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Sara Johnson, Ph.D., Desiree de la Torre, M.B.A., M.P.H., and Arethusa Kirk, M.D.

Children’s National summit unites 200+ to bridge health and education

Keynote speaker, Maya Martin Cadogan, executive director, Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE).

Keynote speaker, Maya Martin Cadogan, executive director, Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE).

More than 200 attendees from 35 organizations took part in the Children’s National Hospital’s School Health Summit to build strong academic foundations and help launch students into careers. The event, held at the Children’s National Research & Innovation Campus, showcased the Children’s National school-friendly health system framework, school health initiatives and partnerships across the Washington, D.C., area and fostered networking and new relationships between the health and education sectors. Over 80 school nurses from Children’s School Services in the District of Columbia attended the event as part of their summer professional development programming.

Summit highlights

Tonya Vidal Kinlow, M.P.A., vice president of Community Engagement, Advocacy & Government Affairs at Children’s National, delivered opening and closing remarks.

“We believe that addressing school attendance and offering career training programs can powerfully impact students’ academic success and build the foundation for healthy, successful lives,” Kinlow said.

The keynote speaker, Maya Martin Cadogan, executive director of Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE), shared valuable insight on the important role that parents and caregivers have in advocating for their children’s health through collaborations with health and educational systems.

“Our parent leaders are policy experts, fierce advocates and community connectors. We work with schools, elected officials, policymakers and other leaders, including our partners at Children’s National, to advance a parent-led agenda for systems change in our nation’s capital,” said Cadogan.

A panel of experts who provide school-based services around the region discussed challenges and potential solutions for improving healthcare and education in under-resourced communities. A panel on youth engagement and voices in healthcare also discussed strategies to engage youth in healthcare career opportunities.

Sara Johnson, Ph.D., Desiree de la Torre, M.B.A., M.P.H., and Arethusa Kirk, M.D.

Sara Johnson, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Desiree de la Torre, M.B.A., M.P.H., executive director, Community and Government Affairs, Children’s National and Arethusa Kirk, M.D., pediatrician and vice president, Population Health & Clinical Strategy, United Healthcare.

Panel topics and participants

  • Panel 1 – Innovations addressing chronic absenteeism and increasing access to care
    Moderator:  Arethusa Kirk, M.D., vice president of Population Health & Clinical Strategy at United Healthcare
    Panelists:

    • Andrea Boudreaux, Psy.D., M.P.H., M.A., F.A.C.H.E., executive director at Children’s School Services
    • Desiree de la Torre, M.B.A., M.P.H., executive director of Community and Government Affairs at Children’s National
    • Sara Johnson, Ph.D., pediatrics professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
    • Hope Rhodes, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P., medical director of THEARC at Children’s Nationa
  • Panel 2: Youth engagement across the region
    Moderator: Reneé Roberts-Turner, D.H.A., M.S.N, R.N., N.E.-B.C, C.P.H.Q., executive director of nursing excellence for Child and Family Services at Children’s National
    Panelists:  

    • Andrea Zimmermann, director of the Advanced Technical Center at the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education
    • Darcel Jackson, C.P.X.P., L.S.S.G.B., manager of Patient Experience and Patient and Family Engagement at Children’s National
    • Iana Clarence, M.P.H., former Children’s National intern and public health analyst at the Office of Population Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

As a School-Friendly Health System, Children’s National ensures all children reach optimal health and achieve their full academic potential. Children’s National is committed to addressing school attendance and career training, which can powerfully impact students’ academic success and build the foundation for healthy, successful lives. The health and education sectors must build trusted partnerships and share decision-making with families and schools.

This event was sponsored by the United Health Foundation and Children’s National Child Health Advocacy Institute through the leadership of Kinlow and Nathaniel Beers, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.A.P.

kids running to school

New School-Friendly Health Systems Framework supports children’s health and learning

kids running to schoolWith school back in session and students, educators and health care workers still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical for the health and education sectors to align efforts and drive innovative programs and policy change efforts to address the needs of children.

With input from expert stakeholders, including pediatricians, educators, school administrators, school nurses, parents and community health experts, Children’s National led the development of a School-Friendly Health System (SFHS) framework that is based on lessons learned from nationally recognized baby-friendly hospitals and age-friendly health systems initiatives. Becoming school-friendly means that hospitals and health systems have made a commitment to actively help children achieve optimal health and reach their full academic potential.

The big picture

Given the fundamental interrelation of health and education, hospitals and health care organizations need a holistic framework to guide their school partnerships and other efforts to make a positive impact on patient and family engagement, health care costs, health outcomes and, ideally, patients’ learning experience. For hospitals and health systems, partnering with schools in their local service area will not only improve service delivery to the students receiving care from the health system but will help strengthen health outcomes and overall student performance.

Children’s National Hospital leads the way

Eight health care organizations and partners, led by Desiree de la Torre, M.P.H., M.B.A., Julia DeAngelo, M.P.H., and Danielle Dooley, M.D., M.Phil., of the Child Health Advocacy Institute (CHAI) through executive support of Tonya Kinlow, M.P.A., and Nathaniel Beers, M.D., M.P.A., at Children’s National and with support from RESOLVE (a Washington, D.C., -based nonprofit based specializing in collaborative process design), have formed to update the SFHS framework that was first released in 2021. The Collaborative includes interdisciplinary health care professionals who have been leading and coordinating early childhood and K-12 school health initiatives across the nation.

The SFHS framework includes five principles that reflect a broad range of competencies, practices, and policy positions that health care and school health experts and stakeholders view as emblematic of a SFHS – some already practiced, some aspirational:

School friendly health sysems infographic

A few significant updates to the framework include embedding the “All Touchpoints Approach” principle across the framework and adding an “Alignment” principle. Other changes included modifying the wording of the Accessibility and Accountability principles and adding a few new practices.

What’s next

The Collaborative is now focusing on developing tools to support implementation. Through securing additional funding, the Collaborative will evaluate how the adoption of the SFHS framework across diverse settings has strengthened the healthcare sector’s relationships with schools, students and families and ability to improve health and academic outcomes.

Read the full study at childrensnational.org/school-friendly For more information on the SFHS Learning Collaborative, contact School Partnerships@childrensnational.org.

Little boy going to school with protective mask

Pandemic recovery for kids goes well beyond keeping schools open

Little boy going to school with protective maskThe impact virtual school had on kids goes well beyond academics, say Children’s National Hospital experts in a new JAMA Pediatrics editorial. From the beginning of the pandemic, new data shows that school closures for in-person learning led to:

  • School disengagement
  • Mental health challenges
  • Unhealthy weight gain
  • Food insecurity
  • Immunization delay
  • An increase in cases of new-onset Type 2 diabetes

“The toll that school closures and social isolation has had on kid’s mental health cannot be overstated,” says Danielle Dooley, M.D., M.Phil., medical director of Community Affairs and Population Health in the Child Health Advocacy Institute at Children’s National Hospital. “As the latest Omicron wave has shown, these discussions are not behind us. We must continue to fully weigh how each decision can impact the lives of children.”

She collaborated with other Children’s National experts in the new editorial. They discussed how Viner et al. — a study appearing in the same issue — present an important review of the impacts of school closures. The researchers urge a balance between measures to contain COVID-19 and to support the physical and mental health of kids.

“The events and influences in childhood and adolescence have long-lasting impacts on the health and well-being of youth,” says Dr. Dooley.

Danielle Dooley

In a new editorial, Dr. Dooley et al. stress the importance of children remaining the focus of the ongoing pandemic and recovery.

Looking at the prospect of COVID-19 becoming endemic in our communities, Dr. Dooley stressed the importance of continually assessing the impact of the pandemic on youth. This includes the impact of the pandemic on education, health care access and disparities, family stress and functioning, among others.

In the editorial, Dr. Dooley et al. say changes need to be made at the practice, research, policy, systems and school infrastructure level. They write that while children are resilient, that resiliency requires systemic support, investment and more research into the short-, medium-, and long-term impacts on kids.

Children’s National Hospital continues to be a leader in addressing these impacts. From clinical care to partnerships and collaboration with local school systems and community-based organizations, Children’s National takes a holistic approach to the needs of children and families. Additionally, with funding from the United Health Foundation, Children’s National has deployed its Mobile Medical Unit. The clinic meets families where they are, in their communities, to deliver immunization services and comprehensive well visits to children and adolescents.

Hope Rhodes, M.D., M.P.H., medical director for the Mobile Medical Program at Children’s National, says, “This is a critical part of the pandemic response, both to ensure children do not fall further behind in immunizations and to provide additional access point options for families to receive immunizations.”

Vittorio Gallo Alpha Omega Alpha Award

Vittorio Gallo, Ph.D., inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha

Vittorio Gallo Alpha Omega Alpha Award

Vittorio Gallo, Ph.D., Chief Research Officer at Children’s National, was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA), a national medical honor society that since 1902 has recognized excellence, leadership and research in the medical profession.

“I think it’s great to receive this recognition. I was very excited and surprised,” Gallo says of being nominated to join the honor society.

“Traditionally AΩA membership is based on professionalism, academic and clinical excellence, research, and community service – all in the name of ‘being worthy to serve the suffering,’ which is what the Greek letters AΩA stand for,” says Panagiotis Kratimenos, M.D., Ph.D., an ΑΩΑ member and attending neonatologist at Children’s National who conducts neuroscience research under Gallo’s mentorship. Dr. Kratimenos nominated his mentor for induction.

“Being his mentee, I thought Gallo was an excellent choice for AΩΑ faculty member,” Dr. Kratimenos says. “He is an outstanding scientist, an excellent mentor and his research is focused on improving the quality of life of children with brain injury and developmental disabilities – so he serves the suffering. He also has mentored numerous physicians over the course of his career.”

Gallo’s formal induction occurred in late May 2019, just prior to the medical school graduation at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences (GWSMHS) and was strongly supported by Jeffrey S. Akman, Vice President for Health Affairs and Dean of the university’s medical school.

“I’ve been part of Children’s National and in the medical field for almost 18 years. That’s what I’m passionate about: being able to enhance translational research in a clinical environment,” Gallo says. “In a way, this recognition from the medical field is a perfect match for what I do. As Chief Research Officer at Children’s National, I am charged with continuing to expand our research program in one of the top U.S. children’s hospitals. And, as Associate Dean for Child Health Research at GWSMHS, I enhance research collaboration between the two institutions.”