For Missouri EMS professionals looking to enhance their pediatric skills, now is your chance!

The Missouri Emergency Medical Services for Children Advisory Committee of the federal Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program is sponsoring the first annual pediatric seminar at the Capital Plaza in Jefferson City on February 19, 2009.

“The seminar promises to be very interesting, beneficial and affordable,” says Paula Adkison, EMSC Program Manager for the State of Missouri.

EMSC wants to bring pediatric care to pre-hospital and hospital professionals as part of its overall mission to support projects that expand and improve emergency medical services for children who need treatment for life threatening illnesses or injuries.

“The EMS for Children grant is federal and is for kids and adolescents to get care no matter what,” says Adkison.

The one day course includes pertinent course work that should appeal to most EMS professionals in Missouri.  CEU and CME credit will be earned by those who attend.  Cost for attendance is only $25 for non-physician attendees and $50 for physicians.  A total of 200 applications will be accepted for the seminar.

Interested parties are asked not to call in advance to request a seat at the seminar.  Instead, a brochure will be available on the MEMSA website, www.memsa.org, in late December, which may be downloaded and submitted to Paula Adkison.

The seminar is being coordinated in conjunction with St. Louis Children’s, Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital, Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, as well as St. John’s and Cox in Springfield and University Hospital and Clinics in Columbia.  Six speakers are scheduled to direct course work throughout the day, including Detective Jason Grellner from Franklin County Police Department and Dr. Martin Keller, a pediatric trauma surgeon at St. Louis Children’s.

Many attendees are expected to arrive the evening prior to the seminar in order to be prepared for the 8 am registration.  Adkison recommends making reservations at The Capital Plaza Hotel or Hotel Deville in the immediate vicinity.

Course work will include “From Baseball Bats to Bullets”, Blunt vs. Penetrating Trauma, Airway, Burns, Methamphetamines, poisoning and more.

“Pediatric seminars at this level are difficult to come across,” says Adkison. “Attendees will come out better prepared for the rare occurrences and will be up to date with the most current best practices.”

Significant door prizes will be offered as well at the seminar, including big fun things and medical equipment and supplies.

The EMSC program has funded pediatric emergency care improvement initiatives in every state, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. Missouri has participated since the early 1990’s.

Some examples of cutting-edge work underway with support from the EMSC program are projects to: develop emergency care educational and training programs for school officials and staff; design national, evidence-based quality measures for assessing care to children who have suffered serious injuries; and ensure that all state disaster plans address pediatric needs.

For more information, contact Paula Adkison at \n Paula.Adkison@dhss.mo.gov. This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it