CMC SELECTED FOR PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY SERVICES TASK FORCE

November 7, 2002

Augusta, Ga. -- The MCG Children's Medical Center was recently selected to participate on a national task force to develop emergency care plans for children with special health care needs. The CMC is one of only six children's hospitals and the only acute care facility in the South selected to participate.

The initiative will formally kick off in Alexandria, Virginia, on November 14 and 15. Dr. Karen Carter, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Dr. Natalie Lane, Medical Director, CMC Emergency Department, and Christy Davison, LMSW, Pediatric Social Worker, will represent the CMC.

The outcome of the project will be a process that can be used by all children's hospitals and EMS providers to ensure prompt, appropriate care of this unique population of pediatric patients.

The other five participating hospitals are the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation, INOVA Fairfax (Virginia) Hospital for Children, La Rabida Children's Hospital of Chicago, Children's Hospital of New York -Presbyterian and St. Mary's Hospital for Children in Bayside, New York.

The National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) and the federal Emergency Medical Services for Children program, part of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, will conduct the project.

MCG HealthCare is the health system of the Medical College of Georgia and is comprised of MCG Health, Inc. and the clinical services offered by the faculty of the School of Medicine and the members of the Physicians Practice Group. MCG Health, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation operating the MCG Hospitals and Clinics, Children's Medical Center, the Georgia Radiation Therapy Center and related clinical facilities and services. MCG Health, Inc. was formed to support the research and education mission of the Medical College of Georgia and to build the economic growth of the CSRA, the state of Georgia and the Southeast by offering the highest level of primary and specialty health care.