemination of evidence-based resources and tools, engagement in QI collaboratives, coordinated data analysis and performance measurement, and consolidated communications and reporting. By september 29, 2030, the nprcc will reduce the number of preventable pediatric deaths by 1) increasing the median prehospital PR score by 5 points among EMS agencies, and 2) increasing the proportion of EDS with high PR (score =88) by at least 10 percent nationally.