Tag Archive for: Essel

2019 National Maternal & Infant Health Summit

Children’s National Hospital participated in the second annual National Maternal & Infant Health Summit which highlights the District’s approaches to ensure the health of women, babies and families. From L to R are: Sahira Long, M.D., Jessica Nash, M.D., Hope Rhodes, M.D., and Kofi Essel, M.D.

Children’s National Hospital participated in the second annual National Maternal & Infant Health Summit hosted by Mayor Muriel Bowser. The summit was built upon highlighting the District’s approaches to ensure the health of women, babies and families, while also seeking to increase public awareness and interest on these topics.

“I enjoyed the summit as a mother, parent, physician and presenter,” said Jessica Nash, M.D., a pediatrician at Children’s National. “I am excited about the future conversations about infant and maternal mortality and the strides needed in the District.”

Nash led a panel titled “Maternal and Infant Mental Health Landscape: Taking Steps to Improve Practice and Policy,” with Hope Rhodes, MD, MPH, Dominique Charlot-Swilley, Ph.D., Leandra Godoy, Ph.D. and Sarah Barclay Hoffman. The discussion identified infant and early childhood mental health resources available in the District, the current state of infant and early childhood mental health, future potential policy changes and the collaborative model that places HealthySteps DC within a child’s primary care medical home.

Children’s National Hospital’s Saharia Long, M.D., discusses the local efforts to improve healthy food access for families.

The day-long summit covered many topics including The Role of Food Policy, Access, and Nutrition in Supporting Positive Outcomes for Families, which focused on national and local efforts to improve healthy food access for families, breastfeeding and babies’ first foods. The discussion was a direct response to feedback on the absence of information about breastfeeding and nutrition during last year’s summit. Sahira Long, M.D., and Kofi Essel, M.D.  served as panelists.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), low rates of breastfeeding add $3 billion a year to medical costs for mothers and children in the U.S.” said Dr. Long. “Breastfeeding is more than an infant feeding choice, it’s a public health decision due to its impact on maternal and infant health.”

The Maternal and Infant Health Summit brings together residents of the District, elected officials, health and education officials and community-based partners to collaborate and explore strategies that will improve perinatal health and address racial disparities in birth outcomes.

Kofi Essel, M.D., M.P.H. and Ankoor Shah, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., named among 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health

Ankoor Shah and Kofi Essel

Ankoor Shah, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., and Kofi Essel, M.D., M.P.H., were named 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health.

Two doctors from Children’s National Health System are among the recipients of the 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health award by the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) for 2019. Kofi Essel, M.D., M.P.H., is a pediatrician, Ankoor Shah, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., is the medical director of the IMPACT DC Asthma Clinic and also a pediatrician at Children’s National.

Founded in 1998, the NMFQ is dedicated to ensuring that high-risk racial and ethnic populations and communities receive optimal health care. The 40 individuals selected for this award represent the next generation of thought leaders in reducing health disparities.

Dr. Kofi Essel is a pediatrician at the Children’s Health Center Anacostia.  His focus and research has been around health equity, obesity, food insecurity and nutrition.

“Hunger strikes so many of our families,” says Dr. Essel, “In D.C., we were number one in the nation for having the highest rate of food hardship in households with children.”

Dr. Essel is involved with many organizations and initiatives that raise awareness about hunger and how much of an issue it is.  He strives to be a partner for the families that he serves, many of whom are in the fight against obesity, and works alongside them to improve their overall health.

“It’s a huge honor to receive recognition from this national organization,” says Dr. Kofi Essel, “Ultimately, it allows us to have a bit more of a platform to continue to advance some of the great work we’re doing with health disparities.”

Dr. Ankoor Shah is the medical director for IMPACT DC asthma clinic and a pediatrician at the Children’s Health Center at THEARC.  His focus includes improving pediatric population health and reducing child health asthma disparities.

“Through the coordination of the best in class care at Children’s National with amazing on the ground community partners, we have been able to transform the lives of the most at-risk children with asthma” says Dr. Shah.

Dr. Shah collaborates with organizations to improve the outcomes of kids with asthma by targeting intervention in high-risk areas.

“This award is recognition of the great work we’re doing in terms of improving asthma health in high-risk child populations throughout the District of Columbia.”

Both Dr. Essel and Dr. Shah are from Arkansas, attended Emory University and they did their residency together at Children’s National.

Congratulations to these wonderful doctors and leaders for receiving this award.

The 40 Under 40 recipients received their awards at the 2019 NMQF Leadership Summit on Health Disparities and CBC Spring Health Braintrust Gala Dinner on April 9.

Healthy Homes, Healthy Futures program receives national recognition

Clinton Foundation’s Health Matters Activation Summit in Little Rock, Arkansas

Children’s National expert Kofi Essel (far right) was one of the Children’s National physicians recognized as a health care pioneer at the Clinton Foundation’s Health Matters Activation Summit in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Children’s National Health System physicians were recognized as health care pioneers at the Clinton Foundation’s Health Matters Activation Summit in Little Rock, Arkansas, in early April for their creation of “Healthy Homes, Healthy Futures,” an obesity-centered home visitation curriculum for pediatric residents at Children’s National. The program received the first-ever Innovation Award for Health Care Provider Training and Education and was named the most innovative program for current health care professionals.

The award recognizes leading health professional training programs that promote nutrition, physical education and obesity counseling education to its students. Co-collaborators of the program include: Children’s National experts Kofi Essel, M.D., FAAP, Sirisha Yalamanchi, M.D., FAAP and Cara Lichtenstein, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, as well as Erin Hysom, R.D.N., M.P.H., of the Maryland State Department of Education.

According to Dr. Essel, the team created the program to address the lack of knowledge providers have of the patient’s home and neighborhood environment, which is critical to understanding the barriers that families face when struggling with obesity.

Clinton Foundation's Innovation Award for Health Care Provider Training and Education award

Dr. Essel accepted the Innovation Award for Health Care Provider Training and Education on behalf of his team presented by former President Bill Clinton.

“Traditional medical training has been ineffective in equipping the next generation of providers with practical ways to manage or prevent obesity,” says Dr. Essel. “We created our program to address this issue and focus on the underlying sociocultural factors that are associated with obesity.”

To better equip providers, the program’s home visitation curriculum offers a unique approach to improve residents’ understanding of the social determinants of health, unpack how these underlying barriers can lead to obesity and strengthen critical goal-setting and obesity-management skills.

Dr. Essel and his team proudly accepted the award presented by former President Bill Clinton. Ultimately, Dr. Essel hopes to influence a national narrative around obesity, build empathy and reduce stigma toward families through immersion training, empower patients to improve their own health and help providers gain confidence in communicating about and managing obesity through the family context.