President Biden has signed the bipartisan Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Reauthorization Act of 2024 into law, and Representatives Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Buddy Carter (R-GA) are celebrating. They call it "a critical step" in providing high-quality emergency healthcare for children and adolescents.
The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) described the EMSC program, enacted in 1984. The program helps fund the research and development of emergency medical care specifically for children and adolescents, providing "direct support to emergency departments and pre-hospital emergency medical services that require specialized medications, equipment, and training to care for pediatric patients."
The EMSC program has been renewed into 2029 with the president's signature. It was last reauthorized in 2019 during President-elect Donald Trump's first term in office.
Rep. Castor praised the reauthorization by saying, "Children and adolescents require unique, specialized emergency care, and bipartisan support from Congress is critical. The EMSC reauthorization builds on 40 years of research and care to seriously ill and injured children to ensure that—no matter where a child lives—the health systems in their area provide quality emergency care services. As the Co-Chair of the Children's Health Care Caucus and representative of several major children's hospitals, I know that reauthorizing EMSC is a critical step toward improved outcomes and fully prepared pediatric specialists."
Similarly, Rep. Carter drew upon his previous experience as a pharmacist, adding, "As a pharmacist, I understand how critical it is that children receive high-quality care that is specialized to their unique needs. The EMSC program has proven effective at saving lives and provides all hospitals with the resources necessary to treat young patients. I am proud to lead this important bill reauthorizing the program, which is now law, and will continue supporting policies that promote children's health and well-being."
The EMSC reauthorization marks the second piece of healthcare legislation pushed by Rep. Castor in recent weeks, previously making a bipartisan push in mid-December for the Stillbirth Health Improvement and Education (SHINE) for Autumn Act with Representative Young Kim (R-CA), which would provide grants to states for research into stillbirth, its risk factors.
