CPF has collaborated with Dr. Bill Heerman at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to implement an obesity intervention within 50 community centers across TN. The intervention is delivered in local community centers by local community center staff. The goal is to have patients referred to the community centers for a weight-loss activity program that includes the entire family and which supports the family unit and both physical activity as well as nutrition. In addition, the program includes weekly group sessions and coaching calls.

CPF has collaborated with Dr. Bill Heerman at Vanderbilt University Medical Center to implement an intensive behavioral intervention to treat obesity in children in pediatric primary care clinics across TN. The intervention is delivered in clinic with providers receiving training, a toolkit, and guidance on screening, behavioral counseling, and motivational interviewing as well as provide patients nutritional information and individual coaching from a nutritionist.

CPF has collaborated with Centerstone TN, a mental and behavioral health services provider, on a TN Dept of Health-funded grant project to provide free services to pediatric practices to assist in suicide prevention screening, prevention training, and distributing mental health resources for patients at risk for suicide. The services provided through the project can help your practice design and implement a screening and assessment plan, further develop your mental health referral process, connect practices with local mental health resources, and provide suicide prevention training for medical staff.

NOT ACTIVE 

NIH Research Project (R01)

Pamela Hull, Ph.D., assistant professor of medicine in the division of Epidemiology and Debra Friedman, M.D., the E. Bronson Ingram Chair in Pediatric Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center collaborated with Cumberland Pediatric Foundation on an NIH-funded R01 implementation study focused on increasing HPV immunization rates among adolescents.

Pamela Hull, Ph.D. is now an associate professor, regular title series, and the William Stamps Farish Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

NOT ACTIVE

Clinical Efforts Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure (CEASE)

The Cumberland Pediatric Foundation and The Metro Public Health Department Partnered to Eliminate Secondhand Smoke Exposure

Pediatricians in Davidson County participated in a program based on Clinical Efforts Against Secondhand Smoke Exposure (CEASE).

Providers were encouraged to screen all children under the age of 5 for exposure to secondhand smoke. If the parent was a smoker, they were given a handout designed to mimic a prescription identifying the five key steps for tobacco cessation.

The healthcare provider could make referrals to the Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine on behalf of parents who wanted to quit. Incentives were available for practices that successfully completed the program.

The program started in 2016 and continued through 2020. By December 2016, forty-two providers had successfully completed the program, collectively serving 17,646 children under the age of five.

NOT ACTIVE

Antibiotic Stewardship Study

Antibiotic resistance rates in Tennessee were among the highest in the nation. In the U.S., at least 30% of antibiotics prescribed in the outpatient setting were unnecessary, meaning that no antibiotic was needed at all. This was both harmful and wasteful.

CPF partnered with VUMC Infectious Disease to create a community Antibiotic Stewardship program in Tennessee.

Goals included:

• Changing practitioner and consumer attitudes and behaviors about the use of antibiotics
• Increasing parental knowledge of appropriate antibiotic use
• Increasing community awareness of appropriate antibiotic use and resistance
• Mobilizing practitioner and consumer groups to assist the community in reducing the overuse and misuse of antibiotics

Why would health care providers give antibiotics if they were not needed?

Approximately one-third to one-half of all antibiotic prescriptions were not necessary. Many health care providers reported feeling pressured by worried parents or patients to prescribe antibiotics. They also may not have been sure whether a bacterium or virus was causing the infection. In some cases, laboratory tests, such as for strep throat, were helpful in determining the need for antibiotics.

Why did parents ask their children’s doctor for antibiotics when they may not have been needed?

Some day care centers requested that a child be treated with an antibiotic before returning to care. Additionally, if a child had received an antibiotic in the past for a cold, the parent may have believed the antibiotic was necessary every time the child had a cold. This highlighted the importance of educating parents about when it was appropriate for a doctor to prescribe an antibiotic for their children.

The wording and information above were sourced from the CDC and the Tennessee Health Department.

NOT ACTIVE 

SCOUT-CAP: Pneumonia

Cumberland Pediatric Foundation partners with Vanderbilt in community-acquired pneumonia trial.

Buddy Creech, M.D., M.P.H., and Derek Williams, M.D., M.P.H., were the lead investigators for SCOUT-CAP, an NIH-sponsored multicenter, placebo-controlled trial that compared the efficacy of shorter therapy for children with community-acquired pneumonia. The study aimed to enroll 400 outpatient children at five study sites across the country.

In Nashville, children were recruited from Vanderbilt’s pediatric emergency department and clinics, as well as several community pediatric practices. The study team partnered with the Cumberland Pediatric Foundation (CPF) to engage pediatric practices in the Nashville area.

CPF’s Medical Director and research champion, Dr. Robert Lillard (The Children’s Clinic of Nashville), stated:
“The SCOUT-CAP study was a perfect example of how community and academic physicians could partner together to make improvements in children’s healthcare. Participating pediatricians gained not only by discovering optimal treatments for their patients but also by developing stronger relationships with specialists at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.”

CPF’s board enthusiastically supported these research efforts. Board member Dr. Michael Ladd (Green Hills Pediatric Associates) noted:
“This was a great study. The information we collected helped determine the best antibiotic course for small kids with pneumonia. This was tremendously applicable to all pediatricians, and we were happy to be involved.”