PreSIPS2 is a groundbreaking collaboration to create sustainable, state-to-local improvement in system infrastructure to impact preventive health outcomes for children and families based on the Bright Futures Guidelines. AAP/Bright Futures selected four outstanding AAP Chapters to participate in Preventive Services Improvement State Spread Project (PreSIPS2) - Georgia, New Jersey, South Carolina, Virginia. Chapter Leadership Teams are comprised of a MD Project leader, Project Manager/QI Coach, State MCH representative and a family representative. Chapters enrolled practices (including a residency clinic) to promote Bright Futures clinical activities and office systems change at the practice level. While each state is different, the Chapter Leadership Teams (with help from state partners) are supporting practice teams by linking them to state and community resources to improve MCH performance measures. Practice teams are engaged in meaningful family involvement, and strengthening links to community resources and initiatives related to state MCH goals. PreSIPS2 is an extension of the first Preventive Services Improvement Project (PreSIP).

1 in 5 children in the U.S. lives in poverty. Research shows that living in poverty can have detrimental health consequences that are severe and lifelong. Visit AAP’s Poverty & Child Health Web site for many great and timely resources.  Of special interest, read recent AAP statements: Poverty and Child Health in the United States (March 2016), Mediators and Adverse Effects of Child Poverty in the United States (March 2016), and Promoting Food Security for All Children (October 2015).

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an informational bulletin that describes how State Medicaid agencies may now cover maternal depression screening as part of the well-child visit, directly benefiting both the child and mother. Read the full bulletin for more details: Maternal Depression Screening and Treatment: A Critical Role for Medicaid in the Care of Mothers and Children. Healthychildren.org provides additional consumer/parent information about maternal depression. A recent Health Affairs Blog​ highlights the pediatrician's role in addressing maternal depression.

By the end of the new Oral Health course, you will be able to recognize the role pediatric primary health care professionals play in providing oral health care including: understanding the importance of a dental home; knowing how to perform a caries risk assessment; understanding the importance of maternal oral health; becoming familiar with fluoride varnish (who should apply it and how it is applied); and addressing families’ concerns about fluoride varnish. EQIPP courses help identify and close gaps in practice using practical tools while earning CME credit and meeting MOC Part 4: Performance in Practice requirements all at once. Each course requires some work online and offline and can be completed within 4-8 months, depending on the number of improvement cycles implemented to reach specific goals.

AAP serves as the National Program Office – East for the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU) program. PEHSUs are a network of pediatric environmental health experts who provide direct consultations to health care providers, parents, public officials, and others about known or suspected toxic exposures and ways to prevent, reduce, or medically manage exposures and related illnesses. PEHSUs also offer education on the effects of chronic, low-level toxic exposures to substances like lead, mercury, mold, plastics, pesticides, and many others. As part of the program’s educational efforts, the PEHSU National Classroom was recently launched and is a growing resource for health care providers to aid in the prevention of environmental exposures among children. The National Classroom is intended to help health care professionals broaden their level of expertise in environmental health and stay informed of the latest information available. All PEHSU educational products, including webinars and online courses, are approved by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as continuing education material and are available free of charge. Educational materials continue to be developed and added to the classroom on a regular basis.