MIAAP Annual Conference a Record Breaking Success

The 2024 MIAAP Annual Conference was a huge success!

Many records were set including: Most poster submissions, most students/residents in attendance, most attendees post-covid, most CME's offered, highest attendance at a President's Reception.

We are grateful to the exhibitors, sponsors and speakers for helping us make this conference a success. The support of our premier sponsors Bronson Children's Hospital and Western Michigan University Homer Stryker MD School of Medicine helped break our records and set new ones!

MIAAP INTRODUCES SHARON SWINDELL CHILD ADVOCATE AWARD: DR. JON GOLD FIRST AWARDEE

MIAAP past president Dr. Sharon Swindell passed away this year. A fierce advocate

for Michigan children, a brilliant leader, and supportive mentor. Dr. Swindell led advocacy efforts for MIAAP, and mentored most of our current board members, encouraging them to seek leadership positions.

Her in memoriam request was to have donations to the MIAAP Natalia Tanner Scholarship, because of that request we will be able to send med students and residents to Washington DC for AAP advocacy day for many years to come.

In light of her loss and her generosity to the chapter, MIAAP created the Sharon Swindell Child Advocate Award. This award will be given bi-annually by the outgoing president.

The first recipient, Dr. Jon Gold. was presented the award by outgoing president Dr. Abeba Berhane.

Dr. Gold knew Dr. Swindell very well. She mentored him in the advocacy space, and inspired him to create our annual Advocacy Day.

Dr. Gold is a valuable member of MIAAP. He has led our Advocacy Committee for years, and has served as Board President. His dedication to improving the lives of Michigan children through legislative efforts has been extraordinary.

His approach as Chair of the Advocacy Committee is patient and inclusive, making state level legislative policy accessible to a wide range of members in pediatrics. His background as an educator has been instrumental in helping the chapter convene Advocacy Days at the Capitol where physicians and residents can have interactions with legislators and gain valuable experience in learning about advocacy.

There can be no doubt that his efforts at preparing young physicians has put the pediatrician profession in a better position to address the challenges we will face in the future.

He is frequently called upon to meet with legislators in Lansing or testify on issues in front of legislative committees at the Capitol, even when presented with questions meant to antagonize, he maintains his focus and is able to stay on message.

His deliberate approach and perseverance were on display as MIAAP was finally able to lead the legislative effort to update Michigan law with respect to child car seat safety standards. This legislative package was nearly a decade in the making and would not have made it across the finish line without his contributions.

MIAAP Hosts AAP CEO Mark Del Monte at Annual Conference

AAP CEO Mark Del Monte attended the MIAAP Annual Conference and gave the keynote lecture: Championing Child Health in Challenging Times.

He was also on hand to present the Poster Presentation Awards and witness the Board Transition!

MIAAP is grateful to Mr. Del Monte for giving a fantastic talk to our members and participating in the President's Reception festivities!

Student and Resident Attendance Sets Record: Residency Program Director Panel a Big Draw

MIAAP had over 50 medical students and residents in attendance at this years Annual Conference. We also received over 40 Poster Presentation Submissions.

The medical students and residents had their own programming to attend on Friday that included a Residency Program Director Panel coordinated by MIAAP Education Committee Member Dr. Jackie Leja.

Panelists included: Dr. Emily Disbrow (MSU), Dr. Roland Chu (CMU), Dr. Jackie Leja (Children's Hospital of Michigan), Dr. Kelly Brown (Bronson/WMU), Dr. Heather Burrows (U of M).

The Students ended their programming with a fun formula tasting featuring Kate Farms, Abbott, and Mead Johnson.

MIAAP Board Transition

MIAAP elected a few new board members, and some board members transitioned out at the 2024 MIAAP Annual Conference President's Recepiton.

Past President Dr. Matthew Hornik transitioned off the board and was honored with a legislative tribute signed by Governor Whitmer to recognize his hard work and perseverance leading the chapter through COVID-19.

President Dr. Abeba Berhane transitioned to Past President and was honored with a legislative tribute signed by Governor Whitmer to recognize her diligence in leading the chapter post-COVID. Her work included staff transitions, chapter improvements, and revitalization.

President-Elect Dr. Joe Fakhoury transitioned to President. He was handed the ceremonial gavel by Dr. Abeba Berhane, signifying the change in office. He was surrounded by past residents, colleagues, current residents, friends and family to celebrate this occasion.

Board Secretary Dr. Lauren Azevedo transitioned to President-Elect. Board Member-At-Large Dr. Gurbaksh Esch transitioned to Board Secretary.

MIAAP member and E-Cigarette Champion Dr. Brittany Tayler was elected to the Board as a Member-At-Large.

MIAAP member Dr. Lynn Smitherman was elected to the Board as a Member-At-Large.

Dr. B. Keith English transitioned off the Board as the Appointed Member. The new Board Appointed Member is Dr. Matthew Denenberg.

Members maintaining current board positions who did not have a transition:

Dr. Neal Weinberg - Treasurer

Dr. Emily Disbrow - Member-At-Large

Dr. Haley Marber - Resident Representative

Michal Ruprecht - Resident Representative

Meet the Board

Poster Presentation Winners

MIAAP is grateful to all of the medical students and residents who submitted and presented posters at the 2024 Annual Conference.

There were 6 awards given, 1 for each category and 1 for best overall.

Best Overall: Quality Improvement Project for Improving Pediatric Obesity Diagnosis in Pediatric Outpatient Setting - Maria Asif, MD; A’sem Abu-Qamar1, MD; Khaled Hamed Allah, MD; Omar Youssef, MD; Machhindra Baduwal, MD; Jocelyn Deleon, MD; Mahesh Shrestha, MD

Best in Research: Evaluating Outcomes of Patients with Gastroschisis After Implementation of New Standardized Institutional Guidelines in a Level 4 NICU - Felicia White MD + Sravya Esmadi

Best in Clinical Vignette: Exploring Unique Cardiac Convergence: A case of Interrupted Aortic Arch (IAA) and Left Ventricular Non-Compaction (LVNC) in a Child with CHARGE Syndrome -Asra Abeer Usmani, MD1, Lubaina Ehsan, MD1, Nourhan Gamal Shafik Shafeey, MBBCh, MA1, Robin Murphy, MD1,2.

Best in Case Report: Exploring Uncharted Waters: From Fever to Rat-Bite Fever - Arghyadeep Ganguly1, M.B.B.S.; Joseph Fakhoury1,2, M.D.; Jonathan Mayhew1,2, M.D

Best in Advocacy/QI: Challenges to Referral Follow-up for Urban Pediatric Patients: A Study at Wayne Pediatrics - Challenges to Referral Follow-Up for Urban Pediatric Patients: A Study at Wayne Pediatrics - Sanjana Rao, BSPH2, Maya Kohavi, BS2, Martina Cholagh, MS4, Dhwani Krishnan, BS2, Jordan Vanek3, Laura Benjamins, MD, MPH, FAAP1, Susan Harris, MD, FAAP1

Best in Misc.: How Smoking Affects Rates of ADHD Diagnosis - Dr. Brittany Tayler, Hurley Medical Center, Research Project Mentor Marlisa Granderson, MSU CHM M4 Student, Project Team Leader Jepkoech Kottutt, MSU CHM M4 Student, Project Researcher Anjali Chandra, MSU CHM M4 Student, Project Researcher Rebekah Bierema, MSU CHM M4 Student, Project Researcher

Michigan News

Legislation would expand Michigan Amber Alert system

After the body of a 2-year-old child who had wandered off last year in Clinton County was found in a river, one Michigan lawmaker wants to expand Amber alert criteria in the state to allow alerts for children with special needs to be issued.

A 2017 study out of Columbia University found that children with autism are 160 times as likely to die from drowning as the rest of the pediatric population as they are attracted to water. Almost 80% of deaths of children with autism examined in the study were attributed to suffocation, asphyxiation or drowning.

Parade at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital cheers cancer patients, celebrates a 6th birthday

C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital hosted an indoor parade through its cancer ward Tuesday in honor of National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

Patients on the seventh floor oncology ward were greeted by dozens of Michigan Medicine staff and partners including organizations like Rainbow Connection, Bottomless Toy Chest, Make-a-Wish Michigan, Fleece and Thank You, Kids Kicking Cancer and Camp Casey. DFCU Financial sponsored commemorative teddy bears handed out to each patient.

Survey helps shape priorities for mid-Michigan health departments and hospitals

Nearly one thousand responses from a community health survey are helping to shape priorities for hospitals and health departments in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties.

The Healthy! Capital Counties project, a collaboration between health departments and hospitals in the Tri-county area, conducted the survey as part of a health needs assessment.

Ingham County Deputy Health Officer Anne Barna said the aim of the survey was to understand which health needs are important for people in mid-Michigan.

Based on feedback, focus groups and other data gathered by the HCC, she said the group will prioritize access to health care and behavioral health issues in its upcoming Community Health Improvement Plan.

AAP News

Report: 13.7% of children living in poverty despite government assistance

“We have seen it increasing since 2021 due to the expiration of pandemic-era programs,” said Liana Fox, Ph.D., an assistant division chief in the U.S. Census Bureau’s Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division.

The data come from the Census Bureau’s annual reports on income, poverty and health insurance, which also show an increase in uninsured children and continuing racial and ethnic disparities.

The child poverty rate taking into account government assistance fell as low as 5.2% in 2021 largely due to programs like the fully refundable child tax credit, expanded earned income tax credit and expanded Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. However, those extra benefits have since expired, and the rate rose to 12.4% in 2022 before increasing another 1.3 points in 2023.

Naloxone Prescriptions to Youth Up Over 660%; Still Lagging Far Behind Adults

In youth ages 14-18 years, opioid overdose rates more than doubled from 2019 to 2021. A new study in the October 2024 Pediatrics (published online Sept. 12), “Naloxone Dispensing to Youth Ages 10–19: 2017–2022,” documents increasing numbers of prescriptions to young people for naloxone, which can reverse overdoses when given in time have surged in adolescents between 2017-2022. . However, prescriptions of this lifesaving drug to youth still lag far behind adults. Over the study period, there were 95.9 naloxone prescriptions dispensed among adults ages 20 and older for every one naloxone prescription dispensed to youth.

Pediatricians in the News

Krista Haines, MD

DECADES OF DELIVERIES: Corewell Health's NICU turns 50

"Babies born less than 27 weeks gestation. So from as early as 22 weeks through the end of the 26th week of gestation,” explaiend Dr. Krista Haines, Neonatologust for Helen DeVos' Children's Hospital.

"Being a part of the birth of a baby, whether born at 22 weeks or full term. It's just really magical," explained Dr. Haines.

Now, celebrating five decades of saving the lives, of the tiniest of patients.

“Just knowing that I'm able to put a tiny little breathing tube into a micro preemie to help their lungs and help them to survive and eventually thrive, I think is just truly… Truly amazing,” emphasized Dr. Haines.

Central City Health Appoints Dr. Norris Polk as New Chief Medical Officer, Enhancing Patient Care and Community Health in Detroit

Central City Health (CCH), a Detroit-based nonprofit and Federally Qualified Health Center, has named Dr. Norris Polk its new Chief Medical Officer, a key leadership appointment to advance the organization’s patient care and community health initiatives. CCH President and CEO Dr. Kimberly Farrow-Felton made the announcement yesterday. Dr. Polk brings extensive experience and a commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centered care to the underserved communities in Detroit.

Dr. Polk has accrued more than 30 years of advancing healthcare and medical expertise. He has played a crucial role in the public and private healthcare sectors. Throughout his career, he has held positions such as Director and Pediatrician for School-based Health Centers at the Henry Ford Medical Group, Medical Consultant in the Medical Policy Division for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and staff physician in the Department of Pediatrics at St. John Riverview Hospital, among other roles. Before joining CCH, Dr. Polk was the Associate Medical Officer and Chief of Pediatrics for the Detroit Community Health Connection, Inc. (DCHC).

An expert in medical policy, pediatrics, medical informatics, and project management, Dr. Polk earned his Doctor of Medicine from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN, and both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science from Jackson State University in Jackson, MS. He also holds Health Information Technology (HIT) Certification, received in October 2016. His professional affiliations include membership in the National Medical Society, the American Association of Physician Leadership, and the American Health Information Management Association.