Human trafficking is a pandemic human rights violation with an emerging paradigm shift that reframes an issue traditionally seen through a criminal justice lens to that of a public health crisis, particularly for children. Children and adolescents who are trafficked or are at risk for trafficking should receive evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally responsive care from trained health care providers (HCPs). The purpose of this article was to engage and equip pediatric HCPs to respond effectively to human trafficking in the clinical setting, improving health outcomes for affected and at-risk children. Pediatric HCPs are ideally positioned to intervene and advocate for children with health disparities and vulnerability to trafficking in a broad spectrum of care settings and to optimize equitable health outcomes.

No abstract

Clinical ladders are professional enhancement models that encourage and reward participants for continued professional engagement and leadership development. They have the potential to affect patient care through improved provider retention, advanced and refined clinical skills, and increased engagement. Recent literature has demonstrated development and implementation of clinical ladder models for nurse practitioners (NPs) in the acute care setting. A free standing pediatric academic hospital in Florida identified the need for such a program for nurse practitioners and given its increased utilization of physician assistants, these providers were also targeted for inclusion. This new clinical ladder included development strategies appropriate and attainable for both NP and PA scopes of practice. Consistent with Benner's theory of novice to expert (1982), each advancing rung in the ladder contains more stringent criteria and additional competencies demonstrating increased engagement, learning, and leadership. As this was a development project only, future directions for the new model include implementation and evaluation of various metrics including nurse practitioner and physician assistant retention and satisfaction. This model has laid the foundation for ladder development for additional health care professions within the institution.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

County health departments typically bear responsibility for implementing immunization programs. In 2011, the Florida state legislature made significant reductions in state health department funding, and responsibility for routine childhood immunizations in some counties was shifted to local federally qualified health centers. This study was conducted to assess the impact of these administrative changes on childhood immunization rates in one county. A secondary analysis of data in the state immunization registry was conducted to assess changes and patterns in childhood immunization rates within the local health department, federally qualified health centers, and private pediatric practices. These changes were compared in the 3-year period before, during, and after the change. Results revealed that there was no net negative change in the vaccination rates of 0- to 7-year-old children in the county. There was a shift in the proportion of vaccinations administered by each health care delivery setting. The majority of immunizations were administered in private pediatric practices. When state funding for the local public health department ceased, other delivery settings covered the immunizations previously provided in the public health sector.