RESUMEN
Emergency medical services (EMS) systems were initially developed in the United States during the late 1960s. Modeled from military experiences, EMS demonstrated that survival for prehospital patients could be improved with enhanced field triage, treatment, and transport protocols. Over the next few decades, it was identified that children and adolescents had poorer outcomes in similar acute medical situations as compared to adults. To address this, the emergency medical services for children (EMSC) program was established in 1985 as a federal initiative to ensure appropriate resources and adequately trained personnel are available to meet the emergency care needs of children who are critically ill and injured. In 1994, the Illinois EMSC program was established and a pediatric facility recognition program to improve the emergency care of pediatric patients was rolled out in 1998. This article reviews the development of EMSC facility recognition programs and discusses their unique characteristics and contributions to improved pediatric emergency care. [Pediatr Ann. 2021;50(4):e165-e171.].
