The Weekly Briefing
| Welcome to The Weekly Briefing, featuring news from Children's Futures, updates about our community partners' activities and links to recent news articles about early childhood health and development. | |
| Volume 1, Number 29 | November 9, 2007 |
In This Issue
- News from Children's Futures
- CF's Partnership with Physicians Yields Fewer ER Visits for Children with Asthma
- South Ward Nutrition Program Welcomes Labels
- Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Sets Course with CF for 2008
- Links to News Articles and a Report
- Breastfeeding May Influence Asthma Risk
- Studies Lay Out Violent TV's Risk to Tots
- New Report on Strengthening Parenting and Enhancing Child Resilience
- Community Activities
- College Fair and Workshops at Trenton War Memorial This Sunday
- Accessing Healthcare in Trenton: A Community Health Event
- Play Benefits Trenton Pop Warner Program
- Nurse-Family Partnership Seminar
News from Children's Futures
CF's Partnership with Physicians Yields Fewer ER Visits for Children with Asthma
Through Children's Futures' support of an asthma care management training program, physicians' offices in Trenton have implemented and measured office-based improvements in the treatment of childhood asthma. "As a result of this training, our young asthma patients are being seen more often and have fewer emergency room visits. The training makes us think about other things we can do. Instead of catching up, we are now able to be proactive," said Dr. Puthenmadam Radhakrishnan of Bellevue Pediatrics. Dr. Radhakrishnan praised the program and Children's Futures for making a real difference in the lives of his young patients.
Children's Futures' partner, the Pediatric Council on Research and Education (PCORE), provides training for health teams (physicians, nurses, and others) from 11 pediatric and family practices in Trenton through a program called Educating Physicians in the Community or EPIC. The EPIC program on asthma promotes the use of two important tools to improve the quality of chronic care for patients: the asthma control test and the asthma action (treatment) plan. A new study about asthma treatment in inner-city children appearing in November's Pediatrics magazine underscores the importance of asthma education training for physician offices. The study, released this week from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, urges more check-ups for children with asthma as a hedge against dangerous wheezing flare-ups and trips to the emergency room.
In addition to asthma, the Trenton practices have reported improvements following CF-supported EPIC training on immunizations, lead poisoning, suspected childhood neglect and delays and postpartum depression.
PCORE is the Foundation of the American Academy of Pediatrics/New Jersey Chapter.
Three year old pediatric patient Nala was examined on Wednesday by Dr. Puthenmadam Radhakrishnan (right) of Bellevue Pediatrics as practice manager Delores Jones looked on. Bellevue Pediatrics is one of 11 practices participating in the CF-supported EPIC training programs.
South Ward Nutrition Program Welcomes Labels
Maria Zamora of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension provides nutrition classes at Children's Futures' parent/child centers for Trenton parents who read English, Polish, or Spanish. Regardless of the primary language they read, all of the parents attending Maria's classes learn to translate the important information from food labels into smarter choices for their families. It's just one of the important lessons Maria provides at Children's Futures' centers. At a nutrition program at the South Ward Center on Home Avenue this week, moms learned how to examine nutritional label information ranging from fat content to sodium levels. "Flavor is important to these women. We show how herbs can be used in place of sodium. We also promote baking and barbecuing as an option to frying," Maria said. The use of the microwave as a cooking tool (not just a reheating appliance) is also encouraged in the course. "It's very rewarding when moms tell me that they have lost pounds or switched to skim milk or whole wheat bread as a result of what they have learned," she added. Maria also addresses the growing childhood obesity problem by educating moms on how to introduce healthy choices like fruits and green leafy vegetables into their children's diets. "I also encourage them to limit their children's intake of juice because of the high sugar content. They can substitute water and skim milk (after the child is 2)," she noted. For more information about the weekly Home Avenue South Ward Center nutrition program, please call (609) 393-2980.
In the kitchen of the South Ward center on Home Avenue, two parents examined a food label.
Maria Zamora shows a mom how to read and understand nutritional information on the side of a milk carton.
Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Sets Course with CF for 2008
The Trenton Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition is planning to accelerate activities in 2008 to have greater impact on improving birth outcomes and maternal health. Led by Chair Kathleen Harlicka of Horizon NJ Health, Coalition members from agencies throughout Trenton met Thursday to outline a plan of action for the year ahead. "I'm particularly excited about our increased efforts in the area of outreach," said Brenda Tift, supervisor of Trenton community initiatives for Healthy/Mothers Healthy Babies. "Working in concert with the Children's Futures' collaborative, we plan to reach more women to get them into early prenatal care, appropriate home visitation programs and center-based workshops," Tift added. The Trenton Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition is a program of the Central New Jersey Maternal and Child Health Consortium. To reach Brenda Tift, please call (609) 394-7454 or email btift@cnjmchc.org
Maritza I. Raimundi-Petroski (r), director of Latina education and outreach programs for Children's Home Society of New Jersey updated the Trenton Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition on outreach programs Thursday as (photo below) Brenda Tift (l) and Kathleen Harlicka (r) listened.
Links to News Articles and a Report
Breastfeeding
May Influence Asthma Risk
Prolonged
breastfeeding appears
to promote healthy lung development in most children, but it
may increase the risk of asthma in
babies
born to mothers with the respiratory disease, according to WebMD.com.
Gene
Governs IQ Boost from Breastfeeding
The known association between breast feeding and slightly higher
IQ in children has been shown to relate to a particular gene
in the babies, according to a report this week in the Proceedings
of the National Academy of Sciences. <http://scrippsnews.s10113.gridserver.com/>
Studies Lay Out Violent TV's Risk to Tots
Toddlers and babies
who watched an hour a day of violent TV, on average, would double
their risk of developing attention problems five years later,
according to a report in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about
a study from the Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute.
Promotion and Prevention in Mental Health: Strengthening Parenting
and Enhancing Child Resilience
A new report to Congress promotes
the use of research-based approaches that provide parenting support
skills and child resilience - even in the face of adversity.
Community Activities
November 2007
Sunday, November 11:
College Fair and Workshops: Free; Trenton War Memorial; high school students, community college students and parents invited; 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Ecumenical Service with Rev. Stephen Samuels from 10:00-11:30 a.m.); More than 40 Historically Black Colleges and Universities will be represented. For more information, contact Omega Delta Upsilon Foundation representatives Charles G. Davis (609) 984-7676 - charlesdavis@dol.state.nj.us or Harold B. Vereen (215) 428-1141 - bhvereen@comcast.net. Event website: www.HBCU-CFNJ.com
Monday, November 12:
Consumer Coalition Meeting of Trenton Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies: Free; 5:00 to 6:30 p.m..; Princeton Deliverance Center at 301 Southard Street: in Trenton. For more information, call L. Mitchell at (732) 937-5437.
Wednesday, November 14:
ISLES Spirit of Community Dinner; $45; 5 p.m.; Trenton Country Club, 201 Sullivan Way, West Trenton. For more information, please call 609-341-4713.
Saturday, November 17:
Accessing Healthcare in Trenton, A Community Health Event; free; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Medical Arts Academy of TCHS, 50 North Clinton Avenue, Trenton. For more information or to reserve a table to distribute information, organizational representatives should call Don Addison at (609) 577-2348 or send an email to daddison@greatertrentonareaymca.org
"The Devil's Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith"-Fundraising Event for Trenton Pop Warner Football: $30; 8 p.m.; Mill Hill Play House; Montgomery and Front Streets in Trenton. For ticket information, contact Terrance Stokes at (609) 462-0359.
Tuesday, November 27:
Press Conference Announcing Name Change of Union Industrial Home for Children to UIH Family Partners; 12 noon; Trenton City Hall Atrium, 319 East State Street. For more information, please call Zuline Gray Wilkinson at (609) 695-1492.
Thursday, November 29:
Nurse-Family Partnership Seminar: A Cost-Effective Investment for New Jersey's Children; Free; 9-11 a.m.; Trenton Marriott at Lafayette Yard; Featured speakers: Nurse-Family Partnership Developer David Olds, NJ Dept. of Children and Families Commissioner Kevin M. Ryan, Division of Prevention and Community Partnerships Director Darrell L. Armstrong, and Julia Isaacs of the Brookings Institution. Reservations must be made by November 15th. Please contact Shannon Ensminger at Shannon@rodacreative.com or call (717) 699-2206.
For a complete calendar of events, please refer to our calendar page.
Partner News
Womanspace Seeks Children's Assistant; One of Children's Futures' community partners, Womanspace, is seeking a part-time Children's Assistant for its emergency services program. Womanspace, Inc. is a private non-profit organization that provides an array of services for families who are experiencing domestic violence and/or sexual assault. Interested candidates should mail resumes to Paula Figueroa-Vega, 1212 Stuyvesant Avenue, Trenton, NJ 08618 or fax to 609-396-1093. Please email resumes to pfv@womanspace.org .
For a complete calendar of events, please refer to our calendar page.
About Children's Futures
Established in 2001 with major support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Children's Futures is a nonprofit organization that works city-wide in Trenton, N.J. to improve child health and development outcomes. Through an unprecedented collaboration among public agencies and nonprofit organizations, Children's Futures seeks to strengthen parenting, increase access to primary quality health care and child care systems, and increase social supports for families, so that every child in Trenton enters preschool healthy and ready to learn.