along the road - stjosephchildrenshealth.org · would give away her last penny, make a gift out of...

WINTER 2018

Along the RoadThe CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health Journey to a Healthier Lancaster Community

2 | CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health | www.CHIStJosephChildrensHealth.org

The Biggest Heart

Letter from the President

Elena, my oldest daughter, has the biggest heart I’ve encountered. When she sees a person, or an animal, in need or sad she’s quick to respond. Without giving it a second thought, she would give away her last penny, make a gift out of her favorite toy, or give away the book she just bought as a present all to bring some comfort and happiness to another. I absolutely adore this about her.

Sadly, somewhere along the way many of us lose this innocence, this desire to improve the lives of those around us, this desire to be of service to our brothers and sisters.

My staff teases me about my admiration of Robert F. Kennedy and the ideals he embodied during his brief time with us. A poster from his 1968 presiden-tial campaign hangs in my office. In these chaotic political times, I find that his words ring as true today as they likely did in the 1960s. When orienting new staff or volunteers or talking about what the culture is like at CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health, I often call upon one of RFK’s famous quotes, “There are those who look at things the way they are and ask why…I

dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” I feel we are called to embrace this philosophy in our work at CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health. Likely none of us will ever be in a position or work for another organization in which we will be given the opportunity to fully embrace those words and envision ways we would work to make our world and our communities the place of dreams.

This past summer we began rolling out a new initiative at CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health – our Healthy Columbia Initiative. To us, the idea was pretty simple – What could happen if we direct-ed our resources toward giving a community the resources and programs necessary for good health? How could we play a role in making a community

healthier, more vibrant and more successful? What if health was the building block upon which commu-nities thrive? We’ve started efforts to remove lead from community homes and businesses, provided community meals and social opportunities, vaccinat-ed residents against the flu and most recently began providing access to formula and first stage baby foods for any family in need within the Borough.

Most of what we have created and the programs we have initiated as a part of Healthy Columbia

have not been tied to participant income level. This has confused some members of the community and really troubled some people looking at what is offered from the “outside.” I was asked about this programmatic nuance by a reporter the other week when talking about the First Foods Access for Ev-eryone program. To us, the answer is pretty simple. There are certain things that, as a community, we should assure are available to every resident – food and healthcare fall into those categories. It’s not a matter of seeing things as they are. It’s a matter of making things as they should be.

God bless,

Phil GoropoulosPresident, CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health

717.397.7625 | CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health | 3

“There are those who look at things the way they are and ask why…I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” – Robert F. Kennedy

What do you think of when you hear “children’s health”? Physical health, good nutrition, well child check-ups…

At CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health our vision for creating a healthy community extends beyond the standard defini-tion. Our approach to children’s health includes not only every child’s physical and behavioral health needs; it also includes the health and well-being of the child’s family and the child’s physical and social environment. We recognize that a child’s health is determined

by many factors, which is why our care for children extends beyond the walls of our three clinical service centers.

Family Wellness Case Managers support families by helping to navigate the healthcare system including screening for eligibility of health insurance benefits and finding needed health services for the entire family. Our Case Managers assist families in creating a healthy physical and social environment for their child(ren) by directing caregivers to available resources in their community including utilities/food assistance, safe and affordable housing, lead remediation, financial resources, recreational activities, support groups, and other services the family needs to be healthy in all areas of life.

To the left is a summary of Allison’s story and how she has worked alongside a Family Wellness Case Manager to move towards her family’s health goals. (The individ-uals’ names have been changed to protect privacy).

Allison’s story is a great example of how oftentimes a family’s vision for health and happiness includes more than just physical and behavioral health concerns. We agree that access to affordable and meaningful after school activities is important for children’s healthy development and that investing in a home is a part of creating a healthy future for your family. The Family Wellness Case Management Department is looking forward to continuing our work of thinking outside of the box about health and assisting families along their unique health journeys.

– Aimee Clement, MSW Social Services Manager

Family Wellness Case Management

Children’s Health: Thinking Outside the Box

4

Allison is a single mother with three c

hildren. Her youngest

son,

Michael, started having

trouble in school. The school s

taff

recommended a psychiatric e

valuation. Allison sched

uled her son

an appointment at our

Behavioral Health Center where Michael

was diagnosed with ADHD and a plan

was developed for his

continued clinical care.

Shortly after Michael was diagnose

d,

Allison agreed to meet with a Family Wellness Case Manager.

During this meeting Allison set th

ree priorities for her

and her

family’s health: 1) Find ways to supp

ort her son in school in

light

of his diagnosis 2) Get her child

ren involved in low cost sport

s/

activities and 3) Improve her c

redit score so that sh

e can buy

a house one day. The Family Wellness Case Manager and

Allison

came up with a plan to support h

er son in school, conn

ected with

a community resource that pr

ovided financial assistance for

her

to sign up Michael and h

is siblings for a sports

team, found a

way to supplement the fam

ily’s groceries each m

onth to save

money, and set up a meeting with a financial cou

nselor to start

repairing Allison’s cred

it so that one day she

can buy a house.

4

Parents are constantly bombarded with emerging health trends on what they should or should not be doing for their children. One public health issue that continues to seriously impact children and communities is the risk of lead poisoning. The ingestion or inhalation of lead by young children (particularly those under 6 years old whose bodies absorb more lead than older children and adults) can result in the development of severe lasting physical and behavioral health problems. Lead can be found in homes pre-dating 1978, water pipes, children’s toys, cosmetics, and more. Healthy Columbia is commit-ted to raising awareness about the dangers of lead and the risk of lead poisoning by equipping families with the information and the resources they need.

When families learn that their home contains lead based paint, they often feel blindsided. It is not something they often think about in the day to day hustle and bustle of life. They know lead is dangerous, but are not aware of the signs to look for or the proper cleaning techniques to avoid exposure. Children are not always tested for lead at the recommended ages of 1 and 2 because they do not look or act sick. When a home or child is tested and the results come back positive for lead, the family often feels overwhelmed and uncertain about what to do to address this potentially devastating problem that could have been avoided.

With 90% of homes in Columbia Borough built before 1978, this is the story of many individuals and families in the Columbia community. Lead-Safe Columbia seeks to take a proactive approach by testing homes for lead and removing the lead hazards before a child is poisoned. Lead poisoning is 100% preventable. If a child is exposed to

lead and has an elevated blood lead level, eliminating the source of lead, practicing good nutrition, and creating an enriched environment can combat the negative effects. Through Healthy Columbia’s Lead-Safe Columbia project, families living in the Borough can have their homes tested for free, regardless of any qualifying factors.

There is still much work to be done. Healthy Columbia seeks to work with Borough leaders and residents to raise the standard for what qualifies as safe and healthy housing by empowering families to create lead-safe homes. From grandparents who want a safe home for their grandchildren to visit to the young married couple who is concerned for their unborn baby, we can all work together to create a healthy community.

Healthy Columbia has also been doing more than screening houses for lead. This fall, in partner-ship with UPMC Pinnacle, we held a free flu shot event for the community to be armed against the flu. This Christmas season, we hosted over 120 residents for a Pancake Breakfast. In January, we launched the First Foods Access for Everyone Initiative, which ensures Columbia families with children 12 months and younger have access to formula and nutritious first foods regardless of income. Columbia’s Baby Boxes, an initiative that provides a safe sleep space for newborns in the borough, have been flying off the shelves. The first six months of the Healthy Columbia project have been invigorating, with so much more to come.

– Kesley Miller, Healthy Columbia Program Manager

Healthy Columbia

Actively Creating Healthy Communities


As we visited with family this past holiday season it was enjoyable to see our younger generation growing and coming into their own. For me it was also a time of reflection thinking about various family traits, and more specifically, teeth. Why do some family members have no original teeth left, and others have them all remaining. Why do people lose teeth? Is it a lack of access to care? Is it a lack of interest in dental hygiene? Is it a disease or a health condition that affected their oral health? Or, is it, dare I say, the family’s history of “soft teeth”.

Why the quotes you ask? You see, in the dental profession, we actually express frustration about the term “soft teeth”. You can Google “soft teeth” and get many answers from many dentists about their thoughts. What it comes down to is there really isn’t such a thing as a “soft tooth”. There may have been genetic issues during pregnancy or some other negative health issues during childhood that caused an abnormality in tooth development, but that’s a topic for another article.

So why do some families have a more difficult time keeping their teeth even if they do brush and floss daily and see the dentist twice a year? It really comes down to family and the traits that we share. More specifically it’s about the bacteria we share.

When a baby is conceived there are changes that happen to the mother and the developing fetus that can impact the mother’s oral health. Hormones are going crazy,

mom’s gums get sore and bleed, and let’s not forget about the dreaded morning sickness. Some of these things we just can’t control. What we CAN control during pregnan-cy are our oral health habits. Taking steps to take care of your teeth during pregnancy can lead to a reduced risk of premature babies and other health complications for the mom during the pregnancy. Most recently, studies have found that the bacteria that cause cavities in the mouth of the mother have transferred to the amniotic fluid of the developing baby. Does this mean the baby will have

cavities when he or she is born? No, it doesn’t. A newborn baby’s mouth is considered sterile. Although, once a moth-er who has a history of cavities and gum disease kisses her newborn baby on the mouth, it’s game on! She just in-fected her beautiful newborn baby with the bacteria from her mouth. The same goes for kisses from grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles. And there you go – a family “trait” has just been passed on to the newest generation. Your whole family has shared their oral bacteria with your child. We can do this by kissing, sharing drinks, cleaning a

Dental Services

What About Those Soft Teeth?


It is important to practice good oral health habits both during pregnancy and once

your baby is born.

pacifier with our own mouth before giving it back to the baby and testing the temperature of baby food on our lips before we feed our infants.

It is important to practice good oral health habits both during pregnancy and once your baby is born. We make the following recommendations:

• It is okay to go to the dentist while you are preg-nant. Your dental team really likes to see you in your second trimester unless you are having a dental situation that requires you to be seen sooner or even later into your pregnancy.

• Brush, floss and rinse twice a day.

• For morning sickness, rinse with plain water and DON’T brush your teeth for at least one hour. This al-lows your saliva to neutralize the acids in your mouth. When the hour is up brush with fluoridated tooth-paste and, if you can, rinse with a mixture of baking soda and water.

• Have a balanced diet and reduce the acidic juices, sugary beverages and sodas you drink.

• Take the time to take care of your teeth post-partum. You need to be healthy too!

• Once your little one is born you need to think about infant oral care. We encourage you to wipe your ba-by’s gums with a clean moist washcloth twice a day.

• Do not put your little one to bed with a bottle or sippy cup that contains anything other than water. Formula, breastmilk, milk and juices have natural sugars in them that can cause the bacteria to have a FEAST on baby’s teeth overnight. Bacteria + Sugar + Teeth = Cavities

• As soon as your baby has a tooth, start brushing the tooth/teeth twice a day with a water dampened baby toothbrush or a finger brush. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends no more than a smear or rice-size amount of fluoridated toothpaste for children less than three years of age.

• Be sure to take your child to the dentist within 6 months of their first tooth appearing or by age one.

For those of us who have already been affected by family traits, please brush, floss and rinse twice a day and see your dentist twice a year for an exam. You will lead a healthier life.

– Laura Myers, PHRDH – Director of Dental Services



As the temperatures in Lancaster dip into single digits, Farmer Cindi Hughes at Heritage Creek Farm Camp and Education Center plans for warmer days. From the windows of her farm house in Mount Joy, Cindi can see 30 acres of frosty fields. The children’s garden which helps the educators at Heritage Creek teach children how to grow fruits and vegetables is covered in snow. The animals are tucked away in their warm winter shelters awaiting the arrival of spring and the return of children to the farm.

Her head buried in seed catalogs, Farmer Cindi has a vision. “We will start seed indoors in Mid-March and then transplant them into the fields after the threat of frost in Mid-May. As soon as the weather breaks we will start planting the Children’s Gardens so students visiting the farm in the spring can participate in planting activities and also see crops in various stages of growth. As part of our educational mission of teaching food origin, crops are planted, maintained and harvested with the helping hands of students and campers. In 2017 we had about ½ acre in food production and in 2018 we expect to increase that to close to an acre!”

Cindi and Ed Hughes live on a working farm which they developed into an education center with co-founder Rochelle Hildreth Dietz in 2011. The farm is home to a very successful summer camp (yes, there is a waiting list) for children ages 3-17 and farmer Cindi also hosts school

groups on her farm from April to November. Farmer Cin-di has been working with CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health for three years and counting. We originally contacted Heritage Creek Farm Camp and Education Center (HCFC) because we planned to form a Farm to School relation-ship between Heritage Creek and the Columbia Borough School District (CBSD). Our goal was to increase the students’ knowledge of local fruits and vegetables and shift their food preferences toward liking, choosing, and eating “healthy” foods more often at home and school.

In the education department at CHI St. Joseph Chil-dren’s Health, we are spending countless hours in the community teaching kids they should eat crunchy fruits like apples. We say, “apples are healthy choices for your teeth and your whole bodies and while that’s true, it probably isn’t enough to change what people do or the way kids eat ” said Lizzy Krajan, Education Associate and nutrition project lead at CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health. In our first year of working with the students at Columbia Middle School-Taylor Campus, we confirmed kids really do eat what they know. Thorough surveys and repeated taste tests revealed students loved fruit - especially oranges – and some even liked vegetables. “It makes sense that kids loved oranges, but we had been endorsing apples for so long, we actually believed children in Central Pennsylvania would know more about them and love them as much as we do” said Kate Huhn, Education Program Manager.

Children’s Health Education

Nurturing the Seeds of Change


We wanted kids to love the fruits and vegeta-bles that grow “in their backyards” and when that wasn’t true we had to face reality that kids in Columbia, just like so many kids in the US, have no idea where their school cafeteria or grocery stores get the food they eat. Kids’ preferences for food are rooted deeply in their daily exposure to things. It’s not that they won’t try new things, because they do that 70% of the time in our program. It’s not even taste, a highly subjective variable we ruled out early in our analysis. What limits their diet is opportunity. They eat what they know and what is easily accessible.

Farmer Cindi and the farm educators at HCFC agreed to help CHI teach Columbia students more about their food – and not just food groups – by using an innovative farm-based curriculum to show students the connection between dirt and their dinner. HCFC brings the farm to the school and their apple sauce demonstration is always a hit as students take turns making and eating fresh apple sauce.

However, when the students visit the farm, as they’ve done every year of the program, they grow exponentially. Students calculate how much they would need to grow if they were farmers. They learn what grows locally and which parts of the plant we eat - roots, leaves, stems, etc. Seeing them crunch numbers and veggies assures us these students can remain healthy learners. By far their favorite activity is planting potatoes. If you thought they wouldn’t want to get their sneakers dirty, think again! Farmer Cindi taught the students to plant seed potatoes with their “eyes to the sky” and every single student dug into the challenge.

Continued support from the Columbia Borough School District will enable CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health and Heritage Creek Farm Camp to do even more with Co-lumbia students this Spring. We are working through the details to provide indoor and outdoor gardening oppor-tunities on site, plus educational visits to the farm for students at CMS Taylor and Park Elementary. Assuming all goes well, the crops we plant this spring at Heritage Creek will help cultivate a student-run Farmer’s Market available to CBSD students and families by Fall 2018.

The Farmer’s Market may not have been a part of the original Farm to School plan, but the students’ enthusiasm for planting and then eating the potatoes they grew, nurtured the idea along. We are deeply indebted to the food service team at CBSD and Christi Beazley of Carol H Gilbert Consulting for helping us cook and serve what the students grow. The root of this project may be the food, but the program itself has planted the seeds of change in Columbia. We have all been struck, maybe even a little humbled, by what Columbia students will do – when given the chance. Each year we feed them a new opportunity and they take it - why not a farmer’s market? As for Farmer Cindi, she is indoors right now, but not for long. By April you’ll find the education team from CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health and several hundred Columbia Students at Heritage Creek Farm Camp planting potatoes. It will be easy to find us. We’ll be the group with our eyes to the sky!

– Lori Albert McCracken, MSS – Director of Education

A core philosophy behind the creation of the Behavioral Health Center at CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health is the belief that the environment in which we raise our children and the choices we make, as a unit, directly impacts the short-term and long-term mental well-being of our chil-dren. How we choose to eat, how we communicate, how we elect to discipline our children, how much or how little we exercise and even how much sleep we get at night all leave a lasting impression as children grow up into adults. No one has all of the answers, but at the same time we can all use some help and support as we strive to provide the best for our children. Recognizing this, incorporated family wellness counseling as an essential component in our treatment philosophy for all of the children (and teens) en-rolling in our behavioral health center. Thanks to funding from the Catholic Health Initiatives Mission and Ministry Fund and the Lancaster Osteopathic Health Foundation, this unique service offered to patients and their families at CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health is provided at no-cost to the family and provides parents, siblings and patients with important preventative and self-care strategies and techniques essential to long-term health and improved family functioning.

Working with our psychiatrist, nurse practitioner and therapists, the Family Wellness Counselors at CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health function as a family wellness coach assisting children and families as they identify goals for the future and then work in partnership with them to develop a “roadmap” to success. The family wellness counselors tailor their support and strategies to meet each family’s individual needs, with an emphasis

on healthy lifestyle choices and improved communication. It is our belief that healthy choices are the foundation for emotional and behavioral health.

The family wellness journey starts with an assessment completed by the family in conjunction with a Family Wellness Counselor. The two part assessment – complet-ed in the home and at the CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health Center - helps to determine family strengths and possible areas of need. From the assessment, the family and the CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health team map a path forward with our family wellness counselors providing support, feedback, and guidance along the way.

Families engaging the Family Wellness Counseling Program often request support and guidance addressing: nutrition, stress management and discipline/positive behavioral reinforcement.

Launched in August with the opening of the behavioral health center, families have already reported positive changes and development in their family relationships. Parents have reported positive behavioral changes in their children as a result of adaptations in parenting style, and great joy at the discovering of a child’s willingness to try a new and healthy food.

Coupled with the psychotherapy and psychiatry services offered at the Behavioral Health Center, the Family Wellness Counseling Program helps position each child and family in our program for success and improved mental wellbeing.

– Kim Nettleton, MSW – Behavioral Health Center Manager

Children’s Behavioral HealthFamily Wellness Counselors: An Essential Resource


CHILDREN’S BEHAVIORAL HEALTHThomas Foley, MD – PsychiatristMary Jo Hanley, CRNP – Psychiatric Nurse PractitionerLindsey Baker, MA – TherapistKim Myer, LSW – TherapistJillian Black, MEd – Family Wellness CounselorRebecca Edwards, MEd – Family Wellness CounselorNow Hiring – Family Wellness CounselorKim Nettleton, MSW – Program Manager

CHILDREN’S DENTAL SERVICESColumbia Dental CenterElizabeth Harrison, DMD – DentistSherri Hosler – PHRDH – Hygienist Kiauna VanHook – EFDA – Expanded Function Dental AssistantNow Hiring – Expanded Function Dental AssistantBrenda Ramos – Dental AssistantAlison Rodriguez – Program AssistantSharon Rombalski – Program Manager

Lancaster Dental CenterJeanette Pikarski, DMD – DentistMary Wubbolt, PHRDH – HygienistLatae Schley – Expanded Function Dental AssistantNow Hiring – Dental AssistantGerardo Diaz – Program Manager

CHILDREN’S HEALTH EDUCATION Heather Ha – Education CoordinatorLizzy Krajan – Education AssociateMatt Martsolf – Education CoordinatorKatherine Huhn – Program ManagerHank – Health Hero

FAMILY WELLNESS CASE MANAGEMENT Angelique Gebhard – Case ManagerKerri Schaaf, MS – Case ManagerLeah Yarnell – Case ManagerAimee Clement, MSW – Social Services Manager

LEADERSHIP AND ADMINISTRATION Ruth Fellabaum – Executive AssistantPhilip K. Goropoulos, MNM – PresidentBeth Grossmann – Vice PresidentLori Albert McCracken, MSS – Director of EducationKelsey Miller – Program Manager, Healthy ColumbiaLaura Myers – Director of Dental ServicesRose Sachs – Patient Support Services Manager

The Leadership and Staff of CHI St. Joseph Children’s Health

NOW HIRING – We are currently looking to fill several positions. Call 717.397.7625 or visit StJosephChildrensHealth.org for more information.

2016-2017 Board of DirectorsChris Ballentine – Secretary

Phil GoropoulosLorraine Gutierrez

Mary Kennedy, OSF – Vice ChairTom Kopfensteiner, STD

Joe Mayberry, DOLisa McCracken

Sean Mooney, PHR, SHRM-CPCarol L. Powell, Ph.D.

Michelle A. Reaser, RN, BSN, MBAThomas L. Regan, DDS – Chair

Jodie Reinhart – TreasurerDebra M. Scheidt

Kathleen Troy Smyser Elaine G. Ugolnik, JD


MONDAY, JUNE 4 2018 – 4PM TO 7PM

CHI ST. JOSEPH CHILDREN’S HEALTH1929 LINCOLN HWY E, STE. 150 | LANCASTER, PA 17602

BAR-B-QUE AND OPEN HOUSE

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1929 Lincoln Highway East, Suite 150Lancaster, PA 17602

717.397.7625 | www.CHIStJosephChildrensHealth.org

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along the road - stjosephchildrenshealth.org · would give away her last penny, make a gift out of...

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