OUR CHALLENGES FOR THE 70'S President's Address, 1970

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 465-469
Author(s):  
Russell W. Mapes

For any national organization striving to keep pace with increasingly diverse responsibilities and objectives, there are appropriate times when that organization must pause, reflect, and project before moving forward to meet the goals to which it has dedicated its programs and priorities. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It was June 23, 1930 that 35 pediatricians met in Harper Hospital in Detroit to establish the Academy as the organization to speak for the interests and health of children, as well as the interests of its pediatric members. This year also marks the beginning of a new decade, a decade which holds great promise for the future of pediatrics but a decade which also presents significant challenges which we must meet if we are to deliver quality health care to all children. The American Academy of Pediatrics is indeed fortunate to be able to draw from the accomplishments of a progressive history of achievement, distinguished by the vision of its early founders. In the 1920's the medical community widely predicted that pediatrics was disappearing as a specialty, that in a few years it would merge into the field of general medicine. Concern was also expressed that pediatrics was not sufficiently represented in the echelons of organized medicine and, consequently, the cause of child health was not being served adequately. To pediatricians like Isaac A. Abt, the first president of the Academy, to John L. Morse, its first vice-president, and to Clifford G. Grulee, the Academy's pioneering executive director, these were very real challenges, but they were not causes for pessimism or defeatism.

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-130

To be selected as President of the American Academy of Pediatrics is the greatest honor that could be given me. I approach this year with humility and pledge my best efforts. Never before in the brief history of the Academy has the pressure of time been so enormous and demanded as much immediate vigorous effort as now for the welfare of children. The many problems accompanied by this temporal pressure need no enumeration here. Dr. Logan has mentioned several. With each one, the degree of urgency and the length of time needed to accomplish realistic goals need evaluation. The fact that many problems will take years or decades to solve makes no less important the necessity to address ourselves to them now, before the welfare of a generation of children suffers irrevocably, or before alternative and less desirable solutions are imposed by government or other agencies. The American people are impatient. Witness only Head Start. The Administration was impatient to start the operation before it was pretested so that one year crop of 5 year olds would not be deprived of help. Many Fellows of the Academy, by the same token, have been impatient because the health aspects are not still functioning smoothly. If Head Start works well across the country in 10 years, it will have been a notable achievement. These factors of temporal pressure and impatience disturb pediatricians. Our training as scientists, which advocates careful and deliberate study of problems, makes us distrust hasty diagnosis or ill-considered therapy.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 78 (3) ◽  
pp. 546-547
Author(s):  
HOWARD C. MOFENSON ◽  
THOMAS R. CARACCIO ◽  
SHARON OKUN ◽  
JOSEPH GREENSHER

To the Editor.— In a recent letter to the editor, Cotton and Davidson1 have brought the hazards of baby powder aspiration to the attention of the medical community. We have been monitoring episodes of possible powder inhalation and ingestion in our community (population 3 million) since 1980, when two infants were hospitalized [See table in the PDF file] for powder aspiration and one required ventilator therapy for two days. Our recent data (Table) shows a progressive decrease in the number of possible inhalations and ingestion episodes since 1981 when our article2 was published in Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatrics publicized the hazard of baby powder.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 673-676
Author(s):  
James B. Gillespie

The history of the American Academy of Pediatrics is a chronicle of practical idealism. I will not attempt to recount recent and past achievements of our society, for most have been well documented. It is beyond my capacity to identify the changes in Academy role and structure which may occur in our rapidly changing and complex social and medical environment. However, I do wish to reflect briefly on certain recent programs and actions which point up the expanding role and broader scope of interests of the Academy. These actions and interests, hallmarks of maturity and enhanced concepts of responsibility and accountability, are significant of our times. Wisdom has been gained as we have stood upon the shoulders of our predecessors. Today's Academy cannot be separated from the past. We are deeply indebted to the perceptive, astute leadership of other days and to a dedicated membership which, for 44 years, has closely adhered to our stated goals. We continue to value their counsel. The contributions of those who preceded us are the principal reason why we are where we are today. There is justifiable optimism for the assumption that the Academy will continue its leadership role as the major advocate for improved child health in the Americas. I sincerely believe that success will come to a society whose principal objective is placing concern for others higher on the scale of values of more and more people. We are reassured by a membership and leadership dedicated to service above self. In the words of Robert Frost: "There cannot be much to fear in a country where so many right faces are going by.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 536-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandy F. Henry

Incarcerated people are at disproportionately high risk of contracting COVID-19. Prisons are epicenters for COVID-19 transmission, including to the community. High rates of preexisting health conditions, limited access to quality health care, and inability to social distance make it impossible to reduce the impact of COVID-19 in prisons. Due to a history of compounded social determinants, incarcerated populations are disproportionately composed of people of color and people with stigmatized behavioral health disorders. Rapid decarceration is needed to promote health equity. Historical mass decarceration events demonstrate feasibility to rapidly release large groups of people while maintaining public safety. Iran and Ireland have released substantial portions of their prison populations by transitioning people to home confinement. In the United States and Uganda, some jurisdictions have reduced new incarcerations through policies that decrease arrests. These policies must be globally expanded to contain the epidemic, and its potential health consequences, while addressing health equity.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 52 (2) ◽  
pp. 309-309
Author(s):  
Renee K. Bergner

In its statement, "Anaphylaxis," The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Drugs states in part: "If there is a possibility of sensitivity to . . . penicillin, skin testing for immediate hypersensitivity to the agent should be performed prior to its therapeutic administration."1 The Penicillin Study Group of the American Academy of Allergy reported in 1971 that only 17 (30.4%) of 56 patients with a history of immediate (including anaphylactic) reactions to penicillin exhibited positive skin tests to penicillin G.2


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1961 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1019-1019
Author(s):  
Carl C. Fischer

FROM TIME to time Presidents of the American Academy of Pediatrics have used this means of sharing with the fellowship, thoughts which seem to them to be of mutual interest. Last year, President George Wheatley had such a message in every issue, covering a wide variety of interesting and stimulating topics. I will not plan to necessarily continue this policy of having a message for each issue, but will do so whenever the subject matter seems to warrant one. At this, the beginning of a new year for the Academy, it seems appropriate to present to the membership at large a few of the thoughts which I presented in Chicago upon my inauguration as your President. It has recently been my pleasure to reread the two little volumes sent to all Academy Fellows a few years ago, the one containing the Presidential addresses of the first 20 presidents, and the other, Dr. Marshall Pease's stimulating "History of the Academy." I heartily recommend these to any of you who might be interested in the conception, delivery and growth and development of our organization. Of first importance at this time, it seems to me, is the review of the primary objectives of our Academy as originally drawn up by Dr. Grulee and his associates more than 30 years ago. These are: "The object of the Academy shall be to foster and stimulate interest in Pediatrics and correlate all aspects of the word for the welfare of children which properly come within the scope of pediatrics."


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1966 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 712-755
Author(s):  
Robert Lawson

AT THE first meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1931, a committee was established to explore the possibility of Board certification. After consultation with representatives of the national societies then in existence, the American Board of Pediatrics was incorporated in 1933. The purpose was to certify a man as a specialist in the practice of pediatrics and an early decision was that the qualifications should be set up by the men practicing in the field. It is of interest that other suggestions such as separate state qualifying boards, certification by the National Board of Medical Examiners, or certification by a board run by the medical schools were all rejected. The decision was made that the Board be formed by appointment of three men by each of the prominent pediatric groups of the time, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Section on Pediatrics of the American Medical Association, and the American Pediatric Society. Once appointed, the Board members would not be responsible to the appointing societies. After discussion by the three societies, the Board was formed. Dr. Borden Veeder, to whom I am indebted for some of this background, was the first president, Dr. Henry Helmholz, vice president, and Dr. C. Anderson Aldrich, secretary. Because of the need for more help in the actual examinations, the Board appointed additional interested pediatricians as official examiners. In general, succeeding appointments to the Board were made from this latter group. In 1960, the charter and by-laws were modified to spell out the method of appointment so that at present the term of appointment is six years. After the lapse of one year a man may be appointed for one more term.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1954 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-77
Author(s):  
Roger L. J. Kennedy

July 1, 1954, marks a milestone in the history of the American Academy of Pediatrics. For 22 years Doctor Hugh McCulloch has served the Academy, first as co-editor of the Journal of Pediatrics and since the establishment in 1948 of our own publication, Pediatrics, as Editor-in-Chief. Throughout his long term of office he has been an outstanding editor and in addition has found time to serve the Academy in many other ways. He was nominated by the Academy for membership on the American Board of Pediatrics and served as Chairman of the Committee on Rheumatic Fever, to mention only a few of his many activities. Few men have given as much of themselves to pediatrics and American medicine. Since he first served as a member of the Committee on Publication in 1931, Doctor McCulloch has been an inspiration to everyone who has had an opportunity to work with him. His superior qualities of executive ability and imagination have been important factors in establishing Pediatrics as an outstanding publication. Doctor McCulloch has found it necessary to ask to be relieved as Editor-in-Chief because of increasing demands on his time. It was with sincere regret and profound appreciation of Doctor McCulloch's contributions to the American Academy of Pediatrics that the Executive Board acceded to his request. It is impossible to express the magnitude of the debt that the Academy owes Doctor McCulloch for his many years of service. With the selection of Doctor Charles D. May as Editor-in-Chief, the Executive Board presents to its members a fellow member of the Academy who has a broad viewpoint of the responsibilities of the position. He is typical of the new leadership which steadily develops within the Academy and upon which we depend for even greater advances in the future.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 776-784
Author(s):  
David E. Rogers ◽  
Robert J. Blendon ◽  
Ruby P. Hearn

I am honored to be with you today. I am particularly flattered that the American Academy of pediatrics-an institution with such a proud history of single-minded advocacy of the health and welfare of children-would permit an internist-turned-philanthropist to make this keynote address. I have long admired the Academy. I tend to believe that the secret of your remarkable success and the respect you have been accorded by American society derives from your unswerving devotion to your original mission. Many of our professional societies, while initially spawned to help address the needs of those who are their special concern, have come to be more preoccupied with the special needs and problems of their membership. Not so with this organization. Better health and better opportunities for children have remained your rallying points, and the needs of pediatricians as such have been distinctly secondary. This has not been lost on your admirers. I hope you can keep this refreshing idealism intact in our current cynical world. Your 1980 ten-point agenda for American children has a magnificent Jeffersonian ring to it.1 It is a bill of rights for children that deserves wide attention and circulation, and I congratulate you. So this is a historic and significant occasion. It is historic because it represents your 50th Anniversary.2 It is historic because we have just completed a decade in which many of the programs designed to improve the health and welfare of children launched with your help in the 1960s have borne fruit. It is significant because you are launching your lofty ten-point agenda.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1958 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 492-493
Author(s):  
Edgar E. Martmer

THE GROWTH and development of the American Academy of Pediatrics are matters of record set forth in able fashion by Marshall Pease in his History of the American Academy of Pediatrics and Paul Beaven's For the Welfare of Children, a compilation of the Presidential Addresses beginning with Dr. Isaac Abt's presentation at the first annual meeting of this organization. These two volumes recite the accomplishments of the Academy during its first 25 years. The small group of 32 men present at the organizational meeting in 1930 has increased to more than 5,000 members distributed throughout the western hemisphere. The founders conceived the Academy as a service group dedicated to the improvement of child health and welfare. Able leaders through the years have strengthened its position and influence by their untiring efforts to attain these objectives and have been aided at all times by the co-operation of the members. The influence of the Academy in matters relating to child health and welfare is demonstrated by the respect with which its pronouncements are received by medical organizations, governmental agencies and lay groups. Its counsel is sought whenever matters relating to child health and welfare are considered. We have a great responsibility to maintain our position in the field of child health and welfare and to extend the influence of the Academy. We must continue to be an organization of high ideals and noble purposes, for our growth demonstrates our objectives are worthwhile. The success which the Academy has achieved in fostering interest in pediatrics and correlating all aspects of the work for the welfare of children has been accomplished by providing leadership, our willingness to co-operate with interested groups, and through education.


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