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► Patients from our Idaho Children's Project wave "hello" outside of their Mobile Dental Unit. Next time you see a CHF Mobile Clinic providing care in or driving through your community, take a picture and send it to us at content@chfund.org or post it to our facebook!

by Caitlin McFeely, Communications Associate, Children's Health Fund

Blog readers, today we are happy to introduce you to another “Face from the Field”. Maria Even Johns is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) that works on the mobile clinic at CHF’s New Orleans Children’s Health Project (NOCHP).

Enjoy and don’t forget to leave questions/comments for Maria!

Caitlin (C): How long have you been working with CHF?

Maria: I’ve been here for almost 3 years (2yrs 10 months to be exact!)

C: What made you want to work for this type of organization?

Maria: I wanted the opportunity to work with culturally diverse kids and families.

C: What is your favorite part about working on the mobile clinic?

Maria: The diversity we see in the neighborhoods and population we serve.

C: What are the biggest challenges children and families in your region are experiencing in accessing health care and how are you addressing them?

Maria: Lack of transportation is a major barrier to care for our families. So to help them, we have implemented a program to provide transportation for these families to access care.

by Mary Alice Schiller, CHF Yankees Home Run Club Member

My name is Mary Alice Schiller and I have been a proud CHF donor for 20 years and counting.  I’m not a fabulously wealthy philanthropist, nor am I incredibly famous or the CEO of a multinational company; I’m your average full-time worker wanting to give something back to children in need.  

I learned about CHF at my first job post-college while listening to local DJ, and then CHF advisory boardmember, Dave Herman who was promoting CHF and Don Mattingly’s Yankees Home Run Club.  I was intrigued: Don Mattingly was my favorite Yankee at the time (and in my all-time Top 3) and if he had a club that raised money for needy children, I wanted in.  I pledged $1 of my entry-level salary for every home run the Yankees hit in the 1990 season, and promptly signed up the next season and the one after that.  When Don Mattingly passed the Home Run Club torch to Bernie Williams (also in my Top 3), I upped my per-homerun donation.  Two of my favorite Yankees who I respected on and off the field had chosen to head up this endeavor; and I knew then that I was sticking around for the long haul.

► CHF released a study this week that left us deeply concerned about the children and families directly impacted by the oil spill.  The study found that over one-third of parents report that their children have experienced either physical symptoms or mental health distress as a consequence of the oil spill.  In a few short weeks, CHF will deploy a Mobile Clinic to Plaquemines Parish (south of New Orleans), an area heavily impacted by the disaster.  This unit will provide much needed medical care and public health information about this ongoing crisis to families.

by Caitlin McFeely, Communications Associate, Children's Health Fund

Hello blog readers, this is Caitlin from Children's Health Fund's Communication’s department.

We have some exciting posts on the horizon that we think will give you an even better glimpse into the Children’s Health Fund.  We’ve asked some of our doctors, nurses, mental health providers, drivers, and other staff members across the CHF Network to contribute to our blog and the response has been overwhelming!!  Over the next few months, we will begin to introduce you to the faces of CHF—the people providing quality health care to America’s most vulnerable children.  After their introduction, keep your eye out for more posts from these new bloggers.  We hope you enjoy the posts and please feel free to leave comments/questions. 

Well, that is enough from me…Check out my interview with Dr. Rhonique Shields-Harris, Medical Director of CHF’s Children’s Health Project of D.C. (CHPDC).

Caitlin (C):  Dr. Harris, how long have you been working with CHPDC?

Dr. Harris:  I’ve been with the program for 11 years now!  I started as a pediatric resident and when I finished my residency, stayed with the program as an attending physician.  I took over as the Medical Director of the program in 2005.

C:  What made you want to work for this type of organization?

Dr. H:   During residency my training involved working on the mobile units and providing advocacy for the families. I knew that this was a meaningful career path, which is why I requested to stay with the program. 

C:  What is your favorite part about working on the mobile clinic?

Dr. H:   My favorite part is knowing that at the end of the day, many of my patients are living healthier lifestyles because of the work of the mobile health team

by Randy Christensen, MD, Medical Director, Phoenix Children's Health Project

The Phoenix Children’s Health Project’s Crews’n Healthmobile is a 38 foot mobile medical unit that circles Phoenix and surrounding cities taking care of homeless children and adolescents.  For much of the day it is away from our “offices” and as such carries all that we need to provide comprehensive care to this vulnerable population.  As you might expect keeping medical records for this type of practice might be a little difficult. It was! I remember thinking about the day we could install our Electronic Health Records (EHR) system. Through the efforts of Children’s Health Fund we were finally able to realize that dream. 

Since that time EHR has proven to be an essential and vital part of our work. In fact, it has been the most beneficial step we have taken to ensure state of the art care for our kids. The majority of our patients are homeless and their surroundings change sporadically and frequently, so one week they may be cared for at one of the sites we serve and the next week, end up at a site on the opposite side of the city. As our program and patient base expanded, so did our need. Fortunately we have been able to meet that need thanks in large part to our Electronic Health Records.  Check out a recent article on the Department of Health and Human Services website which explains in detail how PCHP eventually came to implementing and enhancing our system. We love it, and even more than that, our patients love it!

► Imagine if your child was sick, but you couldn't get to a doctor because the nearest pediatrician is 3 hours away.  This is a harsh reality for many families across the US.   Pictured here is our mobile medical clinic, "a doctor's office on wheel's," on the road in rural West Virginia bringing care where its needed the most.

CHF's Harlem Children's Health Project taught kids about health living during yesterday's Harlem Children's Zone's Summer Games in NYC.  Volunteers from HBO and Deerfield Company spent the day with HCHP staff and talked about eating right, exercise, and keeping hands clean. They also handed out goodie bags that included CHF's Asthma Guide and also toothbrushes and toothpaste donated by GlaxoSmithKline.  Thanks to all of our donors and volunteers who made this a great day!

A recent study published in the prestigious journal, Health Affairs, underscored some of the grim realities associated with the persistent recession and the loss of jobs in the United States. The study reports that for every 1,000 jobs lost by a parent in 2000-2004, 311 children with private insurance lost health coverage.  The situation is even more dramatic for low-income children. For every 1,000 jobs lost by an economically disadvantaged parent, 456 low-income children with private insurance lost health coverage.  And, the highest rates of losing coverage (40%) were seen among Hispanic children whose parents become unemployed. These are troubling statistics given that lack of health insurance can delay a child's health care which, even for a short time, can mean a lifetime of consequences.

► Dr. Gracy, of the Children's Health Fund, makes a housecall to children in the South Bronx, NY. Aboard the "Big Blue Bus", Dr. Gracy sees patients in a state-of-the-art pediatric mobile clinic. As of 2010, there are 50 Mobile Medical Clinics in our National Network serving children across the United States.