Health
Care Delivery Committee - Cynthia Minkovitz, MD, MPP
The Health Care Delivery Committee was pleased to award the Health Care Delivery
Award to the Yes We Can, Urban Asthma Partnership, directed by Shannon Thyne,
MD, Nannette Maddon, PNP, and Andrea Marmor, MD, MSEd at San Francisco General
Hospital/UCSF. The Yes We Can Program addresses asthma among disadvantaged,
urban youth and is a multidisciplinary collaboration of San Francisco State
University, City College of San Francisco and the UCSF Department of Pediatrics
at San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH). The program at SFGH has served
over 700 children to date. Highlights of the services offered include medical
evaluations, social interventions, and integrated activities including patient
education, social support and community outreach. Early evaluation results
highlight increased prescribing of controller meds, use of action plans and
mattress covers, and decreased asthma symptoms. The partnership, in operation
for 8 years, involves academic and community partnerships. Originally supported
by foundation pilot funds, the initiative has been institutionalized and
now is supported by the Department of Public Health.
We enjoyed stimulating presentations and lively discussions at the May meeting of the committee held in conjunction with PAS. The theme was engaging trainees in the delivery of mental/behavioral health services, particularly in primary care settings. The interest in trainees reflects activities of many APA members, the push to ‘do more in less time’ for each clinical encounter, and the recognition that exposures and skills acquired during training influence activities once pediatricians are established in their careers. Presenters included: Sue Feigelman, (University of Maryland), Lynn Garfunkel, (University of Rochester) joined by Jenni Linebarger, Sara Horstmann, and Heather Paradis, David Link, (Cambridge Health Alliance; Harvard Medical School), and Francis Rushton, (Beaufort Pediatrics). We are greatly appreciative to each of the presenters for their contributions to the meeting.