WCAAP's First Year Families
Sarah Rafton, MSW
Executive Director, WCAAP
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WCAAP has just received notification of a two-year grant award from the Perigee Fund to facilitate Washington's First Year Families to advance child and family well being in the first year of life.
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Thank You for Giving BIG!
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Thank You!
At a time when resources everywhere are stretched thin, WCAAP's community of pediatric health care providers and child health advocates stepped up to support our work. We were able to raise $6500 from 40 donors during the GiveBIG statewide fundraising drive on May 5th and 6th, funds that will be used to advance our mission to fight health inequities and advocate for policies that support child health and strengthen our pediatric health care system. We are so grateful for your support, and we are honored to serve as the professional home for Washington's pediatric health care providers.
It's not too late to donate!
GiveBIG
will accept donations through May 15, and you can always donate
via
our website
!
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Our 2020 Board Election is complete, and we are pleased to welcome Drs. Cora Breuner
and Keith Lemmon
to our Board of Trustees and to see Dr. Kimberlee Hauff
transition from her trustee role to Secretary of the Board.
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Please Help: Clinic Manager Contacts
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Over the years, WCAAP has had important reasons to reach clinic managers to understand issues of patient access, payor mix, and more. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has become increasingly important that we have a complete list of clinic managers to share current information and hear back from clinics about emerging topics as well. Could you please complete this contact information here at your earliest convenience? It will take less than 1 minute and provide enormous future benefits to you and our community.
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We're Hiring: Program Manager
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WCAAP is hiring! Help us find a fabulous team member to join WCAAP's dynamic and dedicated staff and pediatric health care providers from across the state to lead our work to increase child and adolescent vaccination rates.
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New Tool to Get Kids into Clinic: Bright By Text
Jennifer Donahue
Communications Manager, WCAAP
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WCAAP is using a new program to help drive health content to parents and to encourage families to call their pediatric clinic for care. The Bright by Text program provides relevant information on child development - plus local events and resources - to parents and caregivers of children prenatal to age 8 in Washington State via text message.
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Drop in Vaccination Leaves Children Vulnerable to Other Diseases
Danielle Koenig
Health Promotion Supervisor
Center for Public Affairs
Washington State Department of Health
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The number of immunizations given to children is dropping during the COVID-19 pandemic, both in Washington and
nationally. This leaves children and communities at risk.
Providers in Washington's Childhood Vaccine Program reported they administered 30 percent fewer vaccines to 0-18 year olds in March of this year compared with the same month in previous years.
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Antibody Testing for COVID-19
Frank Bell, MD
Pediatric Infectious Disease
Swedish Medical Center, Seattle
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Given the enormous challenges we face with CoVID-19 and the limited scope and availability of PCR assays, antibody testing for SARS-CoV-2 has been widely anticipated. News that serologic testing is now available and about to be rolled-out is to be welcomed, but uncertainties remain about who should be tested and about how the results of testing should be used.
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Reflections: Polio and COVID-19
David Shurtleff, MD, FAAP
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I have been asked by several friends and my daughter, Hillary, to recount my memories of the Polio epidemic of 1955 as compared to the SARS CoV2 virus. Since there have been multiple requests, I am subjecting my memories to a document that I can share not only with current requests but for those in the future.
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Upcoming COVID-19 Community Pediatrics Meetings
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We hope you'll join us for these upcoming community pediatrics meetings - topics may be subject to change as we aim to provide relevant content that is responsive to community needs. While we have reduced meetings to Tuesdays (from Tuesday/Friday) we will hold
occasional Friday morning meetings as appropriate when the situation warrants it.
Tuesday 5/12: Child Abuse and Neglect 7:00-7:30AM
Child abuse and neglect, intimate partner violence - Rebecca Wiester, MD. We also encourage you to read this Q&A from Seattle Children's for providers on preventing child abuse during COVID-19.
Coming up:
- Tuesday, 5/19 - no meeting
- Tuesday 5/26 - COVID-19 Community Pediatrics meeting topic TBD
- Friday 5/29 - Testing
- Tuesday 6/2 & 6/9 - no meetings currently scheduled
- Tuesday 6/16 - extended meeting time 7:00-8:00AM Reminder/recall for school vaccinations
- Tuesday 6/30 - COVID-19 Community Pediatrics meeting, topic TBD
Join from your computer, tablet or smartphone:
You can also dial in using your phone: +1 (872) 240-3212 Access Code: 160-795-397
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Primary Care Considerations for Autism Evaluation Referrals
Brad Hood, MD, FAAP
Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics
Mary Bridge Children's Hospital
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As the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has increased, so have waiting times for a diagnostic evaluation. It is not uncommon for wait times for a specialty evaluation in many regions of the country to be a year or longer, as is the case in Washington State, and families from rural areas often have to travel long distances for assessments.
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B
ehavioral Health Integration Networking & Collaboration Group
Tatiana Sarkhosh, MPH
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Our Amerigroup-sponsored Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) Networking and Collaboration group is continuing to meet monthly to discuss how to maximize a practice's BHI program within this new healthcare context. The group is comprised of pediatricians, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists from several regions across the state. The diversity of expertise and BHI programs contributes to a rich discussion surrounding the selected monthly topic.
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MouthMatters - Integrating Oral Health into Medical Care
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With the COVID-19 pandemic, patients' oral health is at greater risk
. Dental care is only available for urgent and emergency care. Families' daily routines are upset, money may be in short supply, both of which can lead to unhealthy eating habits and neglect of regular oral hygiene. All of this makes our work as oral health advocates even more important.
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Neuromuscular Child Neurology
Mary Bridge Children's Hospital
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Dr. Danielle Coleman of Pediatrics Northwest knew at the first appointment that something was amiss. At 3 days old, her newborn patient had diffuse hypotonia, weakness, and had no startle reflex. Dr. Coleman referred her urgently to child neurology at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital, where we confirmed that the baby had spinal muscular atrophy type I, or SMA.
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Every Friday: Drop-In Provider Well-Being Series
7:30AM-8:00AM
We care about your well-being! All WCAAP members are welcome to drop-in on our weekly provider well-being sessions facilitated by Dr. Joe Sherman every Friday morning 7:30 - 8:00 AM. Participants have an opportunity to share their experiences and insights during the COVID-19 pandemic through these interactive sessions which include a combination of short didactic presentations and reflective activities. These sessions will not be recorded in order to maintain confidentiality for all participants. Join the Zoom meeting here. *Note this is for WCAAP members only.
Our thanks to Regence for supporting pediatric health care providers!
The
Washington State Budget and Policy Center is seeking to add 4 new board members this year
, focusing on candidates who meet any one of these sought after criteria: l
ive outside the Puget Sound area; come from diverse backgrounds, particularly from communities historically marginalized in state budget decisions (e.g. immigrant, disabled, lived experience of living in poverty, foster care, etc.); have business experience or strong financial expertise. The Center has specifically asked WCAAP to help with our members who live outside the Seattle area and may be interested to advocate for the needs of diverse children and families. The Center also has a
focus on deepening their work with tribal governments and native communities. If you are interested, please send a brief note of interest and a bio or resume to
[email protected]
by May 15th.
View this document to learn more.
While registration is closed for our
Behavioral Health Education series, you can still access recorded sessions and posted materials
on our website! The April 30 session is posted; the next session is April 14 and materials will be posted shorty thereafter.
Free Webinar on Patient Education: Educating About Fluoride
Whether your water has a good balance of fluoride or not patients often have questions about fluoride.
The Arcora Foundation in partnership the WDHA, and the WSDA is offering a free, online course - on Thursday, May 14, from 12-1 to help anyone who talks with patients about their oral health. Learn more and register
Perinatal Support of Washington reports
a worsening of anxiety (new anxiety and worsened preexisting mental health conditions) related to COVID-19 among many birthing parents. They invite providers to reach out to their
perinatal mental health consultation line
(available weekdays 9:00-5:00pm, 877-725-4666) if you have any questions around your patient's mental health in this difficult time. Learn more about the consult line here.
WCAAP Webinars:
View archived WCAAP webinars, on topics like motivational interviewing, brief parent management training, autism screening, and adolescent and maternal depression screening here:
https://wcaap.org/webinars
.
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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 quarterly by telephone
Legislative Affairs Committee
May 19, 7:00-8:00am
Meets weekly by phone during the legislative session & special session
Meets monthly by phone during the interim + ad hoc as needed
Early Childhood Committee
June 10, 7:00-8:00pm
Meets periodically by phone, 2x/year in person
Membership Engagement Committee
June 23 - 12:00-1:00pm
Meets quarterly by telephone
Vaccine Committee
Meets periodically by telephone
Contact
John Dunn to learn more about the committee.
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What's Happening?
Many events and gatherings are being cancelled and turning to virtual events. We will try to keep you up to date, and list events here as details are available.
- May 12: COVID-19 Community Pediatrics - Child abuse & neglect - 7:00AM
- May 15: Provider Well-Being Series 7:30AM
- May 22: Provider Well-Being Series 7:30AM
- May 26: COVID-19 Community Pediatrics - topic TBD
- May 29: COVID-19 Community Pediatrics - Testing, contact tracing - 7:00AM
- May 29: Provider Well-Being Series 7:30AM
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June 5: Provider Well-Being Series 7:30AM
- June 6: WCAAP Board of Trustees Meeting - via phone 10:00AM-1:00PM
- June 12: Provider Well-Being Series 7:30AM
- June 16: COVID-19 Community Pediatrics - Reminder/recall for school vaccinations - extended meeting time 7:00-8:00AM
- June 25: Early Relational Health Listening Session - Tacoma (virtual) - save the date!
- June 27: Early Relational Health Listening Session - Yakima (virtual) - save the date!
- June 30: COVID-19 Community Pediatrics - topic TBD - 7:00AM
- Sept 18-20: WCAAP Annual Board Retreat - Chelan
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| Thank you to our sponsors:
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