2017 - June Edition
Edward Curry, MD, FAAP  President, AAP-CA2
Welcome Summer!

As we move into the summer, we have the lowest rate of uninsured children in the history of our country at 4% in the USA, and at 3% in California. Over 50 million of these children are covered under some form of Medicaid.  However, summer thunderstorms approach and threaten our children's healthcare - the passage of the American Healthcare Act by the House of Representatives, which would  eliminate health care insurance for over 23 million Americans and disproportionally affect children.  The fight to protect children's healthcare moves to the Senate.  In the Senate, a workgroup has been appointed to repeal and replace the ACA.   This Senate workgroup will develop a plan which will go directly to the Senate for a vote by the end of June.  The AAP is rallying Pediatricians to make sure children's healthcare needs are protected. The AAP has a number of resources available to Pediatricians, so they stay updated and involved.   Here is the link for our Federal Advocacy efforts.

Summertime is the perfect time for wellness, and mindfulness.  The AAP is concerned about Physician Burnout and Wellness.  One of the priorities over the next year will be to develop programs and activities to help Pediatricians deal with burnout and improve wellness.  On that topic, our recent Pediatric Symposium featured a session on Mindfulness for which CME credit was provided.  Stay tuned for more to come on this topic.

Recently, Mona Patel, MD, FAAP was appointed as Co Chair of the State Government Affairs (SGA) Committee.  Mona will help lead our Advocacy efforts at the State and Local level. Melissa Ruiz, MD, MPH, FAAP was appointment as District IX Co-Chair for Early Career Physicians.  Melissa will be engaged in activities to help our Early Career Physicians.  Congratulations to both Mona and Melissa.  Please contact the Chapter at [email protected] if you would like any information or assistance with either SGA or Early Career topics.
Have a Wonderful Summer!  Thrive and Be Well!

Ed

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Advocacy
Advocating Before the California Dental Board - Anaheim
Paula J. Whiteman, MD, FACEP, FAAP
Representative, AAP-District IX CFMC  
Immediate Past President, AAP-CA2 


So much has happened with regards to our dental anesthesia advocacy in the last month.
First there was my most recent trip to speak in front of the CA Dental Board in Anaheim. Please read about that here.

Next the AAP Board of Directors came out with their response to the TOP 10, which was published in AAP News. Their response to my TOP 10 resolution, "Not one more child should die in a dental chair -Remembering Caleb," was in favor of advocating to an end to the single-operator-anesthetist model. 
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry responded in kind based on that response. Both groups hope to strengthen the language of their joint document with regards to having a second independently licensed, competent professional trained in airway management as opposed to a dental assistant, who has no formal training requirement, when a child undergoes deep sedation or general anesthesia, separate from the oral surgeon or dental professional performing the procedure.

Excitingly, NBC Dateline is working on an investigative piece regarding this topic. Look for it on upcoming episodes.

Statewide Advocacy
AAP-CA

Please visit the AAP-CA website for more information on the most current Advocacy Priorities and High Priority Bills list for the 2017-2018 Session.
QI/MOC4 Completion Report
A total of 28 providers from twelve practices completed the HPV Vaccination Quality Improvement/MOC Part 4 Project. The main goal was to systematically improve HPV vaccination initiation rates in 11 and 12-year-old teens. As a group (pictured below), HPV vaccination rate went from 60.1% to 67.5% in May. The main intervention during the project was a "strong provider recommendation". Among the reasons where the vaccine was not administered, some parents wanted to defer the vaccine to a future time (34%), while some absolutely refused to have their child receive the HPV vaccine (24%). 38% of children not vaccinated during the visit were found by the provider to be too ill for vaccination.



AAP-CA2 would like to congratulate the following providers for their participation in this project:
  • From Agoura West Valley Pediatrics: Kenneth Cosmer, MD, FAAP; Robin Gingold, MD, FAAP; Bethany Stafford, MD, FAAP; Kathy Stiles, MD, FAAP.
  • From Antelope Valley Community Clinic: Britney D'Ambra, PNP; Quan Luong, DO; and Paul Round, DO, FAAP.
  • Elizabeth Gendy-Shaker, MD, FAAP representing Beaver Medical Group.
  • Bhavadharini Narayanan, MD, FAAP.
  • From Kids & Teens Pediatrics: Janesri DeSilva, MD, and Barbara Rodriguez, MD, FAAP.
  • Nirupama Madduri, MD, FAAP.
  • From Northeast Valley Health Corporation: Lara Abbott, MD, FAAP; Pegah Daneshrad, MD; Wendy Fields, MD, FAAP; Amy Johnson, MD; Paula Kuhlman, MD, FAAP; Christine Park, MD, MPH, CLE, FAAP; and Chawn Watkins, MD.
  • Victor Tamashiro, MD, FAAP representing Providence Pediatrics.
  • Glenn Miya, MD, FAAP representing Southern California Permanente Medical Group.
  • Nnennaya Omerigbo, DO representing T.H.E. Health and Wellness Centers
  • Jessica Schumer, MD, FAAP representing The Children's Clinic.
  • From UCLA West Pediatrics: Blake Alban, MD; Candice Ho, MD, FAAP; June Liu, MD, FAAP; Young Nam-Choi, MD; and Heide Woo, MD, FAAP.

We would like to recognize the AAP National QI Team for their support:

Program Manager Melissa Ponce, Program Manager Kateri C. Nelis, MS, MPH, and Program Manager Kristen Minaglia, MPH.

Finally, we would like to thank the AAP-CA2 QI Team for their leadership and support to our practices:
Project Physician Leader (and Chapter President) Edward Curry, MD, FAAP; ID Expert Ozlem Equils, MD, FAAP; ID Expert Priyanka Fernandes, MBBS, FAAP; QI Expert Gifty-Maria Ntim, MD, MPH, FAAP; Early Career Physician Representative Melissa Ruiz, MD, MPH, FAAP; and Project Manager (and Chapter Executive Director) Tom�s Torices, MD.
Networking with Other Chapters
June 1 - 4 in Dana Point - District VI and IX Joint District Meeting

Each year, the AAP hosts rotating joint district meetings to allow leadership from different areas to meet, resulting in a more effective leadership collaboration. Early this month was the AAP Joint District meeting for Districts VI & IX, which took place in Dana Point, California. District VI is composed of: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin and Illinois, as well as Canadian Provinces Saskatchewan and Manitoba. 

Excitingly, and for the third year in a row, we received the "2016 Chapter of Excellence" Award at this meeting.

Furthermore, three of our Board Members received the 2016 AAP Special Achievement Awards, For Distinguished Service and Dedication to the Mission and Goals of the Academy:

Mona Patel, MD, FAAP for her leadership in the areas of Developmental Screening and Help Me Grow, and for her involvement with the State Government Affairs Committee.
 
Melissa Ruiz, MD, MPH, FAAP for her enthusiastic dedication as Early Career Physician Representative, and her efforts in school based outreach and QI Projects. (not pictured)

Paula J. Whiteman, MD, FACEP, FAAP for her passionate advocacy contributing to improved safety for children undergoing anesthesia in pediatric dental procedures.

Above, receiving the 2016 AAP Chapter of Excellence Award, and Special Achievement Awards, from left: AAP-CA2 Executive Director Tom�s Torices, MD; AAP-CA2 President Edward Curry, MD, FAAP; AAP-CA (District IX) State Government Affairs Committee Co-Chair Mona Patel, MD, FAAP (Special Achievement Award); and AAP-CA2 Immediate Past President and District IX Chapter Forum Management Committee Representative Paula Whiteman, MD, FACEP, FAAP (Special Achievement Award). Not pictured and also recipient of a Special Achievement Award, District IX Early Career Physician Representative Melissa Ruiz, MD, MPH, FAAP.

Representatives from Districts VI and IX wear orange to raise awareness for National Gun Violence Awareness Day at the 2017 AAP Joint District Meeting in Dana Point on June 2, 2017. 
In The Community
May 17 in Los Angeles - Community Volunteer Award

On Wednesday, May 17, 2017, the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) celebrated the association's 35th anniversary by honoring the 2017 Administrators of the Year, the recipients of the President's awards, Community Volunteer awards, and the Friends of AALA scholarships at the annual Scholarship and Community Awards Banquet held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.

Presented with the 2017 Community Volunteer Award was AAP-CA2 Treasurer, Corinn Cross, MD, FAAP, for her service and dedication to the schools of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and its students, and her years of support to the school nursing staff. 

Dr. Cross has been implementing Fit To Play and Learn at LAUSD since 2011, in partnership with Dr. Tracy Zaslow. Fit to Play and Learn is an obesity prevention program for elementary and middle school students and their parents, with the goal of teaching kids to eat right and enjoy an active lifestyle.

Dr. Corinn Cross (Center, holding the award) with Yolanda Lasmarias, LAUSD Northeast Nursing Director (to Dr. Cori's left), and nursing staff.

June 7 - AAP-CA2 Quarterly Board of Directors Meeting - Pasadena, CA

The AAP-CA2 Board of Directors met in Pasadena, CA this past June 7 for its quarterly meeting. Among the guests was Dr. Parul Bhatia, MD, FAAP who is the AAP-CA2 Champion for AAP Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI). In her role, Dr. Bhatia works to educate Academy member on early reporting to hearing coordination centers, and understanding the risk factors beyond a passing score of the initial screening for high risk populations, as late identification impacts several aspects of development. Please look for an article from Dr. Bhatia in upcoming newsletter issues. Please visit the AAP EHDI website for more information.

Also a guest speaker, Dr. Christopher E. Harris, MD, FAAP presented an update on the Committee on Pediatric Workforce (COPW). In his compelling presentation, projections indicate that America will face a shortage of MDs by 2020. In the area of pediatrics, this affects mostly the pediatric subspecialists. While the number of pediatric generalists has grown since 1975, the growth of pediatric subspecialists has been less favorable. (See image on right).

A quote from the AAP Advisory Committee to the Board on Education, November 2008:
"The current pediatric workforce is not meeting the primary care, subspecialty, or surgical needs to provide quality health care for our country's children. Key reasons include the geographic maldistribution of physicians, an increase in the number of chronically ill children, and an increasingly diverse patient population." You may read more about this topic on the AAP Committee on Pediatric Workforce Website.  Furthermore, the COPW has developed this powerpoint presentation to foster a broader understanding of some of the key issues and considerations germane to the pediatrician workforce.

Lastly, during this meeting we were able to recognize, formally and in person, two recipients of the 2015 AAP Special Achievement AwardsFor Distinguished Service and Dedication to the Mission and Goals of the Academy:

AAP-CA2 President Edward Curry, MD, FAAP and Immediate Past President Paula Whiteman, MD, FACEP, FAAP present the AAP Special Achievement Award to 
Christopher E.  Harris, MD, FAAPfor his leadership and expertise to promote quality care with regards to the management of asthma and serving as the AAP-CA2 Asthma Expert in the Chapter Quality Network Asthma Phase 4 Project (CQN4) team.






AAP-CA2 President Edward Curry, MD, FAAP presents the AAP Special Achievement Award to Alice Kuo, MD, PhD., Med. FAAP (Current AAP-CA2 Vice President), 
for her tireless commitment to the chapter over the years serving as Chapter CATCH Facilitator.



Mass Casualty Triage Training

Dear AAP-CA2 member:
  1. Do your practitioners know what to do in a Mass Casualty situation?
  2. Do they know how to rapidly Triage patients?
  3. Do they know the difference between START and JumpSTART?
If the answer to any of these questions is "NO", your facility needs our Mass Casualty Triage PPT and Tabletop Exercise presentation!
 
Please contact Dr. Millicent Wilson at (562) 347-1648 or [email protected] if you would like for us to present at your healthcare facility. 

Wish you knew more about Autism?
Want to learn more about the different resources available to you and your patients? Do you want free CME credits?
Then join the ECHO Project!
 
The Center for Autism & Neurodevelopmental Disorders is conducting a research study and we need your help! In this study, we are looking to determine and evaluate the effectiveness of the Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) model in providing primary care providers (i.e. pediatricians, nurse practitioners, family practice physicians, etc.) with education specific to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The ECHO model utilizes video-conference sessions to provide the care providers free mentorship and education in a specialty area through didactic presentations alongside case-presentations, expert feedback and group discussion.
 
The study will take over the course of 6 months with 2 video conference calls a month. You will have access to a specialist team consisting of a developmental behavioral pediatrician, nutritionist, family navigator, psychologist and parent expert. Financial incentives for participating providers.
 
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact Sharina Dyan Alejo (Research Coordinator) at
(949) 267 - 0491 or [email protected].

Save The Dates!
Tuesday, June 13, 2017 in Woodland Hills - Town Hall / Dinner Meeting
Ken Saul, MD, FAAP Member-At-Large AAP-CA2

Please join AAP-CA2 Member-At-Large Ken Saul MD, FAAP as he hosts an evening of professional development at Maggiano's.

Topic: Calming Reflex - A Strategy to Boost Sleep, Soothe Colic and Prevent PPD & SUID.

Speaker: Harvey Karp, MD, FAAP

Date: June 13, 2017 at 6:30 PM. 
Please note: This is on a Tuesday.
LOCATION: Maggiano's of Woodland Hills. 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91367

RSVP: Please email Dr. Ken Saul to save your seat.

Wednesday, June 21, 2017 in Oxnard - Town Hall / Dinner Meeting
Melissa Ruiz, MD, MPH, FAAP

Please join District IX Early Career Physician Representative, Melissa Ruiz, MD, MPH, FAAP for a Town Hall on Developmental Screening Resources.

Sponsored by Help Me Grow Ventura County, Dr. Ruiz will be presenting on the evidence for developmental screening, trauma screening and screening for unmet social needs. 

Over 10 community organizations to which providers can refer when they identify something on the screening will be in attendance and be available to answer questions. 

Four of these organizations will speak about how to most effectively refer patients to them.

Date: June 21, 2017 at 6:30 PM. 
LOCATION: Tri-Counties Regional Center Conference Room in Oxnard.


Thursday, June 29, 2017 - Webinar
AAP Children's Hospitals and Preparedness Webinar Series
 
Who's on First? Handoff Strategies in the Children's Hospital

 The "handoff" of a pediatric patient from one person, department, or agency to the next can be a risky moment, especially during a disaster situation. Critical information can be lost or altered to the detriment of the patient and the clinicians in charge of their care. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has established best practices and tools to help clinicians every step of the way. Read Full Flyer.

When: June 29, 2017, 10 AM Pacific Time
Phone: 888-299-7210
Passcode: 855263
1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ may be available.

AAP-CA2 Video: We Are The AAP-CA Chapter 2 - 2017


CDC Updates & LAHAN Alerts
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Charitable Donations
AAP-CA2 is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Please consider a tax-deductible charitable donation to one of our many programs
  • The Medicine-Biological Sciences Scholarship Program, which awards scholarships to exceptional high school students each year.
  • The Committee on Service, Education, and Mentoring, which awards scholarships to pediatric residents for outstanding research projects. 
  • The S. Michael Marcy Memorial Lecture, which helps sponsor a portion of our annual Advances in Pediatrics Conference in his honor.

Thank you for your support
Sincerely,
AAP-CA2
PO Box 94127 Pasadena, CA 91109
(818) 422-9877
Please visit our website at http://aapca2.org/