For Immediate Release

CHICAGO – While the nation struggles with the big picture of health care, pediatricians throughout America continue to volunteer their time to advocate for access to care for underserved kids in their local communities.
 
For example, Dr. William Stratbucker in Grand Rapids, MI,  works toward lowering Kent County’s infant mortality rate, one of the highest nationwide.

“Perinatal health screening occurs sporadically in the Grand Rapids area,” Dr. Stratbucker said.  “The transfer of a newborn’s care to an informed follow-up physician, in a medical home that accepts Medicaid and sees the infant in a timely manner, should be the expectation for all.”

With the benefit of an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) planning grant, he and others in his community are designing a plan to reduce infant mortality through coordinated perinatal health screenings, timely newborn follow-up and enhanced access to ongoing screening tools.

AAP has recently awarded 40 CATCH planning grants nationwide, totaling $353,000, which were made possible by Wyeth, the program’s founding sponsor. 

“CATCH grants help pediatricians create change – one community at a time,” says Dr. David T. Tayloe, Jr., president of the AAP.  “We partner with community coalitions, agencies and organizations in an effort to provide all children with access to the care and services they need to be healthy.”

Other CATCH planning grants awardees are also working in their communities on behalf of children:

• Dr. Ginger Senseman, in Salina, Kansas, is working to increase access to breastfeeding resources for underserved infants, as Kansas has very low breastfeeding initiation and maintenance rates.
  
  
• Dr. Sheila McNeal, in Lima, Ohio, is designing a calcium promotion and overall nutrition and obesity prevention program aimed at inner-city, underserved and uninsured school children from six to 10 years of age.
  
  
• Dr. Susan MacLean, in Burnsville, North Carolina, is developing a telemedicine program to increase access to healthcare, decrease missed school days, decrease unnecessary use of emergency rooms and expand available medical, dental, nutritional and psychological services.  A recent community needs assessment says 70 percent of parents and 79 percent of teachers believe student attendance would improve with a telemedicine network.  
  
• Dr. Cooper White, in Akron, Ohio, is working to alleviate barriers to care for refugee children from Burma who have settled in the area and are seeking asylum.  He is holding clinic days devoted to their care.

To learn more about the CATCH planning grant program and this year’s awardees, visit the American Academy of Pediatrics at www.aap.org/catch.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.

Wyeth, the founding sponsor of the CATCH Planning Funds program, has generously supported CATCH planning grants since 1993. As a result of Wyeth's sponsorship, thousands of children nationwide now have a medical home and access to quality health care services.