Transforming Pediatric Residency Training to Improve Care for Underserved Children

Theme: Education for the Care of Underserved Populations

Institution: American Academy of Pediatrics

Grant Type: Board Grant

Award Amount: $129,992

Grant Awarded: May 2011

Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Kaczorowski, MD

Grant Description

In January 2010, the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation awarded $500,311 to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to train pediatricians to care for the unique needs of underserved children and their families. These funds were to support AAP’s training and implementation program in seven residency programs over three years.

The objectives of that initiative were to:

Create a model that transforms the way pediatric residency training programs implement community health initiatives

Improve care for underserved children

Enhance future pediatricians’ involvement in caring for underserved populations

Develop faculty skills and knowledge in teaching community pediatrics

Create sustainable community partnerships that promote teamwork among health professionals and community leaders on behalf of underserved children and families

Create a network of faculty willing to support other residency programs through the “pay it forward” model to effect broad scale change for the health profession.

Ultimately, a surprising 37 pediatric and medicine-pediatric residency training programs across the nation applied to be part of this project—nearly 30% of all such programs in the entire United States and many more programs than could be funded with the initial grant.

To remedy this, the Macy Foundation has promised an additional $129,992 for a thirty-one month period, allowing the AAP to take advantage of this high level of interest and fund an additional three residency training programs, bringing the total to ten.

All of the institutions that will receive funding committed to a minimum $10,000 in-kind match, and promised to fundraise an additional $5,000 locally. The three new recipient institutions will also commit to the required matches. Each institution will also mentor another residency program, thereby extending the reach of the initiative to twenty institutions.