FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

J&B Contact: Alisha Weisman 978/579-8235 AAP Contact: Gina Steiner 847/434-7872

PEPP Wins National EMSC Heroes Award for
Program to Improve Emergency Care for Children

Boston, August 02, 2001-- The US Department of Health and Human Services Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Program has announced Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP) as the winner of the prestigious 2001 National Emergency Medical Services for Children Heroes Award for Innovation in EMSC Product/Program Development.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and its PEPP Steering Committee are honored that the program has received this significant recognition. "We are still on cloud 9. This is a fantastic tribute to the cast of thousands who created and built this course", said Ronald Dieckmann, MD, MPH, FAAP, FACEP, chair of the PEPP Steering Committee and Director of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at San Francisco General Hospital. "Our goals with the PEPP Program are to teach prehospital professionals (paramedics and emergency medical technicians - EMTs) what is unique about children, discuss pediatrics illnesses and injuries, practice skills, and foster a sense of confidence in approaching children."

The PEPP Course began in 1990 as a program entitled Pediatric Education for Paramedics (PEP) in response to a national outcry for better prehospital pediatric education. A National PEP Task Force crafted the original course with representatives from the California PEP Task Force, the Florida Technical Advisory Panel for EMSC and several other pediatric prehospital education groups. The National PEP Task Force was funded by the California EMS Authority and the Florida Emergency Medicine Foundation. In 1995, the Task Force produced its first product, the PEP Course, which received wide national recognition and built upon the outstanding work of several state EMSC projects. In 1998, the American Academy of Pediatrics assumed administrative leadership of the program, established a PEPP National Steering Committee to restructure and expand the course, and teamed up with Jones and Bartlett Publishers to produce the popular products: a PEPP Student Text, a PEPP Resource Book, a BLS and ALS Videotape, and a CD ROM.

The members of the AAP National PEPP Steering Committee, a collaborative team of doctors, nurses and prehospital professionals, were determined to make a lasting difference in the prehospital emergency care of children at the national level. The one-day basic life support (BLS) version is geared towards first responders and EMT Basics, while the two-day advanced life support (ALS) version is for EMT-Intermediate and EMT-Paramedic providers.

J. Dennis Hastert, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives said in a congratulatory letter to the AAP, "With this program, EMTs and paramedics will know how to better treat and care for children, and therefore, be more likely to save their lives…I applaud you for your commitment to better medical care for our country's children. Because of your hard work and compassion, our nation will have healthier children and happier parents."

Released in March 2000, the first "Train the Trainer" PEPP course was offered in Baltimore, Maryland, in conjunction with the EMSC Second National Congress of Childhood Emergencies. Another seven cities across the country took part in the national rollout of the program. "The response we have had so far has been great," noted Linda Lipinsky, Director of the Division of Life Support Programs at the AAP. "From the eight national rollouts we held last year, there have already been over 700 local courses given throughout the country." A searchable database of all PEPP course coordinators and a list of upcoming PEPP courses are available at www.PEPPsite.com.

The PEPP course is a dynamic EMS teaching tool and is subject to ongoing review and modification, in concert with changes in the science of emergency pediatrics and advances in EMS education design and methodology. The PEPP Steering Committee is already reviewing feedback from the Course Coordinators who have taught the course and from professionals who have completed the course to produce a 2002 PEPP renewal, and to periodically update the recommendations in the PEPP Program.

The National EMSC Program is part of a national initiative designed to reduce child and youth disability and death caused by severe illness or injury. Once a year, the EMSC Program awards the Heroes Award to the product/program that has most significantly contributed to the advancement of pediatric education and training within the emergency medical services community.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has approximately 55,000 members in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Members include pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists, and pediatric surgical specialists. The mission of the AAP is to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.

Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc., headquartered in Sudbury, Massachusetts, is the seventh largest academic publisher in the United States, publishing text, professional and reference books, and a variety of multimedia products. Through their partnerships with national organizations, J&B has become one of the recognized leaders in the emergency care field.