— News Release, UNC School of Medicine
HENDERSON, North Carolina – Vance County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has been selected to join the Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinators Plus (PECC+) Program, an advanced pediatric training and education program developed by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine in partnership with the NC Office of EMS and funded by the EMS for Children Innovation and Improvement Center.
Twelve EMS agencies throughout the state of North Carolina were selected following an application and interview process for the highly selective program. The PECC+ Program representative for Vance County EMS is Kris Talley, FTO-Paramedic and Assistant Shift Supervisor, who will serve as the Pediatric Emergency Care Coordinator (PECC).
The PECC+ Program will provide specialized pediatric training, educational opportunities, and other resources to Vance County, including online educational courses for individual providers working in Vance County EMS. Regular program participation earns Vance County EMS a monthly stipend that will be used towards local pediatric care needs.
The PECC+ Program has partnered with ESO Solutions, North Carolina’s EMS data management system, to develop performance feedback tools that utilize real-time field data to promote quick turnaround on performance review and improvement. These state-of-the-art tools are currently only available to the twelve participating PECC+ Program agencies.
In late July, PECCs gathered in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for a full-day educational Summit where they prepared for their PECC+ role by attending seminars on specialty topics in pediatric care and engaging in hands-on training with both live actors and simulation tools.
Talley is eager to begin his role, stating, “The reason that I was interested in becoming a PECC is the ability to bring training and knowledge back to my department. I love learning and I love teaching, so it seemed like a great fit to be able to expand not only my knowledge of pediatrics but those in my department as well.”
The PECC+ Program officially begins on September 1st and will run for two years.