Statewide advocacy for safe school reopening has been the top priority for all our AAP chapters in California. The press release on February 3rd made the headlines, with quotes from Dr. Ken Zangwill and Dr. Alice Kuo. The four chapters in our District IX joined forces for statewide advocacy on February 9th with another press release, urging “action NOW to allow kids safely back to in-person school”. Both press releases referenced the ample science supporting our statements. You may access all content in our advocacy page: https://aapca2.org/advocacy

I would like to bring to your attention that the AAP District IX Nominating Committee is seeking AAP members interested in being considered as a candidate to run for either the District Chairperson or District Vice Chairperson position. If you are interested in being considered as a potential candidate, please email your name, the position for which you would like to be considered, and a 200-word Biography to our District NNC Representative Dr. Ed Curry at curryaapca2@gmail.com,

As an AAP member, you have the opportunity to advocate for and influence national AAP policy and priorities through the resolution process. The resolution deadline for the Leadership Conference (ALF) is April 1^st, 2021.

Christopher Russell, MD, MS, FAAP, a pediatrician from CHLA, is featured in this month's Member Spotlight (Thanks to our Editorial Board for the great work). He is also one of our wonderful speakers for the upcoming symposium on February 27^th. I hope to see more of you participate and make this part of the newsletter interesting, by submitting your personal narratives to be published.  Please read the submission guidelines below and contact chapter2@aapca2.org for more information.

The Advances in Pediatrics 32^nd Annual Pediatric Symposium will take place virtually via Zoom on February 27, 2021, broadcast from Tamkin Auditorium at UCLA. Residents, fellowship trainees and medical students may attend at no cost (Registration required on our website). We have a plenary session with Paul A. Offit, MD to address SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, and many other distinguished speakers on other topics. I encourage all of you to sign up for this symposium and benefit from the lectures. Registration is online.

If you are a graduating resident, please register to attend the Life After Residency - Career Fair, coming up on the 18th of this month (Via Zoom). This is a great event that offers available career options, as well as an opportunity to have an open conversation with a practicing early career physician. Anyone looking for new career opportunities is welcome to attend.

The four chapters in our District joined forces on February 9th with another press release urging collaboration for prompt and safe reopening of schools. Both press releases referenced the ample science supporting our statements. Access all content on our advocacy page: https://aapca2.org/advocacy

Kern Urgent Health Bulletin: COVID-19 VaccineAllocations and Distribution

Vaccinate Kern: COVID-19 Vaccine Information for Healthcare Providers

Scroll past “Safety”, then click to expand “Phase 1A, Tier 1 & Tier 2 Registration +” Go to page

SLO Google Pre-vaccination form

Same, to print and fax/email form

Click to see the Job description for both positions.

The 2021 Leadership Conference, a combination of the Annual Leadership Forum and Summer District Meetings is scheduled for August 5-8. The resolution deadline for the Leadership Conference is April 1^st, 2021. As your Chapter Forum Management Committee (CFMC) representative, I am responsible for facilitating in the resolution process.

The process for submitting a resolution starts with an idea. As your District’s CFMC representative, I can work with... Continue reading >>

Next time you are on Amazon.com, go to smile.amazon.com and select "American Academy of Pediatrics District IX Chapter 2" as your charity of choice. There after, always be sure to begin at smile.amazon.com when you make purchases, or they will not count. Amazon will donate half a percent of all purchases. This is a way of supporting the chapter so that we may have a greater impact through our programs. We thank you for your support!

-- The days are getting shorter, but the work hours seem to be getting longer. What do you do to stay balanced during the busy winter respiratory season?

The 2021 Life After Residency Career Fair is taking place this coming Thursday, February 18 at 6 PM. Please register to attend. Potential employers will be in designated breakout rooms to showcase their currently available positions in pediatrics. Join Dr. Thomas Jacob at 7 PM for a tête-à-tête on various topics, from student loan debt and career paths, to how much can you make, and more!

Visit the event page to learn more and register.

Did you know that medical students, residents and fellowship trainees may attend the Advances in Pediatrics Symposium for free?

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, led by Dr. Lindsay Wells, would like to share the newly developed mission statement. This, and other resources from National AAP, may be found on our web page, https://aapca2.org/edi

If you would like to be part of this engaged committee, please sign up here

Congratulations to the AAP-CA2 ACEs Committee, led by Dr. Adam Schickedanz. The first two sessions (Presented by Dr. Christine Thang and Dr. Schickedanz) were very well attended. During these sessions, participants engage in rich case discussions in multiple breakout rooms. Please join us as there are still two live sessions on the calendar. You may visit the website and sign up for the upcoming sessions. Videos are uploaded to the site and anyone may claim CME credit (After watching the video and completing the evaluation form). This series is sponsored by First 5 LA through an ACEs Aware Grant.

The Immigrant Youth Task Force (IYTF) at UCLA and the American Academy of Pediatrics California Chapter 2 (AAP-CA2) invite you to visit The Los Angeles County Immigrant Youth Resource Toolkit, a website consolidating community resources in the greater LA area for immigrant youth and families. Our goal is to help professionals from all disciplines address the needs of their immigrant youth patients/clients with regards to health care, legal services, education, social services, and more. As our toolkit continues to evolve, we encourage you to explore and use it in your practice going forward.

The Landon Pediatric Foundation received a grant from ACEs Aware to provide supplemental training to providers in Ventura County (and neighboring counties). Through this funding, the ACEs Aware Ventura County training initiative was launched in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics- Chapter 2, First 5 Ventura County (Help Me Grow Ventura County), and the Ventura County Health Care Agency... Read more >>>

Learn about the 3-Tiered Medi-Cal Provider Training Reward System, here

Learn about the implementation steps, here

"For more information visit acesawareventuracounty.org and subscribe to our events page at acesawareventuracounty.org/webinars for updates on upcoming trainings."

Reach Out and Read works directly with pediatric providers to share the lifelong benefits that result from families reading aloud to their children every day. Pediatric teams can provide new, age- and language-appropriate books and share literacy advice with children and parents at each well-child visit. Contact our Reach Out and Read Coordinator at info@reachoutandreadie.org Call 909-709-1441, or visit our website https://reachoutandreadie.org

Dr. Chad Vercio, Chair of Pediatrics at Riverside University Health System, and staff. RUHS is implementing Reach Out and Read at eleven clinics locations in Riverside County:

Dr. Laura Hutchison and Dr. Rosa Sanchez Rosen at Patterson and Tedford Pediatrics in Atascadero.

Use this link to select us as your charitable organization at AmazonSmile. Then for every eligible purchase you make at AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to us.

Whether you're a new graduate, or a practicing pediatrician looking for new opportunities, this Virtual event is for you!

Paul A. Offit, MD

Visit https://aapca2.org/2021symposium

First 5 LA and the American Academy of Pediatrics California Chapter 2 (AAP-CA2) are conducting provider engagement/Peer-to-peer learning sessions to promote the ACEs Aware initiative among the Medi-Cal provider community in Los Angeles County.

March 18 - After screening: Building ACEs Response Interventions and Overcoming Barriers to Referrals.

April 22 - Burnout prevention/Multigenerational trauma

CHOC Children’s Virtual Pediatric Lecture Series provides online CME lectures at no cost. All lectures are at 12:30 PM. Click the links to register.

February 25: Pediatric Orthopaedics: Buckle Fractures, Osteosarcoma and Some Things in Between

March 30: Mandibular Distraction for Neonatal Airway Obstruction

Signing up your entire practice (clinical and non-clinical staff) qualifies for a 20% discount on Chapter membership dues. Contact us for details.

Chapter committees are great opportunities to get involved in areas that interest you the most. Furthermore, if you are a Fellow member (FAAP), local involvement could position you for leadership opportunities at National AAP. To learn more about our various Committees and Sections, and to sign up, please visit aapca2.org/committees.

New: ADVOCACY

Be the voice in your County. Share local issues that need to be addressed with grassroots efforts.

New: CLIMATE CHANGE

Join discussions on what pediatricians can do to address climate change in our region.

New: MEDIA and COMMUNICATIONS

Do you have an interest in media and communications? Would you like to learn how to structure sound bytes when speaking with the media? Or perhaps how to be a more effective Tweetrician? .