State public health department recognizes Dr. Susan Fuchs for her excellence in pediatric care and childhood injury prevention initiatives

 Associate Director of Pediatric Care and EMS Medical Director honored with Clinical Excellence award

CHICAGO, Ill. – Illinois Department of Public Health Office of Preparedness and Response Medical Director Dr. Sam Gaines presented Susan Fuchs, MD, FACEP with a special pediatric care award today for her contributions to childhood care. The Ron W. Lee, M.D. – Excellence in Pediatric Care Awards are given annually by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC) program to recognize those dedicated to pediatric emergency care and childhood injury prevention initiatives. Individuals or organizations can be nominated in one of three award categories - Lifetime Achievement, Clinical Excellence and Community Service.

This year’s recipients of the Excellence in Pediatric Care Awards are:

“Dr. Fuchs has shown leadership and dedication to pediatric emergency medicine over the years through her service, teaching and publications,” said Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Eric E. Whitaker. “Dr. Fuchs has been a member of the Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team (IMERT) for years, but recently agreed to be the lead physician on the newly formed IMERT Pediatric team which will help to assure the availability of pediatric experts during a disaster event in our state. She is very deserving of the Clinical Excellence award.”

Dr. Fuchs has been a board certified pediatric emergency physician since 1992. Her resume includes an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, Associate Director of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at Children’s Memorial Hospital, Pediatric Emergency Care Editorial Board, Prehospital Emergency Care Editorial Board, consultant to the Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Pediatric Advisory Subcommittee, Clinical Pediatric Emergency Medicine Editorial Board and numerous published articles relating to pediatric emergency care.

Dr. Fuchs travels throughout the state to help with hospital site surveys and uses these surveys as an opportunity to educate hospital personnel regarding the need to enhance their pediatric capabilities and keep current with new or evolving practices. She also serves on numerous local, state and national committees dedicated to EMS and Pediatric Emergency Medicine. Dr. Fuchs chairs the Illinois EMSC Advisory Board and is also the Chair of the Pediatric EM Interest Group of the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Fuchs has previously received the Ron W. Lee, M.D. – Excellence in Pediatric Care Award for Lifetime Achievement, the EMSC Heroes Award for Innovation in Product/Program Development and the Program Excellence Award, Prevent Child Abuse Illinois. Dr. Fuchs has also earned the President’s Call to Service Award from the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation for dedicating at least 4,000 hours to serving others over the course of her life; as well as the President’s Volunteer Service Award for her dedication to volunteer service.

The Illinois EMSC program is a collaborative effort of the Illinois Department of Public Health and Loyola University Medical Center. It was established in 1994 to ensure that the emergency medical care needs of children are adequately addressed.