Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh offers iPhone App for Parents
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh has developed a mobile application called ChildrensPgh. It allows parents to access information on making online medical appointments, contacting providers and going to the hospital's emergency department. The iPhone app also provides some basics on first aid and medication dosing.
(Back to Top)
Medical Home Chapter Champions Program on Asthma (MHCCPA)
Through the support of the Merck Childhood Asthma Network, Inc. (MCAN), the MHCCPA facilitates the dissemination of best practices and advocacy related to the implementation of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) asthma guidelines within the medical home framework. Program goals include identifying a champion at the AAP chapter and/or state level(s) to educate/mentor providers in their communities, in addition to increasing advocacy efforts, for implementation of the NHLBI guidelines within the context of a medical home. If you would like more information about the project, would like to be connected with your chapter/state's champion 
, or are interested in serving as a chapter champion if your chapter/state does not currently have one, contact Suzi Montasir, MPH, Program Manager at 847/434-4311 or fill out the Contact Us form.
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) Grants—Cycle II
Pennsylvania is one of 23 states that received CHIPRA Cycle II grants to for efforts to identify and enroll children eligible for Medicaid and CHIP. The grants will build upon the HHS Connecting Kids to Coverage Challenge to find and enroll children and support outreach strategies that have proven successful.
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) Grants—Cycle I
Pennsylvania is a lead on one of 10 CHIPRA grants, representing single-state projects and multi-state collaborations, from HHS to improve health care quality and delivery systems for children enrolled in Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The money will help states implement and evaluate provider performance measures and utilize health information technologies such as pediatric electronic health records and other quality improvement initiatives.
LEND Programs Receive Funding to Improve the Health of Children with Special Health Care Needs
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has awarded $28.3 million to 43 Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Other Related Disabilities (LEND) programs, including the programs at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pittsburgh, to help improve the health of infants, children, adolescents and young adults with neurodevelopmental and other related disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders. LEND programs prepare trainees from a wide variety of professional disciplines to assume leadership roles, ensure high levels of interdisciplinary clinical competence, and enhance the ability of clinicians to diagnose, treat, and manage complex disabilities in youth and adolescents.
Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) Initiative—Pennsylvania
The Healthy York County Coalition (HYCC) leads the area's AF4Q initiative. The leadership team includes people and organizations from five main community stakeholder groups: providers, employers, consumers, community leaders and health plans. AF4Q in South Central Pennsylvania health care partner providers (Family First Health, Hanover Hospital, Memorial Hospital and WellSpan Health) have committed to championing the incorporation of more efficient strategies to manage care within their health systems. The overall goals of the initiative are to strengthen the partnership between consumers and their health care teams and encourage consumers to take actions based on the information and data they receive.
Consortium to Advance Medical Homes for Medicaid and CHIP Participants
National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP)—January 2011
Fifteen state teams were brought together by the NASHP to form a Consortium to Advance Medical Homes for Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Participants. These states will work together to develop and implement policies that increase Medicaid and CHIP program participants' access to high performing medical homes. This past spring, the kick-off meeting was held for the 15 participating states (Alabama, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington); the blog post—Constructive Ideas from Medical Home Builders—features an interview with NASHP policy analyst Jason Buxbaum about the Consortium states' medical homes projects.
Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Grant (2010-2015)—Promoting Health Through Community Collaboration (PHCC) Initiative
Children's Future With Health, Inc, Philadelphia, PA
The federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) awarded this five-year grant to provide approximately $50,000 per year to improve child health through community-based initiatives on prevention and access to health service for vulnerable populations. Health and poverty intersect within the West and North Philadelphia regions in ways that require creative approaches to pediatric healthcare. The economic, educational and environmental conditions within these urban communities have an impact in both access and utilization of healthcare services. The project will develop and expand pediatric primary care services for children who are uninsured, underinsured, or unable to utilize their healthcare coverage at optimal levels. The overall goal of this project is to reduce the identified health disparities rooted in both access and utilization, and bridge the gaps between providers and patients. Comprehensive and coordinated healthcare services will include physicals, immunizations, sick and continuum care, HIV counseling, testing and referral, and health education. For more information contact Robin Foster-Drain, MD, MPH, President at rfd@tocfwh.org.
Highmark Partners with Primary Care Practices on PCMH Pilot
Pittsburgh-based insurer Highmark Inc. is partnering with 13 primary-care practices, including five in Central Pennsylvania, to launch a two-year pilot, which starts June 1, establishing something called a patient-centered medical home at each practice. This model emphasizes coordinating care across different settings and practitioners, using information technology and beefing up preventative care.
Multi-Payer Advanced Primary Care Practice (MAPCP) Demonstration
Pennsylvania will participate in the MAPCP Demonstration that will include up to approximately 1,200 medical homes across eight states serving up to one million Medicare beneficiaries. All major payers in the states or proposed regions (Medicare, Medicaid, as well as a significant representation of the large private insurers/managed care organizations) will be participating, thereby assuring the availability of sufficient resources to the primary care practice for implementation of the advanced primary care model.
Pennsylvania Medical Home Initiative Educating Practices in Community Integrated Care (EPIC-IC)
EPIC-IC is a non-profit quality improvement program that works with pediatric practices in Pennsylvania to help them implement Medical Home concepts.The EPIC IC Medical Home Program is funded by the Pennsylvania DOH, Bureau of Family Health (state Title V agency). EPIC IC is a statewide provider of education/quality improvement programs using office-based change as the key to improving the care provided to children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN). The EPIC IC project facilitates the provision of medical homes to CYSCHN throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For more information contact Renee Turchi, MD, MPH at Renee.Turchi@drexelmed.edu or Molly Gatto at mgatto@paaap.org.
Dyson Community Pediatrics Training Grant - The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Pediatric Residency Program
Through The Initiative, the Community-Based Pediatrics and Advocacy Program (CPAP) at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia teaches residents to become pediatricians who are as comfortable and competent in their role as child advocates as they are in the medical practice; who can be effective advocates for an individual child and family, as well as all children in their community; and who can work in partnership with private and public community-based agencies to promote the well-being of children. Through this educational process, we integrate an expanded focus on community-based pediatrics and advocacy through the Hospital. The ultimate goal of the Dyson Initiative is the development of pediatric professionals with greater skills and interest in community-based medicine, advocacy, and the capacity to improve the health of children in their communities.
The Safety Net Medical Home Initiative
In May 2008, The Commonwealth Fund, Qualis Health and the MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation at the Group Health Research Institute initiated a demonstration project to help safety net primary care clinics become high-performing patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs). Five Regional Coordinating Centers were selected to participate in the demonstration project, and each partnered with 12-15 safety net clinics in their state. These collaboratives will receive technical assistance on practice re-design topics such as enhanced access, care coordination, and patient experience. They will also receive funding to support a Medical Home Facilitator (who will lead clinic-based quality improvement projects) and other activities. The work of the Regional Coordinating Centers began in April 2009 and the Initiative will continue through April 2013.
- Pittsburgh Regional Health Initiative
- Paying for the Medical Home—Payment Models to Support Patient-Centered Medical Home
Transformation in the Safety Net
Safety Net Medical Home Initiative
Operating as a medical home requires increased non-reimbursed activity (eg, care team meetings, patient self-management education, care coordination, data analysis, communication with other clinicians) and care management. In order for patient-centered medical home (PCMH) practice transformations to be sustainable, there must be payment reform to incentivize high-value, first-contact, primary care, and support medical home costs that are traditionally not reimbursed (eg, non face-to-face encounters). This publication provides an introduction to a series of policy briefs focusing on payment reform opportunities to support and sustain the medical home.
Reducing Disparities at the Practice Site
Center for Health Care Strategies, Inc. 2008-2011
Small provider practices play a critical role in caring for Medicaid beneficiaries, particularly those who are racially and ethnically diverse. Funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, this initiative was developed by CHCS to support quality improvement in small practices serving this population. The three-year project is helping Medicaid agencies and health plans partner with small practices to reduce racial and ethnic disparities and improve overall outcomes. State-led teams in Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania are helping practice sites implement interventions focused on tracking patients and outcomes using an electronic data management tool; adopting evidence-based guidelines for targeted chronic conditions; and incorporating team-based care into ongoing practice operations. Click here to access a brief published in May 2011.
PA SPREAD: PA Spreading Primary Care Enhanced Delivery Infrastructure
AHRQ has awarded four Infrastructure for Maintaining Primary Care Transformation (IMPaCT)-Support for Models of Multi-Sector, State-Level Excellence cooperative grants to support model State-level initiatives using primary care extension agents in small and mid-sized independent primary care practices to assist with primary care redesign. By supporting experienced programs and requiring evaluation, AHRQ will seek to demonstrate how a national primary care health extension program could be built.
Rural Health Information Technology Grants
Funded through HRSA, rural health networks across the nation will receive more than $11.9 million to support their adoption of HIT and certified Electronic Health Records (EHRs). Each of 40 grantee organizations will receive about $300,000 to purchase equipment, install broadband networks and provide training for staff. In Pennsylvania, the grantee is the Pennsylvania Mountains Healthcare Resource Development PMHRD. The pilot program was developed as a result of the President's Rural Health Initiative.
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in Your State
HRSA in Your State offers overviews of HRSA programs and current information, such as the number and amount of grants awarded down to the County level. It also provides state-specific information about health centers, National Health Service Corps members and the communities they serve, and the number of participating providers through the 340B program.
AAP: Community Pediatrics Grant Database
The Community Pediatrics Grant Database archives previously funded Community Pediatrics grant projects, including those funded through the CATCH Program, the Healthy Tomorrows Partnership for Children Program, the Community Pediatrics Training Initiative and the Healthy People 2010 Chapter Grants. The database is searchable by seven major categories: target population, health topic, state/territory, project activity, AAP program, AAP district, and project year. Members of the AAP can obtain grantee contact information by searching through the Member Center. If you are not an AAP member, but have questions please contact docbi@aap.org.
Funding Opportunities
This page houses information on funding opportunities from the AAP and other organizations, as well as links to other key funding contacts and resources.
(Back to Top)
This section provides information on state organizations that play a role in implementing various aspects of medical home, and includes links to their Web sites and contact information.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Chapter—Pennsylvania
AAP chapters are organized groups of pediatrician members and other health care professionals working to achieve AAP goals in their communities. Please contact your local chapter for additional state resources.
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Chapter—Pennsylvania
AAFP represents more than 94,000 family physicians, family medicine residents, and medical students.
Family Voices Chapter—Pennsylvania
Family Voices aims to achieve family-centered care for all children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and/or disabilities. Through a national network of chapters, they provide families with tools to advocate for improved public and private policies, and build partnerships among professionals and families.
Family-to-Family Health Information Centers (F2F HICs)
F2F HICs are non-profit organizations that help families of CYSHCN and the professionals who serve them. F2F HICs are typically staffed by parents of CYSHCN who understand the issues that families face, provide advice, offer resources, and tap into a network of other families and professionals for support and information.
Parent Education & Advocacy Leadership Center
Address: 1119 Penn Avenue, Pittsburg, PA 15222
Phone: 412/281-4404 | Toll free: 866/950-1040
Primary Contacts: Joan Badger, Liz Healey
Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Director & Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Director
Title V of the Social Security Act is the nation's oldest federal program to improve the health of all mothers, infants, children, adolescents, and CSHCN. Title V is administered by the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) as a block grant to states to support core public health functions, such as care coordination and rehabilitation services.
Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) Contact(s)
State EHDI programs promote universal newborn hearing screening, develop effective tracking and follow-up as a part of the public health system, promote appropriate and timely diagnosis of hearing loss, prompt enrollment in appropriate early intervention, ensure a medical home for all newborns, and strive to eliminate geographic and financial barriers to service access.
State Newborn Screening & Genetics Programs
Early Intervention/Part C Coordinators
The Program for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities (Part C of IDEA) is a federal grant program that assists states in operating a comprehensive statewide program of early intervention services for infants and toddlers with disabilities, ages birth through age 2 years, and their families.
State Section 619/Special Education for ages 3-5 Coordinators
This program provides free appropriate public education (FAPE) for children, ages 3 through 5 years, with disabilities.
State Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC) Chairs
This program advises appropriate agencies on the unmet needs in early childhood special education and early intervention programs for children with disabilities, assists in the development and implementation of policies that constitute a statewide system, and assists all appropriate agencies in achieving full participation, coordination, and cooperation for implementation of statewide system.
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
CHIP is Title XXI of the Social Security Act and is a state and federal partnership that targets uninsured children and pregnant women in families with incomes too high to qualify for most state Medicaid programs, but often too low to afford private coverage. Within federal guidelines, each state determines the design of its individual CHIP program, including eligibility parameters, benefit packages, and administrative procedures. The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA) of 2009 re-authorized the program through FY 2013, and includes many incentives for states to find and enroll more eligible children in both Medicaid and CHIP. CHIPRA also includes quality provisions that aim to monitor and improve care delivered through the Medicaid and CHIP programs. Each state does have a CHIP program, and the names of these programs differ from state to state. To find information on health coverage programs in your state, visit the InsureKidsNow.gov Web site.
Medicaid State Directors
Medicaid is Title XIX of the Social Security Act and is a federal/state entitlement program that provides medical assistance to certain individuals and families with low incomes and/or special health care needs. Medicaid is of unique importance to children; together with the CHIP, Medicaid insures more than one in four children in the United States, with millions more eligible but currently unenrolled. The Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) program is a critical component of Medicaid, which guarantees that children enrolled in Medicaid are screened for medical or developmental problems early, and that necessary treatments and services are provided. To find information on health coverage programs in your state, visit the InsureKidsNow.gov Web site.
- Medicaid State Reports—2011
The American Academy of Pediatrics, in partnership with the National Association of Children's Hospitals, has created fact sheets that explain the importance of the Medicaid program, and how children in every state rely on it for their health care.
Community Health Centers in the State
HRSA provides a searchable database of federally-funded health centers. Health centers provide care to those with or without health insurance including well-care check ups, treatment when sick, complete care during pregnancy, immunizations and checkups for children, dental care, prescription drugs, and mental health and substance abuse care.
Regional Extension Centers (RECs)
Health Information Technology RECs support and serve health care providers to help them quickly become adept and meaningful users of electronic health records (EHRs). RECs are designed to make sure that primary care clinicians get the help they need to use EHRs by providing training in adopting EHRs, guidance with implementation, and technical assistance as needed.
CAP4KIDS—The Child Advocacy Project (CAP)
The mission of CAP is to help bridge the gap between the many quality social service agencies in the Philadelphia area and the families that need their help the most.
(Back to Top)
Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP)—Pennsylvania State Profile
These state profiles provide a snapshot of how the Maternal and Child Health Block Grant (Title V) works in specific states. The profiles detail the federal funds appropriated to each state, state match, specific programs funded, numbers of people receiving services and state health needs.
Early Childhood State Policy Profiles
National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)
NCCP’s Early Childhood Profiles were produced as part of the Improving the Odds for Young Children project. These comprehensive profiles highlight states’ policy choices that promote health, education, and strong families alongside other contextual data related to the well-being of young children.
Issue Brief: Implementing the Medical Home in Medicaid, CHIP, and Multistakeholder Demonstration Programs
American Academy of Pediatrics (Member access only)
This Issue Brief serves to provide guidance to AAP chapters working with states to implement medical home projects in Medicaid and CHIP as well as multipayer demonstration programs. It also addresses a number of the policy questions that frequently arise in creating state supports for the medical home.
(Back to Top)
Medical Home Data Portal—State Data Pages
Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative
The Medical Home State Data Portal profiles provide a state’s medical home performance level for all children and children with special health care needs, based on data from the 2009/2010 National Survey on Children with Special Health Care Needs, 2007 National Survey on Children's Health and the 2005/2006 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs.
Child Health USA 2010
US Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration
This report is the 17th edition of the annual statistical report that highlights the health status and service needs of America's children. The report contains easy-to-access graphs and charts summarizing significant indicators of children's health status, statistics, figures, and references.
America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2011
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
The purposes of the report are to improve Federal data on children and families and make these data available in an easy-to-use, non-technical format. It organizes well-being indicators into seven sections: family and social environment, economic circumstances, health care, physical environment and safety, behavior, education, and health.
KIDS COUNT Databook
Annie E Casey Foundation
This report is a national and state-by-state profile of the well-being of America's children available as an interactive databook, a complete PDF-format report, and on request, in print. Data and rankings on 10 key indicators of child well-being are available by state, county, and city.
State-at-a-Glance Chartbook on Coverage and Financing for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
The Catalyst Center
The Online State-at-a-Glance Chartbook provides data on carefully selected indicators of health coverage and health care financing for CYSHCN. Using the online Chartbook, you can access data for your state and easily compare it with both national averages and other states' data.
National Healthcare Quality & Disparities Reports
Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ)
50-State Demographics Wizard
National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP)
This tool allows you to create custom tables of national- and state-level statistics about low-income or poor children. Choose areas of interest, such as parental education, parental employment, marital status, and race/ethnicity—among many other variables.
Adolescent Health Database
National Adolescent Health Information Center (NAHIC)
The NAHIC database includes national and state-level profiles of key measures of the health of adolescents and young adults. National-level data is available by gender and race/ethnicity and also state-by-state, with summaries, data tables, and guidance for using this data to improve the health of adolescents and young adults.
Medical Home Data Fact Sheet—January 2009
American Academy of Pediatrics
To inform key aspects of the pediatric medical home, the AAP has compiled a data fact sheet of summary statistics and facts from various AAP and public and proprietary sources. These data define the current state of pediatric care, and as the efforts surrounding the promotion and expansion of the pediatric medical home accelerate, the fact sheet will change to reflect this new picture.
Profile of Pediatric Visits—April 2010
American Academy of Pediatrics
This report is based on the most current available four years worth of NAMCS and MEPS data (2004-2007). The updated report includes annualized estimates by source of payment, patient age, physician specialty, well vs sick visit, office setting, practice ownership, physician employment status, and geographic location.
(Back to Top)
AAP Child Health Informatics Center—State and Territory Specific HIT Resources
This page on the AAP AAP Child Health Informatics Center (CHIC) Web site allows you to identify pediatric specific HIT resources by state related to Meaningful Use, Regional Extension Centers, State Health Information Exchanges, and other important information.
Study: Positive Impact of Family Presence During Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Rounds
This study illustrates how at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia bedside rounds with families have been conducted since 1998. This observational study to determine the impact of family presence during PICU rounds examined not only family satisfaction, but also resident teaching and length of rounds. (Aronson PL, Yau J, Helfaer MA, Morrison W. Impact of Family Presence During Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Rounds on the Family and Medical Team. Pediatrics. 2009:124(4):1119-1125.)
Supporting “Meaningful Use” of HIT in Small, High-Volume Medicaid Practices
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
This brief describes how Oklahoma, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania are, through reducing disparities at the practice site, supporting practice improvements among Medicaid-serving providers by helping them to adopt and implement electronic registries.
(Back to Top)
