By: Jacquelyn M. Rose, MPH Have you ever wondered why, with so many bright people who have so many great ideas, it seems like some problems just never seem to get solved? We did too, especially when it comes to promoting children’s health. Now, we are setting out to change that. Connecticut Children’s Office for…
Overcoming Adversity
When Veronica Rosario moved to Connecticut in 2015 with her two sons, she felt overwhelmed and struggled to acclimate to her new surroundings. Rosario’s husband passed away after battling cancer and her youngest son was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy just one year after that. “When my husband passed, my mother-in-law said, ‘If you need anything,…
A Look at Our Community Child Health Learning Collaborative
Our new learning collaborative designed to explore best practices with regards to strengthening families and promoting healthy development is off to a great start! Connecticut Children’s Office for Community Child Health launched the collaborative with eight other children’s hospitals to showcase the value-based work that is already being done to keep children from needing medical…
Strengthening Families by Enhancing Protective Factors
By: Susan Roman, RN, MPH Connecticut Children’s Center for Care Coordination (the Center) is committed to strengthening families and communities. The Center has fully embraced the Strengthening Families framework, developed by the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP), based in Washington D.C. The framework is a research-informed approach which enhances protective factors in…
A Call to Restore State Funding for Help Me Grow
Paul Dworkin, MD, delivered the following testimony to the Connecticut state legislature’s Appropriations Committee on February 21, 2017, urging lawmakers to restore funding for Connecticut’s Help Me Grow® program. Dr. Dworkin also wrote an opinion article on the same topic that was published in the Connecticut Mirror. Dr. Dworkin piloted the developmental screening, identification and…
Outstanding Achievements in Pediatric Research
By: Paul Dworkin, MD We’ve made remarkable strides in pediatric research in recent decades, and we know that even more impressive advances are on the horizon. Of particular interest to those of us who work at Connecticut Children’s Office for Community Child Health (the Office) are evidence-informed practices that strengthen families to promote children’s optimal…
New Learning Collaborative Shares Lessons in Community Child Health
By: Eminet Gurganus, MPH Connecticut Children’s Medical Center launched Connecticut Children’s Office for Community Child Health (the Office) in 2012 to optimize the health of children by engaging all sectors that are critical to child and family well-being, rather than focusing solely on treating diseases and disorders. In the years since, our work has enhanced…
Help Me Grow Praised in Federal Report
A new joint policy statement, released by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services, includes a recommendation for states to adopt a centralized intake, screening and referral process similar to our Help Me Grow® system model. The report, which encourages greater collaboration between federal home visiting programs and federally-required state early intervention…
Circle the Wagons or Stay the Course?
By: Paul H. Dworkin, MD “Awaken our inner warrior” and be prepared to “fight, fight, fight.” Those are just some of the poignant thoughts expressed by Dr. Kevin Marks, a pediatric colleague and tireless child health advocate from Eugene, OR, in his recent letter to the journal Pediatrics, written in response to a published article…
New Podcast Highlights Community Health Innovation at Connecticut Children’s
In order to encourage children to reach their optimal healthy development, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is committed to cultivating promising new strategies that show potential for closing existing gaps in programs and services currently offered to children. One of our newest innovation pathways is our Advancing Kids Innovation Program (AKIP), which is overseen by our…
Connecticut Children’s Injury Prevention Center Takes Top Honors at National Conference
Leaders from the Connecticut Children’s Injury Prevention Center (Injury Prevention Center) won an award for best poster at the 21st annual Injury Free Coalition for Kids conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in December. The Injury Prevention Center presented a poster highlighting contributions from its 25 years in the field of injury prevention. The poster tracks…
Beyond the Moon
By: Paul H. Dworkin, MD Are we too constrained in setting goals for promoting children’s optimal healthy development? Current events suggest that perhaps we should abandon caution and be far more ambitious in our targets. For example, Congress is now poised to approve The 21st Century Cures Act, a major biomedical innovation bill that includes…
