Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine (COPEM)

The AAP Committee on Pediatric Emergency Medicine (COPEM) was founded in 1985, just after legislation to create the federal Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program was authorized in 1984. COPEM addresses the unique needs of infants, children and adolescents in the access to and delivery of high-quality, equitable, pediatric emergency care.

As an advocate for Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC), COPEM utilizes its resources to foster programs such as the National Pediatric Readiness Project and policy designed to heighten professional knowledge of such issues as prehospital care of children and EMS, pediatric life support, and hospital resources for the delivery of pediatric emergency care including essential equipment, supplies, staffing, quality improvement plans and protocols.

Resources for the public are also developed, for example, the Family Readiness Kit to help families prepare a disaster supplies kit and develop a disaster plan as well as resources on Emergency Preparedness for Children with Special Health Care Needs, including the Emergency Information Form – an important tool for readiness. The Committee participates in related AAP-supported initiatives including National EMS Week | EMS for Children Day, Stop the Bleed, World Sepsis Day, Button Battery Injury Prevention, Gun Violence Prevention and many others.

COPEM serves as a voice for EMSC within and outside the Academy and collaborates with multiple national stakeholders such as the federal EMSC program and EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Surgeons, Emergency Nurses Association, National Association of EMS Physicians, National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, and National Association of State EMS Officials.

COPEM also partners with the AAP Section on Emergency Medicine to identify Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) experts to participate as faculty in educational programming, to review related guidance from other AAP groups and organizations and to advocate, for example, on five things physicians and patients should question – PEM Choosing Wisely. 

View Landmark articles published in Pediatrics from the past 75 years on Advancing the Quality of PEM. 

View policy statements

Committee Members

Toni K. Gross, MD, MPH, FAAP, FAEMS
Chairperson
New Orleans, LA

Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, MD, MPH, FAAP
Pittsburgh, PA

Kerry S. Caperell, MD, FAAP
Louisville, KY

Jennifer Hoffmann, MD, FAAP
Chicago, IL

Jennifer E. McCain, MD, FAAP
Birmingham, AL

Christian D. Pulcini, MD, MEd, MPH, FAAP
Burlington, VT

Mohsen Saidinejad, MD, MS, MBA, FAAP
Los Angeles, CA

David Schnadower, MD, MPH, FAAP
Cincinnati, OH

Caleb E. Ward, MD, MPH, FAAP
Washington, DC

Muhammad Waseem, MBBS, FAAP
Bronx, NY

Liaison Members

Christopher S. Amato, MD, FACEP, FAAP
American College of Emergency Physicians

Sam Shahid, MBBS, MPH
American College of Emergency Physicians

Sara B. Kinsman, MD, PhD, FAAP
Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) Program
Maternal and Child Health Bureau

Charles G. Macias, MD, MPH, FAAP
EMSC Innovation and Improvement Center

Elizabeth L. Stone, RN, PhD, CPEN
Emergency Nurses Association

Cynthiana Lightfoot
Family Partnerships Network

Katherine E. Remick, MD, FAAP
National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians

Kathryn M. Kothari, MD, FAAP
National Association of EMS Physicians

Cynthia J. Wright-Johnson, MSN, RN
National Association of State EMS Officials

Contact COPEM