[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 81 (Friday, April 26, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20806-20807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-10278]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Emergency Medical Service for Children; Cooperative Agreement for 
Emergency Medical Services for Children Central Data Management and 
Coordinating Center Demonstration Project

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.

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SUMMARY: The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) 
announces that up to $450,000 in fiscal year (FY) 2002 funds is 
available to fund one cooperative agreement for a demonstration project 
to establish, administer, and manage a Central Data Management and 
Coordinating Center (CDMCC) for the Emergency Medical Services for 
Children Network Development Demonstration Project (EMSC-NDDP). This 
cooperative agreement would demonstrate the feasibility and value of 
integrating data collection, data management, and data analysis 
guidelines, to serve as a central repository for generated data, and as 
central resource network databases for the EMSC-NDDP, and the public. 
The cooperative agreement (CFDA #93.127L) will be made under the 
program authority of the Public Health Service Act, Title XIX, Section 
1910 (42 U.S.C. 300w-9), Emergency Medical Services for Children, and 
will be administered by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), 
HRSA. The Project will be approved for up to a 3-year period, with an 
average yearly award of $450,000. However, funding beyond FY 2002 is 
contingent upon the availability of funds.

DATES: Applicants are expected to notify MCHB of their intent by June 
14, 2002. The deadline for receipt of applications is July 15, 2002. 
Applications will be considered ``on time'' if they are either received 
on or before the deadline date or postmarked on or before the deadline 
date. The projected award date is September 3, 2002.

ADDRESSES: To receive a complete application kit, applicants may 
telephone the HRSA Grants Application Center at 1-877-477-2123 (1-877-
HRSA-123) or register on-line at: http://www.hrsa.gov/_order3.htm 
directly. The Central Data Management and Coordinating Center Program 
uses the standard Form PHS 5161-1 (rev. 7/00) for applications 
(approved under OMB No. 0920-0428). Applicants must use Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) #93.127L when requesting application 
kits. The CFDA is a Government wide compendium of enumerated Federal 
programs, project services, and activities that provide assistance. All 
applications must be mailed or delivered to Grants Management Officer, 
MCHB: HRSA Grants Application Center, 901 Russell Avenue, Suite 450, 
Gaithersburg, MD 20879: telephone 1-877-477-2123: e-mail: 
[email protected].
    Necessary application forms and an expanded version of this Federal 
Register notice may be downloaded in either Microsoft Office 2000 or 
Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf) from the MCHB home page at http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov. Please contact Joni Johns, at 301/443-2088, or 
[email protected]/, if you need technical assistance in accessing the 
MCHB home page via the Internet.
    This notice will appear in the Federal Register and/or HRSA home 
page at http://www.hrsa.gov/. Federal Register notices are found on the 
World Wide Web by following instructions at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html.
    Letter of Intent: Applicants are expected to notify MCHB of their 
intent by June 14, 2002. Notification of intent to apply can be made in 
one of three ways: telephone, Kishena Wadhwani, Ph.D., 301-443-2927; e-
mail, [email protected]; mail, Research Branch, MCHB Division of 
Research, Training and Education; Parklawn Building, Room 18A-55; 5600 
Fishers Lane; Rockville, MD 20857, or Cindy Doyle, R.N., telephone 301-
443-3888; e-mail, [email protected]; mail EMSC Program, MCHB Division of 
Injury and EMS; Parklawn Building, Room 18A-38; 5600 Fishers Lane; 
Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kishena Wadhwani, Ph.D., 301-443-2927, 
e-mail: [email protected]/ or Cindy Doyle, R.N. 301-443-3888, e-mail: 
[email protected] (for questions specific to project objectives and 
activities of the program; or the required Letter of Intent, which is 
further described in the application kit); Jamie King, 301-443-1123, e-
mail [email protected] for grants policy, budgetary, and business 
questions).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Improving the care of ill and injured 
pediatric patients has been a major goal of the EMSC program since its 
inception in 1984. This program is administered by MCHB in 
collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 
(NHTSA), U.S. Department of Transportation. Almost every State has 
received EMSC funding for demonstration projects to expand and improve 
pediatric emergency care and many new methods have been implemented, 
including system development, education of emergency providers, 
integration of pediatric components into adult emergency medical 
services (EMS) systems, and data collection and analysis to delineate 
existing and emergent problems and develop cause-and-effect hypotheses.
    Despite the many advances in creating and improving EMS systems and 
incorporating pediatric components into them, relatively little 
empirical data has been collected about how EMS and EMSC systems 
operate, about the efficacy of the clinical procedures being employed 
at the hospital level to treat and manage children who have experienced 
an emergency event, or about the efficacy of the transport systems and 
clinical procedures used to treat and manage children prior to their 
arrival at the hospital. Information on the cost effectiveness of the 
various EMS and EMSC system configurations and of the various ways 
being used to handle clinical pediatric emergencies is also lacking.
    The dearth of nationwide, science-based knowledge about pediatric 
emergencies and how to best manage them has not gone unnoticed. The 
issue has been raised by professionals in the field since 1991, who 
have found that it constitutes a major barrier to the reduction of the 
annual toll in mortality and morbidity. More recently, in 2001, a joint 
report from the National Association of EMS Physicians and NHTSA 
delineates what areas--unspecified as to adult or children--need to be 
addressed. This report emphasizes that because the incidence rates for 
all emergency events are relatively small, more so for children, the 
pooling of data in sites and treatment experiences is highly desirable.
    The MCHB/HRSA has established EMSC-NDDP Cooperative Agreements with 
four (4) academic medical centers

[[Page 20807]]

throughout the United States, to act as regional centers or ``nodes.'' 
Under these cooperative agreements, Regional Nodes are working together 
to design and implement multi-site studies of pediatric emergencies and 
best practices for their management. The Steering Committee, which is 
composed of the principal investigators of the four cooperative 
agreements, representatives from each hospital emergency department 
affiliated with the principal investigators within Regional Nodes, 
MCHB/HRSA program staff, and the Principal Investigator for the Central 
Data Management and Analysis Center (under this cooperative agreement), 
will provide leadership and direction for the overall governance of the 
EMSC-NDDP.
    This announcement provides for the establishment of a Central Data 
Management and Coordinating Center (CDMCC) to provide statistical, 
clinical coordination, technical, regulatory, and administrative 
support for the EMSC-NDDP. The period of performance for this 
cooperative agreement is three years.

    Authorization: Title XIX, Section 1910, Public Health Service 
Act (42 U.S.C. 300w-9).

Purpose

    The purpose of this cooperative agreement is to support the 
establishment, administration, and management of a Central Data 
Management and Coordinating Center (CDMCC) to provide EMSC-NDDP with 
data collection, data management, data analysis guidelines, in order to 
demonstrate how it can serve as a central repository for generated data 
and serve as a central resource network of data bases for the EMSC-NDDP 
and the public. The purpose of the EMSC-NDDP is to demonstrate the 
feasibility and value of an infrastructure or network designed to be 
the platform from which to conduct investigations on the efficacy of 
treatments, transport, and care responses, including those preceding 
the arrival of children to hospital emergency departments.

Eligibility

    Eligibility is open to State governments and accredited schools of 
medicine. The term ``schools of medicine'' for the purpose of this 
announcement is defined as having the same meaning as set forth in 
section 799B(1)(A) of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. 295p(1)(A)). 
``Accredited'' in this context has the same meaning as set forth in 
section 799B(1)(E) of the PHS Act (42 U.S.C. 295p(1)(E)).

Funding Level/Project Period

    The administrative and funding instrument to be used for the 
national CDMCC will be a cooperative agreement, in which substantial 
MCHB scientific and/or programmatic involvement with the awardees is 
anticipated during the performance of the project. Under the terms of 
this cooperative agreement, in addition to the required monitoring and 
technical assistance, Federal responsibilities will include:
    (1) Provision of services of experienced federal personnel as 
participants in the planning and development of all phases of this 
activity.
    (2) Participation, as appropriate, in meetings conducted during the 
period of the cooperative agreement.
    (3) Ongoing review and concurrence with activities and procedures 
to be established and implemented for accomplishing the scope of work.
    (4) Participation in the preparation of project information prior 
to dissemination.
    (5) Participation in the presentation of information on project 
activities.
    (6) Assistance with the establishment of contacts with Federal and 
State agencies, MCHB grant projects, and other contacts that may be 
relevant to the project's mission; and referrals to these agencies.
    Approximately $450,000 in FY 2002 funds is available to support 
this cooperative agreement. A single award will be made in FY 2002, 
with a project period of up to three years. The initial budget period 
is expected to be 12 months, with subsequent budget periods being 12 
months. Continuation of any project from one budget period to the next 
is subject to satisfactory performance, availability of funds, and 
program priorities.

Review Criteria

    Applications that are complete and responsive to the guidance will 
be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate peer 
review group specifically convened for this solicitation and in 
accordance with HRSA grants management policies and procedures. As part 
of the initial merit review, all applications will receive a written 
critique. All applications recommended for approval will be discussed 
fully by the ad hoc peer review group and assigned a priority score for 
funding.
    Applications will be reviewed using a set of criteria covering the 
following areas:
    1. Soundness and practicality of the technical approach for 
executing the requirements as specified in the Terms and Conditions of 
the Award
    2. Principal Investigator's documented history of leadership in the 
conduct of multi-site clinical and observational studies and a 
publication record.
    3. Documented availability, training, qualifications, expertise, 
relevant experience, education and competence of the clinical, 
analytical, technical, and administrative staff and any other proposed 
personnel (including proposed subcontractors and consultants), to 
perform the requirements of the work activities
    4. Adequacy of the administrative and organizational framework
    5. Budget requests commensurate with the complexities involved in 
what is being proposed and carefully justified;
    6. Positive evaluation of pre-award site visit (if recommended by 
the review panel).
    Final criteria used to review and rank applications for this 
competition are included in the application kit. Applicants should pay 
strict attention to addressing these criteria, as they are the basis 
upon which their applications will be judged.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    If the cooperative agreement described in this announcement 
involves data collection activities that fall under the purview of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, OMB clearance will be sought prior to 
collection of data.

    Dated: April 19, 2002.
Elizabeth M. Duke,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 02-10278 Filed 4-25-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4165-15-P