As a constituent and pediatrician, I respectfully urge you to cosponsor S. 60/H.R. 2464, the Wakefield Act, a bill to reauthorize the Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program.

For over twenty years, the EMSC program has driven significant improvements in emergency medical care for children. The program provides funds for state EMS offices and targeted projects to address children's emergency care. Past efforts have ranged from an emergency care handbook for school nurses to pediatric equipment lists for ambulances and other pre-hospital providers. Every state receives EMSC funds, meaning that all American children benefit from the program. In the two decades since the EMSC program's establishment, child injury death rates have dropped by 40 percent. Last summer's Institute of Medicine report on the future of emergency care in the U.S health system affirmed the importance of the federal EMSC program and stated, "the work of the program continues to be relevant and vital."

"The Wakefield Act, named for a family whose child survived a catastrophic auto accident due to the excellent emergency care he received, would renew the EMSC program for an additional five years. The bill has been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and over 40 other organizations.

Please help pediatricians and other health care professionals provide the best possible emergency medical care to children by cosponsoring S. 60/H.R. 2464. If you would like to become a co-sponsor, please contact Rachel Armstrong in Sen. Daniel Inouye's (D-HI) office at 202-224-3934 or Shana Sexton in Rep. Jim Matheson's (D-UT) office at 202-225-3011.

Thank you for your commitment to improving the health of our nation's children.