Sheila Jackson Lee: “As a senior member of the Committee on the Budget, I rise in strong support of H.R. 776, the Emergency Medical Services…”

“As a senior member of the Committee on the Budget, I rise in strong support of H.R. 776, the Emergency Medical Services for Children Program Reauthorization Act of 2019. The Emergency Medical Services for Children Program (EMSC) reduces child and youth mortality and morbidity due to severe illness or injury by increasing awareness among health professionals, providers and planners, and the general public of the special needs of children receiving emergency medical care. Specifically, the EMSC program has provided grants to all states since I 1985 for the State Partnership, Targeted Issues, State Partnership Regionalization of Care, and The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network. Additionally, the EMSC program has been used to establish national resource centers and a pediatric emergency care research network. Mr. Speaker, the majority of children are treated in community and rural emergency departments rather than specialized centers such as large children's hospitals. As a result, pediatric visits make up less than 20 percent of cases at emergency departments, so they lack the quality of pediatric emergency care needed for established practice guidelines. I support H.R. 776 because Congress has a responsibility to ensure that every child has access to necessary emergency medical services and that no child in our nation is left untreated. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R.…”