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Alice Kuo, MD, PhD, MBA, FAAP President, AAP - CA2 2018 - 2020 |
President's Message
I hope everyone is enjoying this lovely long weekend in Southern California and taking advantage of some much-deserved rest this Labor Day. For those of you working in the hospitals and in urgent care clinics, thank you for your service!
Vaccines
Many of you are aware of the escalating behaviors of anti-vax individuals, as Senator Pan was assaulted on the steps of the Capitol in Sacramento earlier last month. Pediatricians have come out in force decrying the violent tactics of anti-vaxxers-thanks to all of you who tweeted your support on social media. Despite the vocal opposition, SB 276 has come out of Assembly committee and is headed to the general Assembly floor for a vote, which should happen in the next few weeks.
Immigration/Detention Centers
Our fight to protect the health and lives of children at our borders continues to be challenging. As some of you are aware, the administration's proposed changes to the public charge regulations have been enacted, prompting many lawsuits, including one from the state of California against the federal government. Also concerning is the administration's decision to stop honoring "medical deferred actions", i.e., children whose documentation status is not considered if they are receiving medical care for debilitating, often life-threatening conditions. A copy of the AAP's letter to Homeland Security can be found here
Vaping
The CDC and FDA have issued warnings against the use of e-cigarettes in light of over 250 cases of vaping-associated lung disease (VALD) or vaping-associated pulmonary injury (VAPI) that have emerged among youth. Detailed information can be found below in this issue. Some youth have been hospitalized or even intubated and are on ventilators for an Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)-like condition. The first death associated with vaping was announced by the Illinois Department of Public Health in mid-August. It is hypothesized that VALD/VAPI is a form of lipoid pneumonia that occurs because the oils used in the vaping liquid deposit fat droplets into the lungs. If you see a child over 12 years who presents with unusual respiratory symptoms, be sure to get a detailed vaping history.
We are already planning our Annual Symposium for March 28, 2020 at Carnesale Commons at UCLA. Please save the date! We are putting together an excellent program with three tracks for pediatricians of all types: general pediatrics, hospital pediatrics, and child advocacy. We are also starting to put together our Life After Residency mega-job fair for residents and recent graduates. Please contact Tomas if you are interested in advertising a position at the event.
As you can see, our chapter is very active addressing child health issues and supporting all of our work as pediatricians. Now is a good time to reach out to your pediatric colleagues who have not yet joined the chapter or paid their chapter dues. If there are pediatricians you know who would be willing to join the chapter, please direct them to our membership site (here). Also, it is possible to join our chapter to support local child health efforts without joining national AAP if there are cost prohibitions. Please contact Tomás for more information.
Please check out the rest of our newsletter for information on our Town Hall meetings and other CME opportunities, ways to get Maintenance of Certification (MOC) points with Quality Improvement (QI) projects, and statewide advocacy priorities that the AAP is working on behalf of children.
Thanks for all that you do on behalf of children in our communities!
Alice Kuo, MD, PhD, MBA, FAAP
Chapter President
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LAHAN: CDC Health Advisory
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Severe Pulmonary Disease - E-Cigarettes 
Do you receive direct LAHAN alerts?
In case you missed it:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory on August 30 to provide
: 1) background information on the forms of e-cigarette products, 2) information on the multistate outbreak of severe pulmonary disease associated with using e-cigarette products (devices, liquids, refill pods, and cartridges), and 3) clinical features of patients with severe pulmonary disease. The health advisory also provides recommendations for clinicians, public health officials, and the public based on currently available information.
See the August 28 California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Health Advisory -- Vaping-Associated Pulmonary Injury for state guidance and information on local reporting.
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Advocacy Against Vaping Epidemic
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Culver City - Los Angeles - LA County
The Chapter has been a strong advocate against the current teenage Vaping epidemic. To strengthen our efforts and those of organizations with similar intent, we joined LA Families Against Flavored Tobacco Products, a coalition led by Larry Tramutola, one of the country's top political strategists, expert on grassroots organizing, and the man behind San Francisco's successful flavor tobacco ban. After local strict tobacco-free ordinances adopted in cities like Manhattan Beach and Beverly Hills, Culver City and the City of Los Angeles have already drafted similar ordinances. On the same path are the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, governed by the LA County Board of Supervisors. The cities of Pasadena and Glendale recently announced that they also are in the initial stages of drafting an ordinance against flavored tobacco.
The most recent hearing was in the City of Culver City on August 26, where City Council heard over 60 public comments in a session from 9 PM to 11:54 PM (After which City Council still had two pages of other agenda items to review). Opposition came from several tobacco retailers and Hookah bar owners, a group of organized African Americans defending a cultural appreciation for menthol, and one high school student who enjoys Vaping. Statements supporting the ban were convincing, stating the jump from 11% of High Schoolers Vaping in 2017 to the 21% Vaping today, and the 36% of LA County students who have already tried a flavored e-cigarette, to name a few. Present at the podium were the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Academy of Pediatrics-CA2, USC Department of Preventive Medicine, students, and parents. So far, there is a 4 to 1 support by City Council to vote in favor of the ban, with consideration to carve-out Hookah bars. Councilmember Thomas Small said: "If there is a business that is selling a product that is causing an epidemic in our schools, I have no problem asking them to stop selling that as soon as possible". Councilmember Göran Eriksson was the only one not in favor of the ban. Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells supports the ban 100%. The proposed ban includes e-liquids for e-cigarettes and applies to all flavors of tobacco.
You may read the proposed Culver City Ordinance
here.
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Southern California Medical Museum - Closing
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We are Looking For a New Home 
The Southern California Medical Museum (SCMM) is the only medical history museum in Southern California and only one of two in the entire state of California. It has been around since 1982, serving our communities for 37 years. During this time we have hosted thousands of visitors from school age to senior citizens, provided the medicine merit badge to hundreds of Boy Scouts (boys and girls) and we have consulted on television shows and motion pictures. The museum has displays highlighting medicine from ancient Rome and Greece to modern innovations. The collections include rare and unusual medical items, antique texts, an iron lung and other world class displays. SCMM has been an inexpensive way to learn about medical history conveniently in Pomona California. Museum Director Dr. Hans Davidson, Curator and Asst. Director Dr. Elliot Weinstein and our fabulous volunteer committee members have put in countless hours making the SCMM a gem of a museum and providing an enriching experience for our guests, We are proud to have been sponsored by Western University of Health Sciences and to have the San Bernardino County Medical Society work closely with our management. This relationship with Western University has been in effect for five years and has been very beneficial to both parties, with participation by medical students, librarians and SCMM contributions to the community and PR of the school.
So after this long and very successful arrangement, it came as a shock that our museum was told that we had to pack up all of our displays, materials and stored items and be out of the building in less than 90 days. No official letter, just a word from someone "high up". This will definitely be a damaging blow to the SCMM. We barely have time to arrange storage of our materials, let alone find a new location.
So, I'm placing an appeal to all who read this note. If you care at all about medical history, if you value education for young people, if you think that preserving the past of our profession has any value in this age, then I implore you to help us come up with a solution. Do you know of any organization that may wish to sponsor the SCMM? A city? A hospital? Another medical school, perhaps? If you have any contacts that could be of help, please connect with me, Elliot Weinstein.
Thank you,
Elliot Weinstein, MD, FAAP - Curator of the Southern California Medical Museum
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National AAP Elections Voting starting Sept 7, 2019 to Sept 21, 2019.
From Edward Curry M.D. FAAP
Candidate for AAP District IX National Nomination Committee 
Hi Fellow Pediatricians,
I am privileged to be a candidate for AAP District IX National Nomination Committee (NNC). I have been a proud member of the AAP for the past 25 years because I believe in the AAP mission statement
to attain optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. The primary role of National Nominating Committee is to find the best president-elect and district candidates who uphold the vision and mission of the AAP. It is imperative that these candidates be able to lead and communicate our goal to improve the health and well-being of all children through advocacy efforts at the Federal, State, and Local levels. These candidates must be able to understand the multiple challenges and barriers that our diverse group of Pediatricians face in everyday practice of medicine. Our AAP President must be an ardent supporter and the leading voice for Pediatricians and Children.
National and District elections have an ongoing problem with only 12 to 18% of fellows voting for our Presidential and District Candidates. The AAP needs to improve the number of fellows voting in our election. This will require NNC to look at innovative ways to improve communication from our candidates to all our voting Fellows. An informed and engaged AAP membership would be more likely to vote. In order to achieve this goal, our elections rules may need to be updated to allow for a more robust means of communication and advertising of the candidates' views. NNC is the committee to address election rules and low voter turnout.
If I am elected to NNC, my goal will be to find AAP presidential and district candidates who embody the vision, ideals, and mission statement of the AAP. I am committed to you, my fellow pediatricians, to find ways to get you more involved with our leadership candidates so you can make an informed voting decision.
All AAP fellows will be receiving an email ballot from National AAP at the start of the election period on Sept 7, 2019. I strongly urge you to vote in this AAP election. Make sure your voice is heard in the selection of the 2020 President-Elect. I ask for your support by casting your vote for me as your next District IX NNC Representative.
Most important, I want you - the AAP Fellows - to have a voice in choosing American Academy of Pediatrics next generation of leaders.
Thank you and Vote!!!
Edward Curry M.D. FAAP
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2019 National Candidates
The AAP National Nominating Committee has selected Lee Savio Beers, MD, FAAP, of Washington DC and Pamela K. Shaw, MD, FAAP of Kansas City, Kansas, as candidates for AAP President-elect.
The national election for president-elect and district officers will begin on September 7, 2019 and conclude at 11:59 pm CT on September 21, 2019.
Lee Savio Beers, MD, FAAP
Washington, DC
Dr. Lee Savio Beers is a community pediatrician, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Director for Municipal and Regional Affairs at Children's National in Washington DC. She earned her medical degree from Emory University and completed her pediatric residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. Previously, she was a pediatrician at Naval Hospital Guantanamo Bay and National Naval Medical Center.
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Pamela K. Shaw, MD, FAAP
Kansas City, Kansas
Dr. Pam Shaw is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Kansas Medical Center. For the university, she is the Assistant Dean for Clinical Sciences and the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Services. She has served as president of the Kansas Chapter of the AAP and recently completed 6 years as the District Chair and board member for District VI for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
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Thoughts From Your AAP District IX Chair
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Yasuko's Notes
Yasuko Fukuda, MD, FAAP
August 30, 2019
It has been a blur of activity as District IX Chair.We have monthly board conference calls, policy statements, technical reports and clinical practice guidelines to approve. I was also involved with an AAP book publication review. I travelled to Niigata, Japan in late Spring as liaison from the AAP to the Japan Pediatric Society, working on Bright Futures, the medical home and immunizations. Read more...
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October 2, 2019 in
Woodland Hills -
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Kenneth Saul, MD, FAAP |
Town Hall / Dinner
Join AAP-CA2 Member-At-Large Ken Saul, MD, FAAP for a Town Hall at Maggiano's, in Woodland Hills on October 2, 2019. Please save the date!
TOPIC:
Advances in ADD Management
SPEAKER:
TBA
Date:
10/2/2019
Time:
6:30 PM
Location:
Maggiano Woodland Hills
6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
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ADVANCES IN PEDIATRICS
31st Annual AAP-CA2 Pediatric Symposium
March 28, 2020
Carnesale Commons
at UCLA
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Thank you to the 530 who follow us on Twitter.
If you haven't yet, follow the Chapter, and please tag us when posting child health matters.
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QI Opportunities -
CME and MOC Part 4
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Dental Transformation Initiative
In a state-funded effort to improve the oral health of Los Angeles County children on Medi-Cal, UCLA's
More LA Smiles
Dental Transformation Initiative invites medical providers and their staff to participate in clinical trainings and quality improvement (QI) programs. Provided by UCLA faculty in collaboration with various program partners, the free education equips providers to deliver pediatric risk-based prevention and disease management services.
Overview Training: This 1-hour training explains the Medi-Cal 2020 Dental Transformation Initiative and provides contemporary understanding of dental caries and systems-based approaches to improving children's oral health. Participating providers may earn 1 CME credit online by visiting
https://morelasmiles.org/medicaloverview or can request an in-person training for their office by emailing
[email protected].
Advanced Training: The 3-hour training includes in-depth instruction on performing caries risk assessments, applying fluoride varnish, utilizing self-management goals and contemporary approaches for prevention and management of dental caries as a chronic infectious disease. Participating providers earn 3 CME credits. We welcome the opportunity to provide an in-person training for your organization; please email
[email protected] to coordinate.
Stay Connected!   @moreLAsmiles
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Submitting Articles for Publication in Our Newsletter
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AAP-CA2 invites you to submit your ideas, accomplishments, news, pictures...
For article submission guidelines, please click here.
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AAP-CA2 invites you to advertise in our newsletter
AAP-CA2 publishes its electronic newsletter, Peds@CA2, which is emailed to its 1,700+ members on the first weekend every month. Chapter members and non-profit organizations receive a 50% discount. Please follow the link below for more information.
For advertisement rates and guidelines, please
click here.
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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.
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Please contact Tomás Torices, MD (Chapter executive director) for all Chapter 2 related matters.
Mailing Address:
AAP-CA2
PO Box 94127
Pasadena, CA 91109
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