Paula J. Whiteman, MD, FACEP, FAAP
President, AAP-CA2

Welcome to the March 2015 edition

of our monthly Newsletter.

March Milestones

Registration has opened!! We have lined up an exceptional group of speakers for our

26th Annual Southern California Postgraduate Pediatric Conference, "Advances in Pediatrics" to be held at the Universal Sheraton in Universal City, CA on Saturday, April 25, 2015. Our conference will feature the S. Michael Marcy Memorial Lecture. Please mark your calendars and plan on attending. This year's theme will mainly be on pediatric emergencies; however, there will also be a lecture on the hot topic of the effects of marijuana on the developing brain. We have lowered the registration fee from last year with an exceptionally priced early bird special.

In concert with the AAP-CA State Government Affairs Committee, our district will hold its annual legislative leadership day this week. Representatives from each chapter will travel to Sacramento to meet with various members of our California State Assembly to advocate on behalf of our members and our patients.

The American Academy of Pediatrics' Annual Leadership Forum (ALF) will take place in Schaumburg, Illinois from March 12-15. Our chapter executive director and vice president will join me there as we consider 116 submitted resolutions. For the first time, the AAP has opened up this process to comments from AAP members. Be sure to scroll down to "ADVOCACY - RESOLUTIONS" to read more about it.

Our featured article this month is by Dr. Shivani Upadhyay, a pediatric oncologist. Dr. Upadhyay has written an article about the long term follow up of childhood cancer survivors. I look forward to this article with much interest, as my daughter is now enrolled in Dr. Upadhyay's long term follow up clinic.

Previously, the AAP-CA Chapter 2 had a joint committee on pediatric emergency medicine with the Los Angeles Pediatric Society (LAPS), which transitioned into the formal standing Pediatric Advisory Committee with the Los Angeles County, Department of Health Services Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency. Our original committee was responsible for providing the guidance and support to help create the guidelines to establish the EMS designation, Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics (EDAP) and later, Pediatric Medical Center (PMC). Please read my article as recently published in the last LAPS newsletter.

In the "Members in the News" section, Dr. Cori Cross was highlighted in the Palisades Post, and Dr. Alvin Miller wrote a letter to the editor that was published in the LA Times.

Dr. Abdolsamad Mossahebi, MD, FAAP passed away on Feb. 20, 2015. He was an active member of Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics from 1999 and will be sorely missed.

We would like to thank Dr. and Mrs. Robert M. Itami for their generous donations to the S. Michael Marcy Memorial Fund. Those wishing to contribute in his honor may send a check made out to: AAP-CA Chapter 2 specifying "S. Michael Marcy Memorial Fund" in the memo line, and mail it to:

American Academy of Pediatrics, CA Chapter 2

P.O. Box 94127

Pasadena, CA 91109

Please feel free to get involved locally by contacting our chapter 2 executive director.

As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Sincerely,

Paula Whiteman, MD, FACEP, FAAP

President, AAP-CA2

Shivani Upadhyay, MD, MS

Long Term Follow Up of Childhood Cancer Survivors

Shivani Upadhyay MD, MS

Cure of childhood cancer is now approaching a 5-year old survival rate of 80%. The childhood cancer survival study (CCSS) estimated that in 2009 there were an estimated 363,000 survivors of childhood cancer in the US. This contributes to the growing number of long-term survivors into adulthood as well as adult onset cancer. Unlike adults, children can withstand larger amounts of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. However, this can lead to late complications, which may not be seen until years after therapy. CCSS cohort reported that 2 out of 3 cancer survivors would suffer chronic health conditions. Read More Read Bio

Paula J. Whiteman, MD, FACEP, FAAP

Where Does Your Child Go When You Call 911?

Paula J. Whiteman, MD, FACEP, FAAP

A family is involved in a bad car accident on the freeway. The mother, sitting in the front passenger seat, is holding her infant in her arms. On impact, the child is thrown into the windshield. While everyone else seems okay, the infant is clearly injured. The father spots a sign for a hospital up ahead at the next exit, and makes the decision not to call 911. His car is damaged, but still operable. In order to save time he drives his family directly to the nearby hospital. Upon arrival at the Emergency Department (ED), the infant is sent for a non-contrast head CT scan which confirms a serious head trauma. The infant is intubated and quickly stabilized, but without a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) or even a pediatric ward, the hospital is unable to further care for the child. The patient is helicoptered to the closest Pediatric Trauma Center (PTC).

The first stage of care described in this real-life case involved a hospital without an Emergency Department Approved for Pediatrics (EDAP) designation. Read more.

Twelve Practices Began Quality Improvement Project

Congratulations to the practices that joined AAP-CA2 in the AAP Chapter Quality Network Asthma Phase 4 Project. The first Learning Session took place on February 7, 2015, at Providence Tarzana Medical Center.

The goal of this project is to systematically change physician care practices in accordance with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NHLBI/NAEPP) asthma guidelines. Participants will receive 25 points of Maintenance of Certification Part 4 (MOC) credit Performance in Practice, and 20 credits of Performance Improvement Continuing Medical Education (PI CME). The images below show our Chapter's CQN4 leadership providing training to the attendees.

Chris Landon, MD, FAAP

Chris Harris, MD, FAAP

Al Lieberthal, MD, FAAP

CQN4 Learning Session 1

Members in the News

Dr. Alvin Miller wrote a letter to the Editor of The Los Angeles Times, in reaction to an article they recently published: Protecting kids from measles -- and scientifically inept politicians

Click to read Dr. Miller's letter

Dr. Cori Cross was quoted in an article in the Palisadian-Post, after engaging parents in an informative Q&A discussion during a recent obesity prevention discussion at Marquez Elementary.

Click to read article

ADVOCACY - RESOLUTIONS

The American Academy of Pediatrics' Annual Leadership Forum (ALF) will take place in Schaumburg, Illinois, from March 12 - 15, were leadership representing all districts will consider 116 submitted resolutions.

For the first time, the AAP has opened up this process to comments from AAP members.

You can review the resolutions by going to this link. Please note that you will need to be logged in under your My AAP account.

If you are so inclined, then you may use the "Comment Form" link up until March 4, 2015 to indicate "yes" or "no" as to your support of a particular resolution. In addition, you may add your thoughts in the comment section which the AAP will publish on March 11, 2015.

AAP-CA has outlined the 21 of resolutions submitted by our District IX. The list is for information only and is not meant to lobby for any specific resolution. Please click here to view.

Coming Events

Dinner Meeting

"The Foster Care and Adoptions interest group explores topics of interest to pediatricians who enjoy the challenges and rewards of working with children and families going through the transitions of foster care and adoption. We will have our first meeting on Wednesday April 8 at 6:30 PM at "The Backyard at 4518", located just down the street from CHLA at 4518 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Dr. Suzanne Roberts will be talking about the impact of toxic stress in childhood on lifelong health. Please come and join us for good food and good company. The dinner is self-pay, and the restaurant allows BYOB with no corkage fee. Please call Janet Arnold-Clark at (626) 862-1940 to RSVP."

When: Wednesday, April 8th.

Where: The Backyard at 4518

Time: 6:30 PM

Cost: Self pay

Early Bird Registration is Open! $149 for CA2 Members

AAP-CA Chapter 2 Presents:

The 26th Annual Southern California

Postgraduate Pediatric Conference

Featuring the Inaugural S. Michael Marcy Memorial Lecture

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Sheraton Universal Hotel

Universal City, CA

Early Bird Registration is open!

($149 for Chapter 2 members)

Click to view Full Brochure Click to visit the Registration page

Faculty

From Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, Department of Infectious Diseases will be Mark Sawyer, MD, FAAP. He is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and a Pediatric Infectious Disease specialist at the UCSD School of Medicine. Dr. Sawyer will give the inaugural S. Michael Marcy Memorial Lecture, entitled: Emerging Infections: The Bugs Are One Step Ahead And They Are Moving. As Dr. Sawyer is on the RedBook Committee, he will also speak on the Red Book: What You Must Read In The New Edition! For more about Dr. Sawyer, please READ MORE

Elizabeth R. Sowell, Ph.D. is Director of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory and Professor of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. She will be speaking on the impact of prenatal exposures, such as marijuana, on later brain development. This is a very important and timely topic as more and more states legalize marijuana. For more about Dr. Sowell, please READ MORE.

From Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine will be Marianne Gausche-Hill, MD, FACEP, FAAP. She is a Professor of Clinical Medicine and Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and Vice Chair and Chief of the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine as well as the Director Pediatric Emergency Medicine and EMS Fellowships. Dr. Gausche-Hill will talk about how to prepare your office for pediatric emergencies and discuss challenging real-life cases that have presented to pediatric practices. For more about Dr. Gausche-Hill, please READ MORE.

From the CA Poison Control Center will be medical toxicologist, Cyrus Rangan M.D. FAAP FACMT. He will be speaking on the latest drugs of abuse children and adolescents may be getting into as well as challenging toxicologic cases. Dr. Rangan is the Director of the Bureau of Toxicology & Environmental Assessment at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. He is an attending and consulting Medical Toxicologist at Children's Hospital Los Angeles as well as a clinical instructor at the USC/Keck School of Medicine. For more about Dr. Rangan, please READ MORE.

From UCSF will be pediatric dermatologist Jeff Sugarman, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP, FAAD. Dr. Sugarman is an Associate Clinical Professor in Dermatology at UC San Francisco and in private practice as the Medical Director of Redwood Family Dermatology in Sonoma County, CA. He will be speaking on "Rashes that are potentially serious or life threatening and their mimickers " as well as "Dermatology potpourri: Unknowns and case-based pediatric dermatology". For more information about Dr. Sugarman, please READ MORE.

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