2014 Conference Brochure with Presenters

2013 Conference Presenters

MVCCP Staff and Partner Transitions

MVCCP’s first Care Coordinator, Gail Davidson, has retired!
In the last 27 months, she managed over 500 referrals to the project.

Gail was an RN for 34 years, (a nursing professor for 10 years); starting her career in the NICU and finished it helping to change the system of care in Kern County! Thank you for your service, Gail!

Another experienced PHN, Arthur Manalac, RN, has assumed the duties of the Care Coordinator.

Also, our county Director of Public Health Nursing, Lucinda Wasson, is retiring at the end of June, after 35 years. A strong partner and advocate for care coordination, Cindy will be missed!

Transitions like this must be as seamless as possible to sustain our progress! We thank the Kern County Public Health Services Department, for its ongoing commitment to hire wonderful staff to support MVCCP's Care Coordination for Children with Special Health Care Needs.

Gail Davidson and a few of her friends!

Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health funds MVCCP Replication

On November 16, 2012, the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, Palo Alto, California announced ^* a two year grant to the Kern County Medically Vulnerable Care Coordination Project (MVCCP) to:

• provide free technical assistance in three California counties
• to assist these counties in replicating the MVCCP care coordination model and toolkit
• to implement a local care coordination project for children 0 – 5 years of age with special health care needs in their county..

For more information, please contact:

Marc Thibault, MVCCP Project Director, at (949) 842-5671 or email marc.thibault.llc@gmail.com.

* http://www.lpfch.org/newsroom/releases/grants_11_16_12.html

UPDATED DECEMBER 10, 2012

Our November 1, 2012 Fall Conference was a great success! Our topic was:

The Impact of Premature Birth: Lessons Learned Serving Premature Infants and their Families

We had 165 participants, including: Physicians; 90 RNs; Social workers; Insurers; Case managers; Foster parents; Therapists; Clinicians; Parent educators; Child care providers; and many other community organization representatives.

 

Conference Outcomes: Focus on Premature Birth:

o   Learned the biological and health dimensions of prematurity

o   Met diverse local and regional partners

o   Shared practical strategies and tools

o   Defined common issues and solutions

o   Helped to enhance the system of health care and support services in the region

The Day’s Panel Presentations:

 

Introduction: The Impact of Premature Birth in Kern County

·   Marc R. Thibault, MA, MVCCP Project Director

·   Gail Davidson, RN, MVCCP Care Coordinator

Infant-Family Mental Health Panel

·  Isabell B. Purdy, PhD, NNP, CPNP, Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Neonatology & Developmental Biology, David Geffen School of Medicine and UCLA Medical Center      

·  Mary Alice Melwak, PhD, CPNP, CNS, CCRN, UCLA Medical Center, NICU High Risk Infant Follow-up Clinic

Panel on Substance Exposed Infants and Children 

·  Lily Alvarez, Behavioral Health Administrator, Kern Co Mental Health Department

·  Ranjit Padhy, M.D., UCLA Assistant Clinical Professor, Child & Adolescent & Adult Outpatient Services 

·  Michelle Curioso, PHN, KC MCAH Coordinator

·  Felicia Skaggs M.S. MFTI, Supervising MH Clinician Kern County Gate Team/West Kern/SART

Specialty Care Panel

·  Tony Pallitto, MSA-HCM, Administrator, California Children's Services, Kern County (CCS)

·  Shellby Dumlao, Supervising PHN III, CCS

·  Loalea Underwood, PHN II, Case Manager, CCS

·  Robert Flores, Fiscal Support Technician, CCS

·  Gary Frazier, Vice President of Business Development, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital

 

 Panel on Substance Exposed Infants and Children 

Specialty Care Panel

Infant-Family Mental Health Panel



Learning and Working Together for A Better Future - November 2, 2011

On November 2, 2011, the Kern County Medically Vulnerable (MV) Care Coordination Project brought together 120+ community health professionals from Kern and the Central Valley for a one-day conference at Kern Regional Center.

Purpose of the Conference:

o Focus on Health Literacy – What is it? Why is it the key to better health care?
o Share practical strategies and tools
o Meet diverse local and regional partners
o Define common issues and solutions
o Jointly plan future approaches to enhance the system of health care and support services in Kern County

Panel Presentations:

1. Establishing and Maintaining a Medical Home for MV Children
- Madhu Bhogal, MD, Medical Director, NICU/Pediatrics, Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
- Sudhir Patel, MD, Neonatologist, Kern Medical Center
- Corazon Yuzon, MD, Pediatrician, Clinica Sierra Vista

2. How to Reach “Hard to Reach” Families of MV Children
- Carmen Burgos, Project Manager, Health Consumer Center, Greater Bakersfield Legal Assistance, Inc.
- Julie DePetro, RN, Supervisor, Medically Vulnerable Infant Program, Clinica Sierra Vista
- Jean Roberts, PHN, Kern County Public Health Services
- Hope Youngblood, MSW, Social Worker, Mercy Southwest Hospital

3. Assessing and Treating Pre-K Children with Developmental and Behavioral Challenges
- Tonya Crowder, Marriage and Family Therapist, Henrietta Weill Child Guidance Clinic
- Isabell B. Purdy, PhD, NNP, CPNP, Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Neonatology & Developmental Biology, David Geffen School of Medicine and UCLA Medical Center
- Troy Tickle, SELPA Coordinator, Kern County Superintendent of Schools

4. Health Literacy of MV Families and Providers – Resources and Tools to Navigate the System
- Gail Davidson, APRN, BC, MSN, PHN, MVCCP Care Coordinator
- Monique Moreland, RN, PHNII, Foster Care Public Health Nurse
- Diane Nicholls, RNC, MSN, NNP-BC, HRIF Coordinator, KMC
- Javier Parra, Health Education Instructor, Bakersfield Adult School

3 Month Pilot Begins

With the support of our local funding partners, we launched our pilot on June 1st. During the three month pilot period (June, July and August): A core group of partners representing Kern County Public Health Nursing, Kern Regional Center, California Children’s Services, MVIP, Kern County SELPA, KCSOS, BCSD, and Caring Corner are holding weekly MVI case review meetings every Thursday at 9 a.m. The Case Review Committee hears presentations from hospital NICU nursing/discharge staff (5 - 10 minutes each) of NICU cases that nursing staff believe require additional discussion and support besides normal case management.

The full MVI Workgroup continues to meet on the FIRST Thursday of every month at First 5 Kern so we can:

1. Fine tune the MVI case selection and review process
2. Streamline reporting procedures throughout the pilot period and beyond
3. Continue to discuss MVI needs
4. Meet existing and new partners and share news
5. Hear informational presentations.