Florence Fire/EMS is garnering praise for its commitment to improving pediatric emergency care.
During Tuesday’s Florence City Council meeting, Kentucky Emergency Medical Services for Children Project Director Morgan Scaggs commended the department’s men and women and presented a plaque recognizing the achievement.
The acknowledgment is fitting, Florence resident Aaron Newman said.
“I’m filled with pride for them,” Newman said. “And no group of men and women deserve this honor more. We should never take their work for granted, because they literally answer the bell whenever the call goes out. They’re the best.”
The Kentucky EMS for Children program is a federal/state partnership grant program supporting hospital emergency departments and EMS agencies dedicated to making improvements in pediatric emergency care, Scaggs said, adding while more than 95% of emergency care patients are adults – when that patient is an infant, child or adolescent, it carries some additional challenges.
“First and foremost, there is a psychological and emotional impact caring for children,” Scaggs said. “Children don’t always have the same ability to communicate with us and they’re physiologically different from adults.”
Florence EMS fulfilled the program criteria, Scaggs said, that included committing to conducting more pediatric emergency training and education for providers; regularly evaluating skills competency; designating someone on staff as a pediatric emergency care coordinator; working with medical directors to improve pediatric emergency care protocols; and providing community education and outreach to ensure the community has injury prevention.
“Florence Fire/EMS is joining 35 other services this year, so we are at about 22-23% of the licensed services in Kentucky having made a (pediatric emergency care) commitment,” Scaggs said. “Your men and women of Florence Fire/EMS have made that commitment.”
The department will receive decals for its emergency vehicles commemorating the pediatric emergency care achievement. Florence EMS will demonstrate annually that it has met program criteria to provide the best care for Florence’s children, Scaggs said.
