Missouri first responders learn to care for special needs children

ST. LOUIS -- First responders in Missouri are being trained as part of a new program to care for children with special needs.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Shelby Cox and Tricia Casey developed the Special Needs Tracking and Awareness Response System last summer. The system identifies each special-needs child within a district with a number, which emergency dispatchers can relay to ambulance crews.

First responders can use that number to look up a child's medical information in the system's database.

Cox, an EMS liaison for Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, said that doctors asked her to see how care could be improved for children with special needs as they are transported to the hospital. She said the system was created because first responders needed detailed information and preparation before an emergency takes place. She said a dozen districts in the St. Louis area have signed on to be a part of the system.

Cox said many people assume that first responders are experts and can handle any type of emergency, but training for first responders has not caught up with advances with care for children with special needs.

A 2011 report by the American Academy of Pediatrics says that over the past half century, the number of children living with disabilities has tripled. Health-care advances have helped children survive with conditions that used to mean death.

Casey, who is a paramedic with Rock Township, said the demands on emergency medical services have changed significantly since the 1970s.

"It is imperative that appropriate care for these children begins when paramedics arrive," said Dr. Steven Laffey, a pediatrician at Cardinal Glennon.

The cost of supplies and training is covered by a $28,000 grant from the city and county health departments.

Cox said she hopes to have a statewide database of children with special needs for dispatchers and first responders to use.