Medicine and More: The Family Connects Program
Sometimes, a family visiting the Emergency Department at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has social needs that go beyond their child's immediate medical problem. Families may struggle to have enough food or a safe place to live. CHOP created Family Connects to provide community resources to meet those social needs. Learn More
Guns and Kids: A Deadly Mix
Every day, eight children suffer gunshot wounds because of improperly stored or misused guns in the home. Eighty percent of teens who use a firearm to commit suicide use a family member’s gun.
The Center for Violence Prevention partners with community organizations to reduce those numbers by sharing information on how to safely store firearms and handing out hundreds of free gun locks at community events across Philadelphia. CVP also provides these resources to families during primary care and emergency room visits at CHOP. Learn More
Reaching Out to Families
CHOP’s Gun Safety Program talks to families in primary care offices, the ER and their communities.
Encouraging Early Literacy: Books for Babies
When it comes to reading to children, it's never too early to start. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends pediatricians “use a robust spectrum of options to support and promote literacy.”
CHOP's Books for Babies program is designed to begin a child's journey to literacy. “We know that reading with young children results in improved language skills in toddlers and improves school readiness,” says Shelia Knerr, MD, a CHOP Pediatric Hospitalist who led the creation of the program. Learn More
It's in the bag!
Through the Books for Babies program, parents of newborns receive a gift bag that includes a board book, a bookmark, an application for a library card at their local library, and information on the well-established benefits of reading to their newborn.
This was an incredible journey that began, grew and continues to prosper due to the ongoing support of the CHOP Community Impact department, the CHOP grants programs, and the commitment of the whole CHOP enterprise to help their employees support children and families in their communities.
Sheila Knerr, MD, Books for Babies Founder
Dr. Knerr recently retired from her role as a CHOP Pediatric Hospitalist and passed the torch of Books for Babies leadership to Koryse Woodrooffe Ekouevi, MD, a CHOP neonatologist at Grand View Health, pictured left.
Learn more about CHOP's literacy programs
Promoting Wellness Equity to Help Kids BE-WEHL
Mental health is vital to overall well-being, and mind-body practices are effective tools for enhancing it. Recognizing this, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) launched the Integrative Health (IH) Program 10 years ago to incorporate wellness practices such as yoga, massage, aromatherapy and acupuncture into patient care.
Now, IH is bringing the benefits of these practices into the community through their Behavioral Health — Wellness Equity for a Healthy Life (BE-WEHL) program. Learn More
Launched in 2020
The BE-WEHL program offers a comprehensive seven-session curriculum designed to help children and families in under-resourced communities manage stress and cope with life's challenges. The curriculum covers mindfulness, nutrition, sleep, physical activity, yoga, self-massage, breathwork, nature and progressive muscle relaxation.
It was developed by experts from Integrative Health to address the unique needs of communities with higher levels of trauma and limited access to behavioral health professionals for children and adolescents.
By the Numbers
BE-WEHL is unique in that we're not talking about a disease-specific thing. The focus is on stress, wellness and mindfulness. That allows us to be flexible and adapt the program, while always focusing on children.
Complementary therapies, like yoga, massage, aromatherapy and acupuncture, are traditionally accessed by affluent populations, so as a team we really wanted to find a way to systematically make these practices more available to populations living in underserved areas.
Growth Since Launch
BE-WEHL has continuously evolved to maximize its impact and sustainability. Initially focused on offering one-on-one virtual classes for CHOP patients with behavioral health challenges and their families, the program expanded in 2022 with support from CHOP's Office of Community Impact. This funding enabled BE-WEHL to bring its curriculum into elementary schools, reaching children ages 5-14.
More recently, the program introduced professional training workshops empowering educators at early childhood centers to adopt wellness practices to manage their own stress and teach these strategies to children.
Healthy Food, Healthy Childhood
When a family doesn't have the resources to put nutritious food on the table, providing a bag of groceries just answers an immediate problem. The Food as Medicine program takes a broader approach that includes nutrition education for families and activities for kids so they're learning about healthy food while having fun. And it happens right where the kids receive their healthcare: The Nicholas and Athena Karabots Primary Care Center, Norristown.
The program began when social worker Victoria Armstrong saw Norristown families facing food instability coming out of the pandemic. Learn More
Food — and So Much More for Families
Families Enrolled in Food as Medicine receive:
- Weekly delivery of fresh produce May through November, complete with info on what's in the box and recipes to try
- Twice monthly delivery of nonperishable groceries
- Monthly family sessions with exercise, story time, gardening, cooking demonstrations and dinner
- Cooking equipment that includes cutting boards, knives, grater, pots, pans and more, plus a cookbook of family-friendly, healthy fare
- Monthly children's book related to gardening or healthy eating
- Yoga mat and water bottle for each child
It Takes a Village to Offer Family Nights
Community partners that support Food as Medicine:
- Cutloose Cares and leaders Jordan and Emily Deane
- Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which provided the on-site garden, cooking demonstrations and weekly produce boxes
- Martha's Choice Marketplace, a Catholic Social Services food pantry in Norristown
- Norristown-area restaurants
- Reach Out and Read and other CHOP volunteers
Learn About CHOP's Food-related Programs
Photos of a Food as Medicine family night
The Power of a Picture
Dermatology is a visually oriented specialty that lends itself well to remote consultation.
Pediatricians at participating CHOP Care Network sites can send a picture of a child's skin issue through the Electronic Medical Record system to the Dermatology team for a consultation. The Dermatology team typically responds within just a few days, as opposed to patients having to wait months for an in-person consult.
The E-Consult program in dermatology has become an important part of my clinical practice. I love the fact that I can save families time, money and the anxiety of waiting for an answer, while also equipping pediatricians to manage their dermatology patients. A well-taken photo truly is worth a thousand words!
Amanda Moon, MD, CHOP Pediatric Dermatologist
The teledermatology program plans to expand to all CHOP Primary Care sites in the future. CHOP is also exploring using e-consults for other subspecialties to improve access to care and the patient family experience.
Learn more about the ways CHOP is using technology to enhance care to help children everywhere