WCAAP in 2019: Strong Advocates for Kids and Families
Rupin R. Thakkar, MD, FAAP
President, Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
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As we ring in the new year, we prepare to advocate for kids with new state and federal legislatures and new leaders within the AAP. Particularly exciting is that one of our own members, Dr. Kim Schrier, will start her term as the first pediatrician to serve in the US House of Representatives. And, our former chapter president, Dr. Kyle Yasuda, will begin his term as national president of the AAP.
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Advocacy Preview: 2019 Legislative Session
Amber Ulvenes
WCAAP Legislative Liaison
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Building on 2018 successes
It's January once again, so that means it is time to launch into a new legislative session, and a new opportunity to advocate for kids in Washington state! Our priorities will be familiar to many, as they build on our work in 2018. First, we are working to bring pediatric Medicaid reimbursement to parity with Medicare, as they were briefly after the Affordable Care Act passed, to improve access to care for Washington children.
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Cutting Through the Smoke: Tips for Talking with Tweens, Teens and Parents About Vaping and E-Cigarettes
Ruth McDonald, MD
Vice President, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Seattle Children's
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Tips, fast facts and resources
Just weeks ago, U.S. Surgeon General Vice Adm. Jerome Adams issued an advisory on the recent surge in e-cigarette use among our nation's youth. Pediatricians can play an influential role in educating kids and their parents about the dangers of vaping and the alarming uptick in adolescent use of e-cigarettes and vaping devices.
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CATCH: Financial Support for Community Pediatrics Projects
Frances Chalmers, MD, FAAP
Trustee, Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
Chapter Co-Facilitator, CATCH
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Are you a pediatrician with a passion to plan or take on a project within your community that will improve the health and wellbeing of your Community's children? Could you use a little financial support to make this happen? If so, CATCH is for you.
The next CATCH grant cycle applications are due January 31, 2019 at 3 pm CST.
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Project Nature Gets Families Outdoors
Danette Glassy, MD, FAAP
Co-founder, BestStart Washington
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BestStart Washington initiative creates bridge to nature
As a pediatrician, I am passionate about the health benefits of a childhood spent in nature. These benefits are many-increased curiosity, attention, school performance, and pro-social behaviors as well as lower risk to develop obesity, ADD/HD, anxiety and depression. Children who are connected to nature are more willing to protect nature and wildlife as adults.
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Free Education Resources for Families: Education Ombuds
Stephanie Palmquist
Office of the Education Ombuds
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State agency can provide up to 120 days of support
The Office of the Education Ombuds (OEO) provides information about the Washington State kindergarten-12th
grade public school system and informal, collaborative conflict resolution for families and educators; offers trainings and outreach to educators and community professionals; and partners with policymakers to tackle opportunity gaps. OEO is free, confidential, and impartial.
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Register for Advocacy Day!
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Speak up for kids - and get an "Advo-Coat"
We're excited to announce a few of our confirmed speakers for Advocacy Day on February 15th in Olympia: AAP President Dr. Kyle Yasuda, Immigrant Health champion Dr. Beth Dawson-Hahn, and Seattle Children's division chief of child and adolescent psychiatry Dr. Larry Wissow. We'll also be hearing from legislators who are key partners on issues pertaining to child health, networking, and learning about how to advocate for all of Washington's kids. We hope you'll join us!
Whether you're able to attend Advocacy Day or not, you can support our work by making a donation! If you donate $100 or more, we'll thank you with an Advo-Coat - a lab coat embroidered with our WCAAP logo, to identify you as an advocate for kids!
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The Health Plan Partnership is once again sponsoring the 2019 Immunize WA Provider Recognition Program. Clinics are encouraged to nominate themselves for recognition between now and February 17th.
All nominees who have achieved immunization rates of 70% or higher qualify for an award. Your clinic will be awarded in April during National Infant Immunization Week in recognition of your commitment to ensuring patients are up-to-date on their immunizations!
To submit a nomination, clinics will need to
:
Congratulations to Seattle's Polyclinic Pediatrics, led by Dr. Sherri Zorn, for being recognized by the CDC, American Cancer Society, and the Association of American Cancer Institutes as an HPV Vaccine is Cancer Prevention Champion. The annual award recognizes clinicians, clinics, practices, groups, and health systems who are going above and beyond to foster HPV vaccination in their communities. You can read about the efforts of Dr. Zorn and the Polyclinic Pediatrics team here.
WCAAP Webinars: Don't forget to take a look at our Webinars page for free CME e-learning on topics like behavioral health, developmental and autism screening, and adolescent and maternal depression screening.
The Department of Health has a new way to view immunization coverage rates for Washington residents age 19 months through 17 years. On the
Tableau immunization data dashboards
, you can explore tables, graphs, and maps by county, age group, vaccine type, and year. Currently, the dashboard contains coverage rate data for 2015 through 2017 and will be updated yearly.
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Coming Up: WCAAP Committee Meetings
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Join us! Committees are a great way to meet other members and get involved with Chapter work! Watch this space for upcoming meeting dates and times for Chapter committees and interest groups. Most committees meet by phone for one hour.
Health Care Transformation Committee
Meets monthly by telephone
Legislative Affairs Committee
January 15, 7:00-8:00am
Meets weekly by phone during the legislative session & special session
Meets monthly by phone during the interim
Early Learning Committee
Meets periodically by telephone and annually in person
Next in-person meeting: May 18
Sustainability & Engagement Committee
January 22 - 12:00-1:00pm
Meets monthly by telephone
Vaccine Committee
Meets 2x/year
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What's Happening?
We bring education and networking events to providers all over Washington. Find all of our latest upcoming events plus offerings from our partners around the state on our website's
Events
page!
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| Thank you to our sponsors:
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