January Begins with Hope, Gratitude and Silver Linings
2021 begins with hope, gratitude and silver linings:
Thank you to our #IGotTheShot campaigners, great timing!
Welcome to our Incoming Chapter Immunization Champion
And a shout out to all of our members establishing positive ambience.
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President's Column
Raelene Walker, MD, FAAP
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We have begun a new year and as expected, at this point it is very similar to the now completed year. We are in the midst of a global pandemic in which our nation has performed very poorly. Our patients and communities are suffering. We are all working incredibly hard as our state is having an even more severe surge than our prior surges. And yet, I have hope and gratitude that I did not have a month ago. This morning I received my second COVID-19 vaccine and as I write this with a slightly sore arm as my only side effect, and though I will not change my behavior at this time, I feel a tremendous weight off my shoulders knowing that my patients, my family, and myself are now much safer from the scourge and consequences of COVID-19. And more importantly, though it will take months, there is a path forward for all of us. To help us move down that path, I’d like to highlight our ongoing COVID Conversations with our January 13 event focusing on COVID vaccine distribution and delivery. The subsequent program will be in early February, featuring national pediatric and vaccine expert Peter Hotez, MD, PhD from Baylor University. Please join us.
Another major reason for my feelings of hope and gratitude is that we are shortly going to have new national leadership with priorities that align with those of the AAP and are child oriented, science focused, and with an emphasis on equity. Our Health People 2020 grant focusing on public charge misinformation is hosting a chapter chat also on January 13 that will be those things as well. I invite you to join us for that event as well.
I hope you have all had at least your first COVID-19 vaccine as well and are also feeling hope and gratitude.
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CME Committee Update
Mika Hiramatsu, MD, FAAP
CME Committee Co-Chair
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Despite Zoom burnout, COVID-related stress and anxiety, and uncertain times, more than 70 of you turned out for the all-virtual Pediatric Puzzles Dec. 5. Featuring well-known national speakers Drs. Aparna Bole (climate change), Colleen Kraft (advocacy at the border), Pearl Kwong (dermatology) and Adiaha Spinks-Franklin (racism), the meeting also included break-out sessions for 1 on 1 Q & A with the speakers, introduction to chapter AAP activities and CATCH (Community Access to Child Health), reunions for Children's Hospital Oakland and the UC programs, and strategies to improve mental health during COVID.
The CME committee started the new year with a lunchtime presentation by PeerView Institute on Jan. 6 on influenza. (Watch the recording below.) We are now revamping the Adolescent Health meeting, postponed from last year and now scheduled for April 24. Hope you will join us! As always, we welcome your input and participation.
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Thank you to our pediatricians for joining our #IGotTheShot COVID-19 Vaccine Promotional Campaign, getting vaccinated and growing confidence in vaccinations! |
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Please continue to share pictures with us at [email protected] for us to post on your behalf, or share it on your own social media channels and tag us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram using the #IGotTheShot and any other #COVIDvaccine hashtags.
Thank you for your support and everything you do to protect our Northern California children and families.
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Incoming Chapter Immunization Champion
Morgan Leighton, MD, MPH, FAAP
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Hello AAPCA1! As a native of Oakland, I am happy to be back home in California after many years away for school and work and am just as thrilled to be your new chapter immunization champion! I am currently working in outpatient pediatrics for Stanford Children’s Health and pediatric urgent care at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. I attended medical school at Boston University, completed my pediatric residency at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, and then continued to work in their emergency department for the past two years while I completed my MPH in Health Policy at George Washington University. I was fortunate to serve as a Chapter Immunization Champion for the DC AAP where our biggest successes were advocating for DC’s schools to begin enforcement of their vaccine mandate for the first time and supporting DC’s Minor Consent for Vaccines bill which was just passed into law this month!
I am honored to begin work as an immunization champion for AAPCA1 and look forward to joining in immunization and other advocacy work with the chapter. I hope to partner with you all to help address the alarming decrease in routine immunizations that this pandemic has caused, build trust and work for equitable distribution of the COVID-19 vaccines as they are studied and approved for children, and work to counter vaccine misinformation and mistrust. In addition to immunization, I am passionate about adolescent reproductive health and education and child health policy more broadly and hope to bring some of my experience in DC and advocacy to California. Please reach out if you have ideas for how this chapter can support equitable access to immunization for all of California’s kids!
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Reminder: CATCH Applications Close this Month!
Janice Kim, MD,MPH, FAAP, Aparna Kota, MD, MPH, FAAP & Judy Lin, MD, MPH, FAAP
CATCH Facilitators
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The CATCH program is a national initiative of the AAP that supports pediatricians to collaborate within their communities to plan and/or implement projects that advance the health of all children. The CATCH Call for Proposals is open through January 27 at 1 PM PST. Pediatricians and residents with innovative ideas to plan or implement initiatives that address critical child health issues in their local communities may apply for $10,000 and $2,000, respectively. This cycle there is targeted funding opportunities for rural health initiatives. The Resident Call for Proposals guidelines include targeted funding opportunities for oral health, community pediatrics, environmental health, developmental and behavioral pediatrics, emergency medicine, and mental health initiatives. Questions? Reach out to CATCH staff at [email protected]. Learn more about the pediatrician application here and the resident application here. For more information about CATCH visit aap.org/CATCH.
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CATCH Project Update:
Adolescent Health Champions: Youth-Led Health Education in India During the Pandemic
Priya Shankar, MD, PL-3
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“The spread of Coronavirus has brought the world around us to a standstill. For teenagers, the pandemic has dramatically changed our lives. Students, like me, are missing their school activities and especially their friends. Parents are worried about their child’s future. Every morning, listening to the increasing number of cases has been shocking. Children of all ages are frightened to read the newspaper and there are many cases of youth under stress, anxiety and feeling loneliness.”
- Daniya Shaikh, AHC Champion.
We are youth leaders and team members of Adolescent Health Champions (AHC), a non-profit organization that fights gender inequality in India by training youth as peer health educators (also known as Champions) in leading adolescent health challenges such as sexual and reproductive rights, mental health, gender-based violence, iron deficiency anemia and nutrition. In light of the changes and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, our team has been hard at work responding to the crisis situation through developing a COVID-19 and complementary parents curriculum, Youth Advisory Board, virtual peer education platform and an AHC mobile application. We are thankful to the AAP and the CATCH program for their support of our organization both prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19 Pandemic Youth Poem by Champion, Smit Kothari
The virus that shook the world we know
Spread instantly everywhere at a go
Affected all no matter adult or teen
Yes, I am talking about COVID-19!
It made us all go in a sudden lockdown
All shut at home no one on the roads around
Millions of people stranded homeless without jobs
Misery everywhere with air full of sobs!
Stock markets fell down drastically
Economies crashed in each country
Thousands of patients affected every day
The vaccine not ready so one can at the most pray
Wearing of masks by citizens was made compulsory
Sanitizers and gloves each person does carry
Cleanliness was given a lot of importance
And life moved on with much more endurance.
This virus had some plus points too!
With no one going out the pollution reduced
The nature started reclaiming its place
Healing the earth, giving it a new face!
So as a citizen one can only do so much
To follow the guidelines and not go out as such
So pray the world heals totally
And one day becomes COVID-19 free.
~Smit Kothari
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Pediatrics On Call: Pathways to Pediatrics
The AAP podcast has released a special series of Pathways to Pediatrics. In this episode Rhea Boyd, MD, MPH, FAAP, talks about the moment in her childhood when she first recognized racial inequality. She tells hosts David Hill, MD, FAAP, and Joanna Parga-Belinkie, MD, FAAP, why she wants to stop structural racism and how writing helps her accomplish her goals. Listen to the podcast here.
New Ask the Pediatrician—When Can Children Get the COVID-19 Vaccine?
View this new HealthyChildren.org "Ask the Pediatrician" article. The article contains answers from James D. Campbell, MD, MS, FAAP, Member, Committee on Infectious Diseases, on clinical trials for children and the 2021-22 school year.
2021 Advocacy Training Grants - Call for Applications
Are you a resident or faculty interested in strengthening your advocacy skills? Apply for an Advocacy Training Grant! The AAP Community Pediatrics Training Initiative will support 4 pediatric faculty-resident pairs to attend the 2021 AAP Advocacy Conference – formerly named the Legislative Conference - on April 11-13, 2021.
The Advocacy Conference for 2021 will be completely virtual because of the pandemic. With new members of Congress and a new presidential administration taking office in 2021, the AAP Advocacy Conference will be a critical opportunity to make sure elected leaders put children’s health at the top of their agenda. It is more important than ever that lawmakers prioritize the needs of children and families. Following the conference, grantees will be required to partner with their chapters to implement an educational project to strengthen the advocacy skills of others in their program and enhance their residency program’s advocacy training and curriculum.
The grant covers conference registration and provides the chapter with $1000 maximum to support the project in partnership with the residency program. View the guidelines and application. Applications are due Wednesday, February 10, 2021 by Midnight ET.
Contact Jeanine Donnelly at [email protected] with any questions. Requesting application assistance is strongly encouraged to ensure project ideas align with the intentions of the grant.
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The SGA Side
Your Key to State Government Affairs
Nora Pfaff, MD, FAAP and Zarah Iqbal, MD, MPH, CFAAP
SGA Chapter Representatives
The legislative session has just commenced. We will keep you updated on supporting bills!
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For the most up to date information on AAP California bill positions, letters & outcomes from the 2020 CA Legislative year, go to aap-ca.org/bill
- For latest organizational advocacy updates follow @AAPCADocs on twitter
If you have questions and/or are interested in knowing more about a certain legislation, reach out to our State Government Affairs Chapter Representatives Nora Pfaff, MD, FAAP and Zarah Iqbal, MD, MPH, CFAAP at [email protected].
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AAPCA1 is working with the California ACES AWARE initiative to provide California pediatricians with information they can use in their practice to screen for Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) during well child visits. This initiative will help pediatricians support families by identifying stressors that can lead to developmental and behavioral problems in children, and are risk factors for adult onset chronic diseases. |
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January Initiative: "Invisible Scars" on PBS |
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Childhood trauma impacts millions of Americans, and its consequences can be devastating. Those experiencing high levels of trauma can see dramatically lower life expectancies, and the CDC estimates it accounts for billions of dollars in healthcare costs and lost productivity. A new series, “Invisible Scars: America’s Childhood Trauma Crisis" recently aired on PBS. A portion of the transcript is below. The full episode (10 minutes) can be found here: |
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The first episode of this PBS series focuses upon a hotel room in Oakland, California, which has been home to Iesha James and her sons for four months. It's close quarters for three growing boys, ages 15, 13, and 12. But they'd rather be here than return to their apartment, where a drive-by shooting in August upended their lives. Jeremiah, the oldest, was hit in the leg.
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Upcoming Event: Stanford’s ACEs Aware ECHO
(Started on January 6)
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Opportunities for Your Benefit |
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AAP Disaster Management ECHO
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is launching a Disaster Management Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) program. The AAP Disaster Management ECHO will serve as a forum for pediatric primary providers, hospitalists, and public health/Emergency Medical Services personnel to increase participant knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy around disaster management strategies to aid children and families and to foster system level connectedness and improvements. This ECHO program will meet twice per month starting in February 2021 and each session will last 1-hour. To register for the Disaster Management ECHO, please click here. More information about Project ECHO may be found at www.aap.org/projectecho.
P4 Challenge: Innovations in Pediatric Primary Care to Improve Child Health
This recent initiative from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of HRSA asks providers to submit a concept paper by January 19 on innovative solutions to increase access to and utilization of well-child visits and/or immunizations in your community. Up to 50 applicants will receive $10,000 to implement their ideas. For further information, see here.
DDH Screening
A group of medical students, pediatricians, and orthopaedic surgeons across North America have developed a survey to better understand the practices and preferences of pediatricians with regard to managing patients with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH). Survey responses will be used to inform care maps for both urban and rural clinical environments. The survey will take approximately 5 minutes to complete. The link to the survey is attached here.
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January 13, 7:00-8:30 PM: Public Charge Misinformation Chapter Chat - REGISTER!
January 13, 6:00-7:00 PM: COVID Conversations: Preparing California for the COVID-19 Immunizations - REGISTER!
January 23, 1:00-4:00 PM: Life After Residency Part II - REGISTER!
April 24: Chapter Spring Meeting: Adolescent Health - SAVE THE DATE!
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Add our social media accounts to get the latest chapter updates!
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Your membership makes a difference for children in California, thank you!
The AAPCA1's ability to advocate on behalf of children is only as strong as the support we receive from our members. Encourage your colleagues to join today by visiting the AAPCA1 website.
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Our mission is to promote the optimal health and development of children and
adolescents of Northern California in partnership with their families and communities, and to support the pediatricians who care for them.
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President: Raelene Walker • Vice President: Nelson Branco
• Secretary: Janice Kim • Treasurer: Nivedita More • Past President: John Takayama
Executive Director: Isra Uz-Zaman
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