CHOP Reaches Out with a Helping, Healing Hand

CHOP’s Breastfeeding and Lactation Program

Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, was on the 10 Steps to Breastfeeding Initiative panel at a national Preemie Matters conference. Last year, CHOP’s Breastfeeding and Lactation Program, led by Diane L. Spatz, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, educated more than 100 CHOP nurses through the two-day Breastfeeding Resource Nurse (BRN) course, giving CHOP more than 600 BRNs supporting mothers throughout the institution. CHOP also employs four international board-certified lactation consultants, who provide support to families with infants admitted to the Hospital. Spatz taught a one-day NICU Specialist Course to more than 50 community health professionals.

CHOP also seeks to improve evidence-based lactation support and care for families at hospitals in the Philadelphia region through its annual half-day Human Milk Assembly program. Spatz went to Thailand for a third consultative visit, and she gave four international keynote presentations and more than 10 local and regional presentations.

The CHOP lactation team is at the forefront of research and bringing research to clinical practice. It supports both patient families and employees to help them reach their personal breastfeeding goals.

Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment

Joanne C.M. Cole, PhD (left), clinical psychologist in the Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment, with the Hummer family at the annual Fetal Family Reunion. The Center for Fetal Diagnosis and Treatment (CFDT), an internationally recognized leader in fetal diagnosis, fetal surgery and perinatal care, is also a pioneer in caring for the psychological needs of families with a prenatal diagnosis.

To meet these needs, the CFDT has embedded the first full-time psychologist in a fetal treatment center. Psychological counseling services and support are provided free to patients and their partners who are vulnerable to behavioral and mental health issues as a result of a prenatal diagnosis and or perinatal loss. In 2015, our psychologist served more than 249 families in more than 780 consult sessions. Our psychologist also partnered with the Maternity Care Coalition, Philadelphia, to present a lecture on partnering with families coping with infant loss.

Genetics plays an integral role in the diagnosis and treatment of fetal anomalies. Each family of more than 1,000 unique pregnancies evaluated by the CFDT received free counseling from a licensed certified genetic counselor. The CFDT has a fund to cover expenses related to travel, lodging and other expenses beyond a woman’s direct healthcare needs for families that are unable to afford these costs. Last year, 68 families were supported at a cost of more than $58,000.

Center for Management of ADHD

The Center for Management of ADHD puts on a series of workshops for parents of children and adolescents with ADHD. The center’s website, chop.edu/ADHD, has helpful handouts and videos that parents and teachers can access to learn about the diagnosis and different strategies to help their child manage ADHD.

The Children’s Intensive Emotional & Behavioral Program

The Children’s Intensive Emotional & Behavioral Program, located within the CHOP Care Network Atlantic County Specialty Care Center in Mays Landing, NJ, provides comprehensive psychiatric partial hospital services in a behaviorally based, trauma-informed therapeutic setting for children between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. The program serves children from throughout South Jersey who experience significant psychiatric, behavioral, emotional and social needs that negatively influence their ability to learn in a typical school setting and participate constructively in the community.

Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP)

Tyra Bryant-Stephens, MD, (far left) Medical Director of the Community Asthma Prevention Program, participated in a roundtable on climate change and public health with President Barack Obama and U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy, MD. CHOP's Community Asthma Prevention Program (CAPP) conducts community service and education projects, community-based asthma research and asthma interventions to improve the lives of children affected by asthma. In 2015, CAPP enrolled 93 families in the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Asthma Home Visitor Project. In addition, asthma navigators served more than 1,300 families through home visits and care coordination. The asthma navigators conducted 1,000-plus asthma education and care coordination interventions in the office.

The children of families that participate in these interventions have fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits and more visits to their primary care provider compared to the prior year. In addition, 190 adult asthmatics were enrolled in a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute-funded project. CAPP was contracted to provide home visits by Keystone First and Aetna Better Health, and asthma navigators made more than 400 home visits to these adults. In summer 2015, CAPP hosted its seventh Fighting Asthma Disparities Conference where representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Healthy Housing, Pennsylvania Department of Health, and Pennsylvania Department of Housing and Urban Development spoke to more than 90 attendees on the importance of healthy housing for children with asthma and the reimbursement necessary to make it sustainable.

Compass Care

While medically complex patients make up 1 percent of the population, they account for 50 percent of healthcare costs. Compass Care is CHOP’s answer to helping these patients and their families experience better, more efficient and coordinated care. A Compass Care team that includes physicians, nurse practitioners, nurse coordinators and social workers partners with — but does not replace — the child’s primary care provider and other medical specialists. It creates individualized, coordinated care plans for children with a high degree of medical complexity and fragility and facilitates efficient communication among specialists, physicians and care providers, between CHOP and payer groups (public and private), and with families. This innovative program was piloted in 2015.

Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center

In addition to groundbreaking research and lifesaving clinical care, CHOP’s Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center focuses much of its time on patient, family and community education, such as town hall educational lectures for local families, particularly in the underserved areas of Philadelphia. The center also participates in many local and national education seminars, such as the annual Sickle Cell Convention, as well as local community events, such as the Sickle Cell Association Walk/Run.

Department of Audiology

Staff from the Department of Audiology and Center for Childhood Communication help raise awareness about noise-induced learning loss at the Philadelphia Science Festival. The Department of Audiology participated in events and festivals over the last year aimed at educating the public about the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss and promoting healthy hearing habits. The use of personal listening devices, such as iPods, has been identified as a major risk factor for noise-induced hearing loss in adolescents. Approximately 12.5 percent of children 6 to 19 years old have suffered permanent damage to their hearing.

CHOP audiologists staffed tables at the three-day XPoNential Music Festival in Camden, NJ, three PB+Jams kids’ concerts at World Café Live in University City, the Voorhees Fire Prevention Awareness Night and the Philadelphia Science Festival’s Discovery Day. Audiologists distributed hearing protection (earplugs) and provided information about custom ear protection such as musician’s plugs; discussed and distributed educational materials about preventing noise-induced hearing loss; and demonstrated various age-appropriate sound experiments with specific age groups.

Early Head Start (EHS) Program

Ka’Lon and her parents at the Early Head Start space at the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pediatric Care Center. CHOP’s Early Head Start (EHS) Program, a federally funded, comprehensive child development program, serves children up to 3 years old from low-income neighborhoods and their families. Families can choose to enroll in a center-based or home-based option. Families choosing center-based services receive free childcare in a stimulating environment. Families choosing the home-based services receive weekly home visits and participate in three group socialization events a month.

EHS helps parents develop skills to enhance their children’s growth and development. Last year, CHOP’s EHS provided free services to 236 children who live in West Philadelphia. Services included effective parenting classes, pest management workshops, positive relationship seminars, first aid and CPR certification, nutrition instruction and cooking classes, and school readiness activities.

Emergency dental services

CHOP provides emergency dental services 24 hours a day to inpatients and patients admitted to the CHOP Emergency Department who require urgent dental care, through an arrangement with the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. Approximately 200 children receive emergency dental care each year.

Family Health Coverage Program

Uninsured or underinsured? We can help! The Family Health Coverage Program (FHCP) assists uninsured and underinsured families by assessing their eligibility for the appropriate state program by: determining which state program a patient/family is eligible for based on federal poverty guidelines and other criteria; collecting the required documents; and submitting applications for those programs. Staff may do a financial assistance assessment, if appropriate.

The FHCP has a designated email account and two hotline numbers that can be used by CHOP clinicians to refer patients to the program. FHCP has active partnerships with the Hospital’s social workers and case managers, furthering the program’s reach. To get the word out to families, flyers and financial assistance information packets are widely distributed throughout the Hospital and CHOP Care Network, and information is on each bill families receive. FHCP information is routinely given to self-pay patients who are seen in the Emergency Department or admitted as inpatients.

CHOP’s financial counselors are available to help families at any point in their care, from when they call to make an appointment until their bill goes to collections.

Food insecurity

Food insecurity is defined as the lack of consistent access to enough food for an active and healthy life. It remains a serious public health problem affecting an estimated 14.3 percent of U.S. households. Food insecurity has been associated with numerous negative health consequences in children including parental report of poor health, increased hospitalizations, psychosocial and behavioral problems, and poor academic performance.

Addressing household food insecurity in primary care clinics may be one method to mitigate some of these negative consequences. Through a partnership with the nonprofit Benefits Data Trust (BDT), CHOP is working to address household food insecurity in the families that bring their children to the CHOP Care Network primary care practices. Families with children under 5 years old are asked two questions by providers to screen for household food insecurity. Families who are food insecure and are interested in receiving further assistance can be referred to the BDT. The BDT contacts families to discuss services they may be eligible for, such as government benefits like food stamps and WIC, and helps them apply.

Global Health Center

CHOP staff travel to the Dominican Republic as part of the Global Health Allies to provide training to health promoters in Consuelo and hold community workshops. The Global Health Center at CHOP leads CHOP’s international pediatric efforts in low-resource settings. CHOP Global Health Center faculty is doing impactful global health work in many different countries. Two key partner sites are the Dominican Republic and Botswana. Global Health Allies, consisting of groups of five to eight CHOP employees, travel biannually to the Dominican Republic to train Dominican health promoters on specific topics and participate in health fairs.

Healthy Futures

Healthy Futures is a school-based wellness program funded and led by the Independence Blue Cross Foundation that brings education on how to "Eat Right, Get Fit and Stay Well" into 25 elementary schools. CHOP’s Nursing Department supports the Stay Well component of the initiative, visiting schools to record child wellness metrics, improve school health screening rates, and ensure all students receive the proper resources to maintain good health.

Healthy Weight Program

CHOP’s Healthy Weight Program (HWP) tackles the serious health problem of childhood obesity. Approximately 1 in 3 children between 2 and 19 years of age is overweight or obese according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The HWP helps children reach or maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle. The program achieves this through innovative research, evidence-based clinical care, education and community advocacy. The HWP collaborates with community partners on initiatives related to healthy lifestyles as well as community-driven participatory research programs.

Homeless Health Initiative

The Homeless Health Initiative (HHI) provides health outreach services through a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach that aims to reduce health disparities and improve healthcare access and health outcomes for children residing in homeless shelters. These services are provided in West Philadelphia family shelters through CHOP Night medical and dental exams; Operation CHOICES, an obesity prevention program that offers fitness and nutrition education for mothers and children separately; and additional programming. A popular Zumba class was added to the women’s programming in 2015.

HHI launched its first ongoing program in New Jersey, presenting an education series called “Taking Charge of Your Child’s Health” at the HomeFront Family Preservation Center emergency housing facility in Ewing. Health education continued for mothers of infants in an effort to support the health and improve the survival of the most vulnerable residing in shelters. HHI staff provided training to more than 524 participants from agencies providing services to families experiencing homelessness as part of Children’s Work Group ongoing education.

Hospital School Program

The Hospital School Program provides kindergarten through high school education services by certified teachers to inpatients who are eligible to receive home- or hospital-bound school services. The goal is to help children stay in synch with their peers and to bring some sense of normalcy to their lives while they are hospitalized. Teachers also facilitate school re-entry to ensure children are ready to return to school after they are discharged from the Hospital.

Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pediatric Care Center

Nearly 31,000 children and adolescents call the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pediatric Care Center their primary care home. The facility in West Philadelphia is also home to several CHOP programs that serve the community. It hosts a Spring Wellness Fair and donates space and use of exam rooms to mental health providers such as the Center for Grieving Children.

Keto Kitchen

For children whose seizures can’t be controlled by medicine, one alternative is the ketogenic diet, a strict regimen that is very high-fat and very low-carb. The Keto Kitchen offers classes for family members of children on the keto diet so they can learn how to prepare recipes that meet the criteria of 90 percent of the total calories from dietary fat (such as heavy cream, butter, mayonnaise and oil) and only about 10 grams of carbohydrates per day — about one-third of a slice of bread. Each food item must be weighed to the tenth of a gram.

At CHOP, families get the necessary education and support to make the ketogenic diet a manageable part of their everyday lives. A CHOP Cares Community Grant supported three culinary school interns from the Art Institute of Philadelphia’s Culinary Management Program who learned the diet, developed new recipes and taught cooking classes to our keto diet families. The recipes are accessible on chop.edu/ketorecipes, making them available to any person cooking the keto diet.

Language Services Program

Interpreters from Language Services conduct face-to-face encounters in the Hospital and Care Network. The Language Services Program at CHOP provides support to patients, families and visitors with limited English proficiency, as well as those with hearing disabilities, many of whom have limited access to healthcare. As part of this service, CHOP conducts more than 36,000 face-to-face encounters (in 70-plus languages with the majority in Spanish, Arabic, Cantonese and Mandarin) and 45,000 telephonic sessions (all languages) each year. There are also telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDD/ TTY). To help people access interpreter services, language navigation cards are available in a variety of languages at the Hospital entrance.

LEND

The mission of CHOP’s Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program is to develop partnerships that enhance the health infrastructure of communities CHOP serves by improving services and resources for children and families of children with, or at risk for, neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders.

LEND’s focus also includes prevention of disabilities and reducing health disparities. LEND fellows collaborate with community-based organizations and government agencies on projects to improve the health of children in homeless shelters and in the foster care system, improve employment opportunities for youth and young adults with disabilities, provide health education to families in Early Head Start, improve nutrition among local refugee children, and improve access to healthcare for children who are undocumented immigrants, among other projects.

Additionally, each year LEND sponsors and hosts the Philadelphia Regional Conference on Developmental Disabilities, the region’s forum for professionals, families and self-advocates. The conference had more than 150 participants in 2015.

Little Rock Family Resource Room

The Little Rock Family Resource Room at CHOP offers a broad range of services to patients and families with hearing and/or visual impairments. Patients and families can gain hands-on experience with accessibility equipment and technology from the family relations coordinator. In addition, Little Rock offers families educational handouts, brochures, publications, computer resources, alerting and communicating devices, as well as accessibility catalogs that show the wide range of sophisticated assistive technology.

Pediatric Critical Care Fellow Boot Camp

In 2015, CHOP’s Center for Simulation, Advanced Education and Innovation hosted the 10th annual Pediatric Critical Care Fellow Boot Camp, a pioneering fellowship orientation and bonding experience that has revolutionized orientation for first-year critical care fellows to the most common and stressful “scenarios” they are going to encounter.

Ten premiere pediatric critical care fellowship programs gathered on the University of Pennsylvania campus in collaboration with the Helene Fuld Pavilion for Innovative Learning and Simulation Center. The Boot Camp was the brainchild of Sim Center medical and research director Vinay Nadkarni, MD, Akira Nishisaki, MD, Robbie Hales, MHA, RRT-NPS, RN, and Stephanie Tuttle, MBA, and it has grown in attendance from 25 to 67 pediatric critical care fellows — more than 70 percent of the first-year fellows in the United States. Core faculty volunteer for the entire weekend, coming from 22 different U.S. academic institutions and three international hospitals. In addition to experiencing the stress and strain of tackling tough problems in unfamiliar territory and learning to troubleshoot in teams, they also practice understanding the emotional side of caring for seriously sick children.

Poison Control Center

The Poison Control Center’s hotline, 1-800- 222-1222, provides information and treatment advice to the public it serves — 23 Pennsylvania counties and all of Delaware — at no charge. In 2015, nearly 65,000 calls came into the hotline, and staff made more than 70,000 follow-up calls. The center is staffed by certified specialists in poison information, under the direction of board-certified physician toxicologists. It also serves as an invaluable resource for healthcare professionals who called more than 10,000 times last year for help. Students from three pharmacy schools and 13 medical schools relied on the center for toxicological training.

Find poisoning statistics based on calls to the Poison Control Center in 2015, including the most common substances involved in poison exposures in kids versus adults.

PolicyLab

PolicyLab seeks to achieve optimal child health and well-being by informing program and policy changes through interdisciplinary research. The PolicyLab team of more than 20 faculty and 55 interdisciplinary staff is focused on three critical areas: strengthening public systems, enhancing healthcare delivery, and improving child health outcomes.

Work in fiscal year 2015 ranged across early childhood development, adolescent health, child welfare, behavioral health, complex chronic conditions, use of psychotropic medications, and immigrant and refugee health. These collaborative projects include an analysis and report of Philadelphia’s dropout crisis, in partnership with Project U-Turn, entitled “A Promise Worth Keeping: Advancing the High School Graduate Rate in Philadelphia,” and an examination of the effects of the recession on children, in partnership with First Focus.

Additional projects included examinations of the effect of psychotropic medication on children’s risk for type 2 diabetes; asthma medication adherence from hospital to home; methods for providing comprehensive care for gender nonconforming adults and adolescents; effects of socio-economic status on hospital resource utilization; and use of preventive dental care services among Medicaid-enrolled children in Pennsylvania. PolicyLab’s research influences federal, state and local policy on a number of pressing children’s health issues.

REACH

All youth, and especially those with special or chronic healthcare needs, benefit from learning how to manage their health as they move into adulthood. CHOP helps smooth the transition with REACH (Rapport, Empowerment, Advocacy through Connections and Health) and Transition to Adulthood programs. REACH sessions provide a framework for youth 14 to 24 years old with physical and/or intellectual disabilities across the spectrum of severity to become independent to the extent they are able. In addition to general REACH events, there are targeted sessions for youth with autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disabilities, epilepsy and traumatic brain injury. Parents can learn about their role in helping their children acquire healthcare independence by downloading age-appropriate brochures.

REACH is also home to CHOP Career Path, a program that works with young adults with chronic illnesses and/or disabilities so they can join the workforce. Participants get help from job coaches and internships in the community and at CHOP. To date, 35 out of 55 youth who have participated in CHOP Career Path have obtained employment through the program; 30 are employed at CHOP throughout various departments. These competitive full- and part-time positions offer paid time off and medical benefits. There also are 25 program participants interning at the Hospital, including six high school students.

Reach Out and Read

Elena Huang, MD, a pediatrician at the Nicholas and Athena Karabots Pediatric Care Center, shares a book with Waldis, 8 months, as part of CHOP’s Reach Out and Read program. CHOP’s Reach Out and Read program is part of an evidence-based national nonprofit organization that promotes early literacy and school readiness, with a special emphasis on children growing up in low-income communities.

In exam rooms during well visits, primary care physicians and nurse practitioners advise parents about the importance of reading aloud and give brand-new, developmentally and culturally appropriate books to children ages 6 months through 5 years old. Since 1991, 15 independent evaluations have affirmed the impact of Reach Out and Read, showing that when pediatricians promote literacy readiness according to this model, there is a significant effect on parental behavior and attitudes toward reading aloud, as well as improvements in the language scores of children who participate.

More than 136,000 new and gently used books are given out each year at the nine Reach Out and Read locations in the CHOP Care Network.

Refugee Health Program

Dilu Kaflay (left), from the Bhutanese American Organization-Philadelphia, worked with Priya Dhar, MD, to develop health education modules to help newly relocated refugee families. CHOP’s Refugee Health Program offers refugee and asylee children from birth through 18 years old an initial health assessment, follow-up care for refugee-specific health issues, and help integrating into ongoing primary care. The goal is to evaluate children within 30 days of their arrival to the United States. The program has cared for more than 250 children since its March 2011 launch.

Through their involvement in the Philadelphia Refugee Health Collaborative, CHOP physicians from this program have helped develop the Philadelphia Department of Health’s healthcare orientation, which is offered to all new refugees in the city, and worked with pharmacies in refugee communities to prepare them to order and compound medications needed to treat diseases commonly found in refugees.

Program providers participate in a number of community projects focusing on refugee health and advocacy such as holding a flu vaccine clinic at the Bhutanese American Organization of Philadelphia (BAOP); translating developmental screening tools into Burmese and Nepali; creating a Health Navigator Program in partnership with the BAOP; and developing the Refugee Nutrition Needs Assessment. During clinical rotations, physicians-in-training have the opportunity to foster their interest in global health and learn to approach patients and families with cultural sensitivity.

Safe Place Treatment and Support Program

The Safe Place Treatment and Support Program offers consultation, parent guidance and counseling treatment to children and their families to address symptoms of child sexual abuse. This service is free for families whose insurance does not cover the cost. CHOP social workers, therapists and physicians also provide presentations to a variety of community agencies on various education topics related to child maltreatment.

Sexual Assault Response Team

The Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) provides quality and consistent acute sexual assault examinations in the Emergency Department, while meeting the needs of pediatric sexual assault victims who require screening, testing, treatment and evidence collection. Members of SART are in the ED 24 hours a day, seven days a week, ready to help any child who would benefit from their special training. SART also provides outreach education to the community, community violence awareness and court presentations.

Special Babies Clinic

CHOP’s Special Babies Clinic provides programming for high-risk and preterm infants through Special Trips for Special Babies. The program facilitates visits to area attractions, such as the Philadelphia Zoo and Please Touch Museum, as a tool to foster greater childhood development for more than 250 individuals, of whom 80 percent are covered by public insurance.

Special Immunology Family Care Cente

The Special Immunology Family Care Center is dedicated to providing comprehensive medical, psychosocial and developmental services that are family centered, state of the art, and responsive to the needs of HIV-infected and affected children and families. The program cares for HIV-exposed infants, perinatally infected children, teens and young adults, and infected caregivers. With a multidisciplinary team, the center supports four major functions: comprehensive primary medical and HIV specialized care, psychosocial care that addresses barriers inhibiting patients’ health and improves quality of life, services to monitor growth and development, and clinical and behavioral research.

West Philadelphia Skills Initiative

As part of CHOP’s commitment to provide career development opportunities to unemployed adults living in our surrounding community, Children’s Hospital partnered with the University City District’s West Philadelphia Skills Initiative to employ temporary inpatient clerks and inpatient sitters. When CHOP has openings, unemployed and underemployed adults from West Philadelphia are recruited and go through customized training at the Skills Initiative, which prepares them based on the skills CHOP has identified as important for the available positions. CHOP interviews and hires from the pool of trained people. When the West Philadelphians are placed in those jobs, their success rate is high because their skills and expectations meet the requirements. The Skills Initiative continues to support the new hires through career coaching.

Vaccine Education Center

The Vaccine Education Center (VEC) provides information and resources to a variety of audiences including healthcare providers (physicians, nurses,nurse practitioners, public health professionals, pharmacists, medical assistants, office staff and students), parents, the public, media outlets and schools, as well as colleagues in the field of immunizations. Resources are provided via print, videos, web sites, presentations, newsletters, webinars, interviews, social media and individual consultations. Last year, VEC developed new materials including a coloring book, video series, Pinterest account and online trivia game. VEC also expanded its outreach to pharmacists, who are a relatively new group of immunizers, by offering free continuing education credits for its webinar series and free booklets about vaccinations for babies, teens and adults as well as a vaccine safety booklet.

Violence Prevention Initiative

The Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI) works to reduce the incidence and impact of violence and aggression on children and families in the community. VPI includes efforts to reduce bullying in schools, domestic violence in the home and violent assault in the community.

Volunteer Services Summer Explorer Program

The Volunteer Services Summer Explorer Program exposed high school students to career opportunities in a healthcare environment. More than 60 high school students had the opportunity in the summer to participate in a three-week internship and learn about various health-related careers throughout CHOP.

Youth Heart Watch

Last year, Youth Heart Watch (YHW) continued its mission of eradicating sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in children through ongoing and new programs. Find an expanded list of resources on CPR and automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at chop.edu/youthheartwatch. YHW staff lectured on SCA and CPR/AED training at the Burlington County School Nurses Conference. YHW provided grants to three schools, allowing the schools to help supplement their CPR/AED program by providing additional staff training and purchasing CPR/AED materials, such as CPR manikins and AED trainer machines. A total of 778 youth were screened for heart health during events in Middletown, NJ, and Media, PA.

Youth Suicide Prevention in Primary Care

CHOP’s Youth Suicide Prevention in Primary Care (YSP-PC) project is a multidimensional systems change approach focused on suicide prevention for youth ages 14 to 24.

In collaboration with the Pennsylvania Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, YSP-PC obtained a Garrett Lee Smith SAMHSA grant for a project that aims to involve targeted primary care practices and counties; facilitate partnering between medical providers and local mental health providers; train medical staff about suicide risk assessment and related mental health concerns; and implement a web-based screening tool that is completed and scored in primary care offices during patient visits.

The project, piloted at CHOP’s Emergency Department, has expanded to 12 counties across Pennsylvania. YSP-PC currently screens about 350 adolescents a month in the CHOP Emergency Department. In primary care offices, of the more than 11,000 adolescents who took the screen, more than 1,700 were identified as at risk for suicide.