Quality Improvement Impact
Julia Anixt, MD, is a leader in quality improvement work within the division as well as nationally. Dr. Anixt is the site PI for participation in the Autism Treatment Network (ATN) through Autism Speaks. In addition to her efforts within the division, she serves in partnership with the James M. Anderson Center for Health Systems Excellence as the expert consultant to the entire network guiding the strategic priorities of quality improvement. Dr. Anixt developed and implemented a priority checklist across network sites. In addition to work with the ATN she also provides expertise to the National Pediatric Cardiology Quality Improvement Collaborative (NPC QI). Her contributions help to propel the network to implement systematic developmental screening assessments for children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome.Community Outreach and Training Impact
In the area of community outreach, Jennifer Smith, PsyD, continues to expand the impact of community participation through SOAR (Starting Our Adventures out Right). This approach to community inclusion for individuals with developmental disabilities builds partnerships with community agencies and implements best practices to allow successful and meaningful participation in experiences such as music and arts performances, museum and zoo experiences, and sports events. Dr. Smith is leading a learning collaborative in partnership with the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden as part of a grant through the Institute of Museum and Library Services entitled “Anchor for Access and Inclusion: Making the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden More Accessible and Inclusive for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities and Their Families.”
The division implemented a number of ECHO models for training. Drs. Anixt, Smith, Stephanie Weber, PsyD, and Rena Sorensen, PhD, implemented ECHO training within the area of autism spectrum disorder to enhance knowledge by primary care providers and professionals working with children with autism spectrum disorder.
Dr. Weber developed and implemented an online training to provide daycare providers with the knowledge and skills needed to care for children impacted by the opioid addiction epidemic. The rapid uptake illustrates the importance of this online training, developed in partnership with faculty at the Nisonger Center: over 2,000 child-care providers accessed the training in its first three months.
National Participation
Faculty members within the division participated in numerous national workgroups, committees, and networks.
Tanya Froehlich, MD, through a selection process, is the ADHD node leader for the Maternal and Child Health Bureau-sponsored developmental-behavioral pediatrics research network DBPNet, the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics elected her to the Board of Directors, and she received an appointment to serve on the NIH study panel Biobehavioral and Behavioral Sciences Subcommittee within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Kara Ayers, PhD, received an appointment to serve on the Patient-Centered Outcomes Advisory Board of Governors for Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI).
Anna Esbensen, PhD, received an invitation to be a member of a working group by the National Institutes of Health and Investigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to Understand Down syndromE (INCLUDE) to develop a framework for planning a Virtual Down Syndrome Cohort Across the Lifespan.
Susan Wiley, MD, received a selection by the American Academy of Pediatrics to serve on the Joint Committee of Infant Hearing as a representative of the academy.
