President's Column
Rupin Thakkar, MD, FAAP
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This is my last column as chapter President. I am incredibly proud of the growth we have seen in membership and activity during my 12 years on the board. The last few years in particular have been a time of exponential growth.
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New Immunization Certificate of Exemption Available
Washington State Department of Health
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Available online in English; other languages coming soon
As of July 28, 2019, Washington state law will no longer allow a personal and philosophical option to exempt children from the MMR vaccine required for school and childcare entry.
The Department of Health has updated the Certificate of Exemption (COE) to reflect the new requirements.
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Advocacy Update: Advancing Child Health in the Interim
Jennifer Donahue
WCAAP Communications Manager
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Making plans to make 2020 even better!
What have we done well? What can we do better? Are we being strategic? Which issues should we lead on and where can we play a supporting role? What is most important to WCAAP members? Members of the WCAAP legislative committee met in Federal Way last week to wrestle with these questions and work on developing a 2020 legislative agenda that reflects our priorities as a Chapter.
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2019 Pediatric Population Health Forum
Thatcher Felt, DO, FAAP
Trustee, Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
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Forum focused on social determinants of health
This year saw another enormously successful annual Pediatric Population Health Forum Saturday June 8 at the Conference center at SeaTac Airport. As always, WCAAP scheduled a number of fascinating speakers focused around timely topics in pediatric medicine. The cornerstone of this year's forum was the topic of social determinants of health.
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Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Is on the Rise
Ruth McDonald, MD
Vice President, Associate Chief Medical Officer, Seattle Children's
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Don't shy away from addressing elevated liver enzymes in children
Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in American children. Though still underdiagnosed, it is estimated that more than 10% of the U.S. pediatric population - and nearly 40% of this population that is clinically obese - have NAFLD. Untreated, NAFLD causes the same damage to the liver as chronic alcohol use.
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Behavioral Health Integration & Referral Around Washington
Tatiana Sarkhosh, MPH
Program Manager, WCAAP, Pediatric Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative
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Experiences & lessons learned from three clinics
As pediatric practices around the state strive to improve timely access to behavioral health care and/or integrate behavioral health in their clinics Pediatric Transforming Clinical Practice Initiative (P-TCPi) physician champions have found ways to partner to improve care.
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Recognizing and Caring for Sex Trafficking Victims
Elizabeth A. Berdan, MD, MS
Mary Bridge Children's Hospital
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Are you prepared to recognize sex trafficking victims?
The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) is a problem in all our Washington communities. Research from the Urban Institute identified an underground commercial sex economy here in Washington and uncovered a circuit that runs between Everett, Seattle, and Tacoma with connections to Portland, northern California, and Las Vegas. There is no community immune to its dangers.
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Member Spotlight: Mike Barsotti, MD, FAAP
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Get to know your new WCAAP vice president!
Incoming WCAAP vice president Mike Barsotti, MD, FAAP grew up outside of Sacramento and attended college at UC Davis followed by medical school at St. Louis University. Dr. Barsotti, a neonatologist, has worked at Sacred Heart Children's Hospital in Spokane since 1999 and was Medical Director of the hospital's NICU for 10 years. After a 3-year stint in central California at Valley Children's Hospital, Dr. Barsotti returned to Spokane to assume the CMO role at Sacred Heart. He is now the Chief Administrative Officer of the hospital.
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Register Today For the 2019 Washington Immunization Summit!
Please join WithinReach for our second Washington State Immunization Summit on October 8, 2019 at the Lynnwood Convention Center. This one-day event will include topics on the measles outbreak, vaccination schedule updates, communicating about vaccines, working with special & at-risk populations, and the WA State Immunization Information System. The cost to register for this all-day event is just $150 (including free parking!) at the early bird rate and various forms of continuing education credits will be offered. Register today at:
https://waimmzsummit.eventbrite.com
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The Health Care Authority (HCA) is seeking provider participation in an annual paying for value survey. The survey will help track progress toward the statewide goal of paying for value-based care, rather than paying for volume of care.
Because provider success is at the heart of value-based care, provider input is essential.
HCA invites a variety of providers across Washington State to participate.
The survey is open until 5:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time on Friday, August 30. It is designed to be filled out by an administrative leader, with only one response per organization.
HCA is asking managed care organizations and commercial plans to participate in a similar survey.
To learn more, visit the
Paying for value webpage
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The Annals of Internal Medicine recently published an excellent resource for clinicians on preventing firearm-associated injury and death,
available online. Thank you to Dr. Jeffrey Duchin for sharing this!
CATCH HAS A NEW GRANT CYCLE!
New: The CATCH Grant Call for Proposals will be issued only once per year starting this November.
Here is the new timeline:
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November 1, 2019 |
Call for Proposals Released |
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December 31, 2019 |
Application Deadline |
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March 2, 2020 |
New Grantees Announced |
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April 1, 2020 |
Projects Begin
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Grantees will have 12 months to complete their projects. |
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At least one formal "check-in" with grantees, CATCH facilitators and AAP staff will occur during the course of the project period. |
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Funding remains the same -- $10,000 for Fellows and $2,000 for Pediatric Trainees/Residents. |
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.
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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
August 6, 7:00-8:00am
Meets weekly by phone during the legislative session & special session
Meets monthly by phone during the interim
Early Childhood Committee
Phone: July 16, 7:00-8:00pm
Meets periodically by phone, 2x/year in person
Sustainability & Engagement Committee
July 23 - 12:00-1:00pm
Meets monthly by telephone
Vaccine Committee
Meets periodically by telephone
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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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