President's Message
October President's Message
#IVoteKids
Tude Haecker, MD, FAAP
#IVoteKids
Tude Haecker, MD, FAAP
Election Day 2020 is fast approaching! Tuesday, November 3, 2020 is 1 week away. That day has a very important meaning for me because my parents were European immigrants who came to this country when they were in their late twenties. I was born here, which makes me a first generation American. I clearly remember the day, when I was in elementary school, that they became US citizens. They were so proud to become naturalized citizens and to be able to cast their vote. It was a dream come true for them to have the opportunity to live in a participatory democracy. Until the day they died, my parents never missed an opportunity to cast their vote.
So, to see the AAP take such a strong approach to the "Get Out the Vote" campaign this year has been so important to me personally. The AAP is especially focusing on the connection between health equity and voting. Health equity insures that regardless of background, every individual has the opportunity to live to their full health potential. Race, class, gender, or other social circumstances should not systematically make it more difficult to attain good health. Data shows that young adults who vote and who are civically engaged have better mental health, achieve higher levels of education, and attain higher incomes. Communities with higher voter turnout are in fact healthier communities. States with a higher voter turnout have better access to healthcare. Conversely, socioeconomic inequality and poor voter turnout as a result of that inequity is associated with poorer self-reported health. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the widespread inequities in our healthcare, education and justice systems, as well as the health disparities those inequities create.
Please consider using your voice and passion to not only "Vote for Kids" but to advocate on behalf of the most vulnerable of our citizens. There are almost 3 million children under age 19 in the state of Pennsylvania, over 30% of whom live in poverty. How do we best advocate for those children -whether they live in Philadelphia, the poorest big city in America or in rural Potter county? How do we advocate for health insurance access for all children? As mentioned previously in this post, the PA AAP has a very dynamic Advocacy Committee that meets monthly, chaired by Dr. Will Keough and Dr. Gabe Cisneros. Consider joining that Committee! Get involved state-wide or locally in your community or in your PA AAP region and with your regional representative to the PA AAP Board.
We need to address the inequities our patients and families face, which is one of the goals of the newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. This Committee, chaired by Dr. Deb Moss and Dr. Priscilla Mpasi as vice-chair, will be offering a series of webinars over the next month to engage with you, our members, on discussions around Implicit Bias and a review of the August 2019 AAP Policy Statement on The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health. We are pleased that two of the three original authors will be presenting, along with others working in our own District III. We need your ideas and input on how to establish systematic outreach efforts to diversify our membership and our board. So, Dr. Nathan Chomilo from the MN Chapter of the AAP has said that advocacy is not enough, we need to use the ballot box as well. Please take the time to vote!
"Children are counting on us; vote like their future depends on it."
Check out the toolkit and resources available on the AAP website to promote the Election 2020: Vote Kids. I care for kids and I vote! As always, your concerns, thoughts and suggestions are most welcome. Please email me at haecker@email.chop.edu or Annette at amyarick@paaap.org at any time.
So, to see the AAP take such a strong approach to the "Get Out the Vote" campaign this year has been so important to me personally. The AAP is especially focusing on the connection between health equity and voting. Health equity insures that regardless of background, every individual has the opportunity to live to their full health potential. Race, class, gender, or other social circumstances should not systematically make it more difficult to attain good health. Data shows that young adults who vote and who are civically engaged have better mental health, achieve higher levels of education, and attain higher incomes. Communities with higher voter turnout are in fact healthier communities. States with a higher voter turnout have better access to healthcare. Conversely, socioeconomic inequality and poor voter turnout as a result of that inequity is associated with poorer self-reported health. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the widespread inequities in our healthcare, education and justice systems, as well as the health disparities those inequities create.
Please consider using your voice and passion to not only "Vote for Kids" but to advocate on behalf of the most vulnerable of our citizens. There are almost 3 million children under age 19 in the state of Pennsylvania, over 30% of whom live in poverty. How do we best advocate for those children -whether they live in Philadelphia, the poorest big city in America or in rural Potter county? How do we advocate for health insurance access for all children? As mentioned previously in this post, the PA AAP has a very dynamic Advocacy Committee that meets monthly, chaired by Dr. Will Keough and Dr. Gabe Cisneros. Consider joining that Committee! Get involved state-wide or locally in your community or in your PA AAP region and with your regional representative to the PA AAP Board.
We need to address the inequities our patients and families face, which is one of the goals of the newly formed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee. This Committee, chaired by Dr. Deb Moss and Dr. Priscilla Mpasi as vice-chair, will be offering a series of webinars over the next month to engage with you, our members, on discussions around Implicit Bias and a review of the August 2019 AAP Policy Statement on The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health. We are pleased that two of the three original authors will be presenting, along with others working in our own District III. We need your ideas and input on how to establish systematic outreach efforts to diversify our membership and our board. So, Dr. Nathan Chomilo from the MN Chapter of the AAP has said that advocacy is not enough, we need to use the ballot box as well. Please take the time to vote!
"Children are counting on us; vote like their future depends on it."
Check out the toolkit and resources available on the AAP website to promote the Election 2020: Vote Kids. I care for kids and I vote! As always, your concerns, thoughts and suggestions are most welcome. Please email me at haecker@email.chop.edu or Annette at amyarick@paaap.org at any time.