[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2464 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  2d Session
                                H. R. 2464


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 9, 2008

     Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, 
                     Education, Labor, and Pensions

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide a means for continued 
        improvement in emergency medical services for children.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Wakefield Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) There are 31,000,000 child and adolescent visits to the 
        Nation's emergency departments every year.
            (2) Over 90 percent of children requiring emergency care 
        are seen in general hospitals, not in free-standing children's 
        hospitals, with one-quarter to one-third of the patients being 
        children in the typical general hospital emergency department.
            (3) Severe asthma and respiratory distress are the most 
        common emergencies for pediatric patients, representing nearly 
        one-third of all hospitalizations among children under the age 
        of 15 years, while seizures, shock, and airway obstruction are 
        other common pediatric emergencies, followed by cardiac arrest 
        and severe trauma.
            (4) Up to 20 percent of children needing emergency care 
        have underlying medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, 
        sickle-cell disease, low birth weight, and bronchopulmonary 
        dysplasia.
            (5) Significant gaps remain in emergency medical care 
        delivered to children. Only about 6 percent of hospitals have 
        available all the pediatric supplies deemed essential by the 
        American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of 
        Emergency Physicians for managing pediatric emergencies, while 
        about half of hospitals have at least 85 percent of those 
        supplies.
            (6) Providers must be educated and trained to manage 
        children's unique physical and psychological needs in emergency 
        situations, and emergency systems must be equipped with the 
        resources needed to care for this especially vulnerable 
        population.
            (7) Systems of care must be continually maintained, 
        updated, and improved to ensure that research is translated 
        into practice, best practices are adopted, training is current, 
        and standards and protocols are appropriate.
            (8) The Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) 
        Program under section 1910 of the Public Health Service Act (42 
        U.S.C. 300w-9) is the only Federal program that focuses 
        specifically on improving the pediatric components of emergency 
        medical care.
            (9) The EMSC Program promotes the nationwide exchange of 
        pediatric emergency medical care knowledge and collaboration by 
        those with an interest in such care and is depended upon by 
        Federal agencies and national organizations to ensure that this 
        exchange of knowledge and collaboration takes place.
            (10) The EMSC Program also supports a multi-institutional 
        network for research in pediatric emergency medicine, thus 
        allowing providers to rely on evidence rather than anecdotal 
        experience when treating ill or injured children.
            (11) The Institute of Medicine stated in its 2006 report, 
        ``Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains'', that the EMSC 
        Program ``boasts many accomplishments ... and the work of the 
        program continues to be relevant and vital''.
            (12) The EMSC Program has proven effective over two decades 
        in driving key improvements in emergency medical services to 
        children, and should continue its mission to reduce child and 
        youth morbidity and mortality by supporting improvements in the 
        quality of all emergency medical and emergency surgical care 
        children receive.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to reduce child and 
youth morbidity and mortality by supporting improvements in the quality 
of all emergency medical care children receive.

SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN 
              PROGRAM.

    Section 1910 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300w-9) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by striking ``3-year period (with an 
        optional 4th year'' and inserting ``4-year period (with an 
        optional 5th year'';
            (2) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``and such sums'' and inserting 
                ``such sums''; and
                    (B) by inserting before the period the following: 
                ``, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, $26,250,000 for 
                fiscal year 2010, $27,562,500 for fiscal year 2011, 
                $28,940,625 for fiscal year 2012, and $30,387,656 for 
                fiscal year 2013'';
            (3) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) as 
        subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and
            (4) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
    ``(b)(1) The purpose of the program established under this section 
is to reduce child and youth morbidity and mortality by supporting 
improvements in the quality of all emergency medical care children 
receive, through the promotion of projects focused on the expansion and 
improvement of such services, including those in rural areas and those 
for children with special healthcare needs. In carrying out this 
purpose, the Secretary shall support emergency medical services for 
children by supporting projects that--
            ``(A) develop and present scientific evidence;
            ``(B) promote existing and innovative technologies 
        appropriate for the care of children; or
            ``(C) provide information on health outcomes and 
        effectiveness and cost-effectiveness.
    ``(2) The program established under this section shall--
            ``(A) strive to enhance the pediatric capability of 
        emergency medical service systems originally designed primarily 
        for adults; and
            ``(B) in order to avoid duplication and ensure that Federal 
        resources are used efficiently and effectively, be coordinated 
        with all research, evaluations, and awards related to emergency 
        medical services for children undertaken and supported by the 
        Federal Government.''.

            Passed the House of Representatives April 8, 2008.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.