New Report from Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Shows Importance of Starting Early in Fight Against Childhood Obesity

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New Report from Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Shows Importance of Starting Early in Fight Against Childhood Obesity

Study finds early childhood, birth to age 5, is the most critical opportunity to prevent obesity, but it is often the most overlooked

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, July 16, 2012 – As the prevalence of childhood obesity in children rapidly increases across the United States, and the nation continues to grapple with the life-threatening consequences of this epidemic, a new report released today from Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota examines how this public health threat is impacting children and families across Minnesota – and what can be done to address it.

In the report, “Starting Early to Prevent Childhood Obesity,” Children’s physicians and researchers examine the latest childhood obesity research, data and clinical trends to better understand how Minnesota stacks up against national trends and what resources and evidence-based solutions exist that can have a long-term, positive impact on the prevention of childhood obesity.

“Nearly one in four Minnesota children is overweight or obese. As a result, we’ve seen a disturbing growth in obesity-related diseases among our kids,” said Alan L. Goldbloom, MD, president and CEO of Children’s of Minnesota. “This increase includes conditions like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver disease, asthma, and joint problems – some of which were previously uncommon in children. This is an epidemic communities must join together to fight at our kitchen tables, in our schools and across our health care system.”

Like the rest of the country, childhood obesity rates have continued to increase in Minnesota in recent years. On a national scale, one in six children between the ages of two and 19 is now obese, a rate three times higher than it was in 1980.¹ In Minnesota, nearly one in four children (23.1 percent) has weight problems and among the state’s adolescents (ages 10-17), more than one in 10 (11.1 percent) are obese.²

The report also reveals a variety of trends that could be contributing to more Minnesota children having weight problems, including:

“When it comes to preventing obesity, the earlier we get started with children, the better the chance of success. Investing in early intervention is critical,” said Julie Boman, pediatrician and hospitalist at Children’s.

While it is likely to take years to reverse the trend of childhood obesity in Minnesota, Children’s outlined several recommendations in the report to help get Minnesota back on track. Those recommendations include the need for public and private health care and community organizations across the state to continue developing collaborative research and partnerships aimed at obesity prevention in children, especially among the most vulnerable communities.

Children’s report on obesity is the third study in the Children’s Check-Ups initiative, which is a series of in-depth reports designed to help Minnesota families and health care leaders better understand how Minnesota is doing on a number of key indicators of children’s health. A list of obesity prevention resources and partnerships in Minnesota, and the full report, are available at Children's Check-ups Series.

About Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota:

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¹ Ogden CL. Prevalence of High Body Mass Index in US Children and Adolescents, 2007-2008. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2010; 303(3): 242-249.

² Levi J, Segal L, St. Laurent R, Kohn D, et al (Trust for America’s Health, Washington, DC). F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America’s Future, 2011 edition [Internet]. [Washington, DC]: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. 2011 [Cited 2011 Nov 21]. 124 p. Available from: http://healthyamericans.org/assets/files/TFAH2011FasInFat10.pdf.

³ Institute of Medicine. Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies. [Internet]. 2011 Jun [Cited 2011 Nov 21]. Available from: http://iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2011/Early-Childhood-Obesity-Prevention-Policies/Young%20Child%20Obesity%202011%20Recommendations.pdf.

Child Psychology Internship Specialty Training

Pediatric Neuropsychology
Neuropsychological evaluations are conducted with children presenting with a variety of neurodevelopmental disorders, neurological conditions and medical disorders with concomitant cognitive manifestations. Evaluations include cognitive/personality assessment, and educational evaluation/consultation for children and adolescents at all developmental levels. Neurodevelopmental patient populations include children with learning disabilities, autism, epilepsy, metabolic disorders, head trauma, brain tumors and congenital malformations. Services also include support for the pediatric consultation/liaison service in the form of assessment of medical inpatients with a variety of neurological disorders. Those interns who plan to pursue postdoctoral training in neuropsychology will be provided sufficient opportunities on internship to be competitive in the application process. All former trainees desiring further training in this area have obtained fellowship placements. For those interns not pursuing specialty training in this area, exposure to neuropsychological evaluations will be provided during the final six months of the internship.

Pediatric Psychology
Opportunities are also available for additional experience and training in pediatric psychology. This includes both consultation-liaison services to hospitalized patients, as well as outpatient services for children referred for general behavioral medicine concerns. Interns also may have the opportunity to work with a variety of established, multidisciplinary teams serving pediatric populations with cancer, pain problems, craniofacial concerns, and various chronic illness diagnoses.

Additional Training Opportunities

Groups: Interns have the option to serve as co-facilitators in groups with children, teens, or parents (to be arranged) or to develop their own psychoeducational group.

Community placements: Interns have the opportunity to work during the year (approximately 4 hours/week) at a community placement, to provide additional opportunities with both consultation skills and non-traditional forms of service delivery. Options vary every year but may include:

• Adolescent Health: This program provides adolescent health care and special services responsive to the needs of teenagers. Current opportunities are available to provide mental health screening and consultation services to patients from a primarily urban, low-income, diverse community.
• Primary care practices: Interns in these placements will work in a community pediatric medical practice, providing consultation to both parents and other medical care providers. Opportunities also exist for ongoing educational programming for parents about a variety of topics such as behavioral management, ADHD, sleep/feeding problems, etc.
• Community presentations: Each intern will be expected to develop a talk for parents or medical providers in the community on a topic of interest. Interested groups range from parents of elementary school children, high school students in health classes, parents of children with various medical diagnoses, nursing students, medical residents, etc.

As Many Sick Kids Wait for Care, Minneapolis-area Family Speaks out to Preserve and Improve Children’s Access

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Justin Theodotou

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As many sick kids wait for care, Minneapolis-area family speaks out to preserve and improve children’s access

Proposed cuts to national programs would harm children’s ability

to access timely, quality health care

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL, July 20, 2012 – As federal legislators continue to grapple over the best way to bring better health care to all Americans, children’s health care hangs in the balance. That’s why a local Minneapolis-area family is taking their story to Washington, D.C. this month to ask Congress to protect care for children in the face of proposed cuts to the national health care programs many kids rely on, and to close the gap between demand for care and the supply of pediatric specialists.

As part of the Children’s Hospital Association’s Family Advocacy Day, July 23-25, Michael Johnston, age 14 of Vadnais Heights, and his family, will join nearly 30 other young patients and their families traveling to the nation’s capital to help bring to life the importance of adequate funding for pediatric care. The event includes one-on-one congressional visits, a congressional luncheon, a tour of Washington, D.C., and a celebratory dinner to honor the young patients known as Family Advocacy Day “All Stars.”

The Johnston family knows firsthand the value of having access to high quality, timely and specialized pediatric care. Michael suffered from headaches for just over a year until the problem escalated to numbness in his tongue and difficulty walking. In April, he was taken to Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota where he was diagnosed with and treated for a cancerous brain tumor. Through a combination of brain surgery and proton beam radiation therapy, Michael is now cancer free and has had three clean post-treatment checkups.

Yet for several months prior to the discovery of Michael’s tumor, the Johnston family had attempted to get appointments with a variety of psychologists and neurologists in the area. However, due to long waits for this type of specialized care, it was not until Michael’s symptoms escalated and he had to be admitted to Children’s emergency room that he able to be seen by a specialist.

“We feel incredibly blessed for the specialized care and attention our son was able to get from the physicians and nurses at Children’s,” said John Johnston, Michael’s father. “Access to prompt and specialized emergency care was critical for our son, as it is for all children. We’re taking our story to Washington, D.C. to help our leaders recognize the need to protect and preserve quality, timely health care for kids all across the country.”

Experts agree that several proposals have the potential to harm children’s access to care.

Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education (CHGME), a national program solely devoted to helping children’s hospitals train pediatricians and pediatric specialists, supports the training and development of nearly half of all pediatricians and pediatric specialists practicing in the U.S. Unfortunately, CHGME funding is far below the support needed. The result is a national shortage of pediatric specialists.

Medicaid, an economic need-based federal and state program that provides health coverage to one in three children, faces proposals that would slash program funding. President Obama’s fiscal year 2013 budget proposes Medicaid cuts of $56 billion over a 10-year period. The House fiscal year 2013 budget proposes capping the amounts of funding states receive for Medicaid, which could negatively impact the health care programs kids rely on.

"Every child deserves easy access to high quality health care, regardless of cost or ability to pay," said Alan L. Goldbloom, M.D., president and CEO of Children's of Minnesota. "Continued legislative cutbacks to physician training in pediatric medicine and Medicaid reimbursement for children's health care are working against this goal."

The Children’s Hospital Association will release findings from a survey of children’s hospitals to better understand the impact of pediatric specialist shortages on children’s ability to access timely medical care. The release will occur during Family Advocacy Day (July 23–25).

About Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota:

Serving as Minnesota's children's hospital since 1924, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health care organizations in the United States, with 347 staffed beds at its two hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis. An independent, not-for-profit health care system, Children's of Minnesota provides care through more than 12,000 inpatient visits and more than 200,000 emergency room and other outpatient clinic visits every year. Children's is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. Please visit www.childrensMN.org.

About the Children’s Hospital Association

The Children’s Hospital Association advances child health through innovation in the quality, cost and delivery of care. Representing more than 220 children’s hospitals, the Association is the voice of children’s hospitals nationally. The Association advances public policy enabling hospitals to better serve children, and is the premier resource for pediatric data and analytics driving improved clinical and operational performance of member hospitals. Formed in 2011, the Association brings together the strengths and talents of three organizations: Child Health Corporation of America (CHCA), National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) and National Association of Children’s Hospitals (N.A.C.H.).

For more information on Family Advocacy Day, visit www.childrenshospitals.net or follow the families on Facebook at www.facebook.com/childrenshospitals or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/speaknowforkids, hashtag #FAD12.

Child Psychology Internship Process of Selection

Teams of faculty will conduct a thorough review of application materials, with 24 applicants selected for formal interviews. Three days will be set aside for in-person interviews during which each applicant will meet with several staff members, as well as the current interns, regarding the training program. We also encourage interviews by phone or video conferencing as desired. In light of the increasing costs for airfare and travel, we strongly encourage you to consider these alternatives. We have interviewed a number of candidates by phone and have matched with these individuals as well. Interviewing by phone will not alter your chances for consideration as a good fit with our program. All applicants will be notified by December 15 via e-mail regarding interview status.

Please feel free to contact any of the 2011-2012 interns for additional information (through August 31, 2012):

Or contact the incoming interns (between 9-1-2012 and 8-31-2013):

Likely Interview dates: