MD, FAAP
Professor
Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) at the Yale School of Medicine
New Haven, CT
Mark X. Cicero, MD, FAAP, is a Professor in the Section of Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) at Yale School of Medicine. Prior to this appointment, he completed medical school at the State University of New York at Buffalo, a pediatrics residency and chief residency at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, and a PEM fellowship at Yale. He has designed experiential and didactic curricula in pediatric disaster medicine and has published original research on disaster medicine educational strategies. His research is sponsored by Emergency Medical Services for Children and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. He has served nationally as a consultant for prehospital and hospital pediatric disaster preparedness. His firsthand disaster experience includes Hurricane Isabel in Norfolk, VA, as well as an epidemic. He has served as Chair of the Pediatrics Committee of the National Association of EMS Physicians and as a member of the National Biodefense Science Board and the National Advisory Committee on Children and Disasters.
Currently, Dr. Cicero is the principal investigator of the HeadStrong Community Paramedicine Project, which uses mobile integrated health to improve outcomes for young people with concussions. He also serves as the Medical Director for the Connecticut Emergency Medical Services for Children partnership and in the education domain of the Pediatric Pandemic Network.
Pediatric patients represent 5–10% of EMS encounters but remain among the highest-risk populations for adverse outcomes due to limited provider exposure, equipment challenges, and variability in pediatric readiness across systems.
This session, hosted by the Pediatric Pandemic Network (PPN) and Connecticut EMS for Children (CT EMSC), will provide EMS clinicians with practical, accessible resources to enhance everyday pediatric readiness. The presentation will highlight three core areas: simulation-based training (SimBox), everyday pediatric readiness success stories, and disaster preparedness strategies involving children.
Attendees will be introduced to SimBox, a scalable tool that supports hands-on, low-cost, low-barrier pediatric simulation training that can be utilized by EMS agencies, hospitals, and even office-based environments. Participants will also learn evidence-based strategies, resources, and local implementation success stories that support pediatric readiness in daily EMS operations.
Finally, presenters will address pediatric considerations during disasters and mass-casualty incidents, emphasizing planning tools and just-in-time resources available to EMS clinicians to improve preparedness and response for children during both everyday and extraordinary events.
