News:


Outreach Centers Go Smoke Free on July 1
The new All Children’s Hospital will be a smoke-free campus when it opens in December. In the meantime, our All Children’s Specialty Care Center and All Children’s Therapy Center outreach locations are leading the way with this transition. Effective July 1, smoking is not permitted on the property of the All Children’s Specialty Care Centers and All Children’s Therapy Centers.

The smoke-free policy is designed to improve the health of our patients and their families as well as our ACH employees.


July Practical Pediatrics: Epilepsy/Neurosurgery
Our Practical Pediatrics Seminar Series stops at All Children’s Specialty Care of Tampa on Saturday, July 18 for a program focused on Epilepsy/ Neurosurgery. Among the speakers will be neurosurgeon Gerald Tuite, M.D. and pediatric epileptologist S. Parrish Winesett, M.D. Dr. Winesett’s talks will include videos from the new Seizure Monitoring Unit at ACH and highlight epilepsy surgery at ACH. For more information and registration visit www.allkids.org/cme. All Children’s Specialty Care of Tampa is located at 12220 Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.


ACH Neonatal & Pediatric Transport Team Honored

Kudos to the ACH Neonatal & Pediatric Transport Team, recipient of the 2009 Florida State Emergency Medical Services for Children’s (EMSC) Heroes Award. The award honors a healthcare professional or organization for outstanding achievement in the care of ill or injured children (18 years and younger) in the areas of education, clinical care, community service or disaster management.

"We are very proud of our team members and their outstanding service to our patients," says Dr. Tony Napolitano, Medical Director of the ACH Neonatal/Pediatric Transport Team. "This is the first time in the history of this award that is has been given to a transport team. The award rightly reflects the quality and reputation that our transport team has earned throughout the medical community."

The ACH Neonatal & Pediatric Transport Team uses three state-of-the-art ambulances to bring children to the Hospital and also transports patients using helicopter (Bayflite) and fixed wing aircraft.



New Fit4Allkids & Fit4Allteens Classes Begin Next Week

New eight-week sessions of Fit4Allkids: Weight Management & Fitness Program group classes begin next week in locations in Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough Counties.

Our Fit4Allteens program (for ages 13 to 18) at the Bardmoor YMCA in Largo is worth special notice at this time of year. Because teens—and their parents—have so many commitments during the school year, the summer session is an excellent time to take part in this group program.

Session topics include: Creating Menus, Meals on the Go, Goal Setting, Fad Diets & The Media, Reading Labels, Body Image, Emotions and Food. Youth participants and adults work in separate groups with nutrition and behavior specialists. Each session includes a one-hour of fitness activities for all participants.

By involving at least one additional family member, the Fit4allkids program encourages slow but steady weight loss through increased physical activity and improved nutritional choices, with an emphasis on long-term changes that benefit the entire family’s health.

A monthly support group at ACH is open to all who complete the program.

If you would like to refer a patient or learn more about Fit4Allteens and Fit4allkids, please contact Kellie Gilmore at 727-767-6923 or [email protected].



Speech-Language Therapy Services Address Myriad Communication Problems

The Speech-Language Pathology program at All Children’s Hospital outreach center has long offered evaluation and treatment for articulation disorders, stuttering, resonance and other problems. Therapy for swallowing and feeding disorders remains another important service, and an outpatient intensive feeding therapy program is available. The program also addresses a wide range of communication issues such as:

Reading Therapy: Children with speech or language impairments are 4 to 5 times more likely to have other learning disabilities, including significant reading problems. Reading therapy can improve reading skills and comprehension.

Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Speech-therapy services address a wide range of communication problems associated with autism, including social skills training.

Auditory-Based Care: Two or 3 children in 1,000 are born with partial hearing loss (and 1 in 1,000 with profound hearing loss). Children with partial hearing loss may benefit from Auditory-Based Care. A speech-language pathologist and audiologist work together to help children with hearing loss learn how to use their hearing to its maximum potential and to develop intelligible spoken language.

For information on these and other programs, contact the Speech-Language department at 727-767-4141 or call the All Children’s Specialty Care Center or All Children’s Therapy Center located near your practice.