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HRSA Unveils New Campaign to Help
Prepare Parents The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration today announced a new public information and education campaign to raise awareness about the importance of parent, caregiver, and community preparedness for pediatric medical emergencies. The campaign, The Right Care When It Counts, was unveiled to the pediatric medical community at Children’s Hospital as part of the annual celebration of National Child Health Day. “We all hope our children never face a medical emergency, but we need to know how to deal with one if and when it happens,” HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. "This new campaign will help parents and other caregivers be ready to respond and protect their children in a medical emergency.” This campaign is targeted to parents and caregivers to address the needs of an estimated 30 million children and adolescents who experience medical emergencies each year. Injury alone claims the lives of more children than all other causes combined, and nearly 21,000 more deaths occur because of illness and other disorders. “Statistics like these make a compelling case for informing parents and caregivers about the importance of being prepared for pediatric medical emergencies,” said Dr. Duke. “This campaign will shed light on that critical issue. We must ask ourselves how can we prevent these emergencies from happening, and when prevention fails, how can we ensure that every child receives the right care when it counts.” The HRSA Administrator was joined by Children’s National Medical Center President and CEO Edwin Zechman, Jr., and Director of Pediatric Trauma and Burn Services Dr. Martin Eichelberger. The Right Care When It Counts campaign will be launched with a series of television, radio and print public service announcements that will be distributed nationally. HRSA has also created a brochure for parents with information on how to prevent and handle emergencies when they occur. The brochure includes an “Emergency Preparedness Plan” that can be customized by parents with vital health and personal information about their children. The plan is intended to be distributed to babysitters, daycares, schools, close neighbors and relatives, and other caregivers. National Child Health Day is an annual observance that dates back to 1928. Celebrated on the first Monday in October, it is intended to focus national attention on issues related to children’s health and well-being. In previous years, Child Health Day has focused on substance abuse, immunizations, special health care needs and early childhood. For more information on Children’s Health Month, go to www.childrenshealth.gov. Another source of credible, accurate information to help Americans-children, adults, and families as a whole-choose to live healthier lives can be found at www.healthierus.gov. To receive information on how parents and caregivers can be better prepared to handle pediatric medical emergencies call 1-888-ASK-HRSA. ### Note: All HRSA press releases, fact sheets and other
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