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Innovating with Purpose: Lessons Learned from Team Members By Jacquelyn Rose, MPH: This is the fourth article in our Innovating with Purpose series, which describes Connecticut Children’s Office for Community Child Health’s journey to create and nurture a culture of innovation. Innovating with purpose is critical to an organization’s success. As you can imagine Article
7 Strategies to Help Autistic and Special Needs Kids Prepare for a Doctor's Visit By Jennifer Twachtman-Bassett, MS, CCC-SLP: Kids with autism and other special needs can have a tough time getting used to new routines, people and places. Doctor’s visits can be especially challenging, because these visits are rarely frequent enough for kids to remember what to expect. But a little preparation goes a long
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Prescription for Health: Fruit and Vegetables With food insecurity on the rise, Connecticut Children’s developed and launched a new effort to provide fruit and vegetable prescriptions to families visiting the Emergency Department that screen positive for food insecurity. The goal is to meet families’ needs and increase
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New Framework for Child Health Services By: Paul H. Dworkin, MD and Lisa Honigfeld, PhD While Connecticut has made much progress over the past decade in improving the delivery of child health services, much still needs to be done to reach our ultimate goal of ensuring the optimal health, development, and well-being of Article
CDC, aka the Centers for Disease Control and Promotion [sic]? By Paul Dworkin, MD: By: Paul Dworkin, MD On March 15, I was honored to participate in Public Health Grand Rounds, which is a monthly activity of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The session focused on the important issue of “ Addressing Health Disparities in Early Childhood
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A Visit to the Pediatric Neurosurgeon: What to Expect By Bethany Simonetti MSN, APRN, FNP-BC: If your child has been referred to a pediatric neurosurgeon, you may be feeling nervous or unsure about what to expect. That is totally normal. The idea of seeing a “ brain and spine doctor” can feel scary. But this visit doesn’t always mean your child will need surgery. It
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Personal Hygiene Milestones: A Guide for Parents By Andrew Carlson, MD: Good hygiene habits start young. As kids develop, they reach important milestones and one of the most noticeable ones is personal hygiene. Proper hygiene is your child’s foundation for good health, confidence and a solid social life—and it’s so much more than learning about
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Toy Trouble: Watch Out For Hidden Hazards By Amy Watkins, MPH: By: Amy Watkins, MPH Toys are a source of happiness and fun for children of all ages. Whether you’re shopping for the holiday season, looking for the perfect birthday gift, or searching for treasures at second-hand stores and tag sales, it is important to be mindful of potential Article
Screening for Social Determinants of Health By Paul Dworkin, MD: By: Paul Dworkin, MD It’s important that physicians screen for problems related to the critical social determinants of health. Those are the circumstances in which people live and work, such as food insecurity, housing insecurity, and transportation, that have been shown to have
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First Pediatric ENT Visit? Here’s What to Expect By Rachelle Wareham, MD: A pediatric ENT (ear, nose, and throat doctor) cares for children with problems related to the ears, nose, throat, upper airway passages, head, and neck. These specialists focus on ENT care 100% dedicated to kids—from babies to teens. Pediatricians refer kids to an ENT for many
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Divine Inspiration for CT’s Health Care Transformation By Paul Dworkin, MD: By: Paul Dworkin, MD The Old Testament seems an unlikely source for inspiration on healthcare reform. Nonetheless, the admittedly commonplace quote, “….a little child shall lead them,” (Isaiah 11:6) may be regarded as applicable to our state’s notable efforts to achieve health
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Reducing School Absences for Children with Asthma By Jessica Hollenbach, PhD: By: Jessica Hollenbach, PhD Asthma is the most common chronic pediatric disease, which affects nearly six million children in the United States. Children from minority groups who live in low socioeconomic urban areas experience the highest rates of asthma and associated concerns
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The 6 Rules of Sports Injury Prevention for Kids, Teens and Young Athletes By Imran Hafeez, MD: The longer an athlete is inactive, the longer it takes for them to come back to full activity after a break. Connecticut Children's pediatric and adolescent sports medicine experts have been hearing one question a lot: How can athletes prevent injury? Here are 6 tips from our
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Deciding to Treat Fetal Renal Failure: Information & Support for Families By Timothy Crombleholme, MD: Until recently, most experts thought fetal renal failure was fatal — period. Expecting parents were simply told they had no options. Today, that’s no longer the case. With special care, it’s possible for a baby with fetal renal failure to survive and eventually thrive. But the