Welcome

Jay E. Sicklick, MLPP Director

The Center for Children’s Advocacy Medical-Legal Partnership Project recently celebrated its eighteenth birthday. Our goal has always been creation of a supportive environment in which health care and legal teams partner to improve health outcomes for vulnerable children. 

In April 2000, our unique, collaborative venture with Connecticut Children’s Medical Center created the first true Medical-Legal Partnership Project (MLPP) in the country. Since that day, the Center has greatly expanded, adding offices and services at Yale New Haven Hospital, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, with affiliations through the years with the Hospital of Central Connecticut, Community Mental Health Affiliates, Charter Oak Health Center, Community Health Services, and Community Health Centers, Inc. 

We invite your collaborative feedback, suggestions and submissions for upcoming issues. Please send thoughts and suggestions to jsicklick@cca-ct.org or call me at 860-570-5327. Thank you. We are excited to launch our MLPP Newsletter!

 

A Note from the Medical Director

Ada Fenick, MD

Greetings! I am honored to serve as medical director for the Medical-Legal Partnership Project. I’m a general pediatrician, trained in New York City. I worked on Long Island and then moved to New Haven where I joined the Yale New Haven Hospital Primary Care Center. I love my pediatric practice and my role teaching medical students and residents.

I am grateful to have been introduced to the idea of medical-legal partnership about 10 years ago by an intrepid and vocal Yale medical student. Attending the MLPP's second-ever national meeting hooked me, and I worked within the Yale New Haven Hospital system to move the project forward. The MLPP created a partnership here four years ago. 

I work with our local and statewide MLPP, using legal means to advance the health of children. I’m proud of the work we all do, and the extraordinary outcomes for children who would not have critical access and supports without our help.

Photo: CCA MLPP attorney Alice Rosenthal and MLPP medical director Dr. Ada Fenick
Harold Shapiro Photography

 

Medicaid and Non-Emergency Medical Transportation: MLPP Leads Effort to Ensure Appropriate Transportation 

Bonnie Roswig, Senior Staff Attorney

Transportation to a medical appointment should not be something a patient or provider has to worry about, but Connecticut's Medicaid transportation system has been dysfunctional at best, and my focus this year has been on repairing the legally required service that enables the state’s most vulnerable children to access medical care.

Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) is part of HUSKY (Medicaid) in Connecticut. The Department of Social Services hired a national vendor, LogistiCare, to administer the program, which is plagued by pervasive problems. These include medical cabs that never arrive; cabs that arrive so late that appointments are missed; unmet requirements for specialized medical needs; ignored complaints; and dismissive treatment by LogstiCare staff. We have organized a coalition of advocates to improve the NEMT program and have been successful in many areas, including:

If you have questions regarding medical transportation or your patients experience difficulties with the NEMT system, please contact Bonnie Roswig at broswig@cca-ct.org or 860-545-8581. 

 

MLPP Infuses Poverty and Social Determinants into Pediatric Residency Curriculum

Alice Rosenthal, Staff Attorney

In a ground-breaking endeavor, the Yale University School of Medicine’s pediatric residency program is working with the Medical-Legal Partnership to incorporate a poverty-based curriculum into the didactic sessions residents receive during their outpatient, primary care rotation. 

The MLPP attorney co-presents many modules with the primary care doctors and social worker; medical residents learn to assess and manage poverty-related issues to provide an integrated approach to health care. Presentations integrate the American Academy of Pediatrics poverty curriculum into the Yale School of Medicine pediatric residency training.

For training on social determinants of health and how poverty impacts pediatric outcomes, please contact jsicklick@cca-ct.org.  

 

Immigrant Health Resources

The MLPP recently worked with medical partners to develop training on legal issues affecting immigrant patients, including materials to help hospitals and providers respond to the concerns of immigrant patients:

 

Legislative Update - Bills of Note Recently Signed into Law

Aniella Fignon, MLPP Law Student Intern

Although the most recent legislative session did not “officially” end on June 30 due to the failure of the General Assembly to pass a biennial state budget, several bills enacted by the legislature and signed by the Governor directly affect children’s health and well-being. The following may be of note to those who provide care for the state’s pediatric population:

Public Act 17-5: Protecting Youth from Conversion Therapy
Conversion therapy ... seeking to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, may no longer be administered to any person under eighteen years of age ...

Public Act 17-6: DPH Recommendations to Statutes on HIV
Health care providers giving prenatal care to a pregnant woman shall order ... serological tests to identify women affected by HIV and/or syphilis.

Public Act 17-25: "Sexting" by a Child
Ensures that all children under eighteen years of age are charged with a misdemeanor for sexting behavior rather than a felony for child pornography.

Public Act No. 17-32: Human Trafficking
Trafficking in Persons Council expands to include ... developing key list of indicators that a person is a victim of trafficking; standardized curriculum to train professionals to identify victims; plan for mental health, support and substance abuse programs for victims  ... 

Public Act No. 17-74: Community Health Workers
Program established to study feasibility of creating certification program to train community health workers who serve as liaisons between the community and health care and social service providers  ...

Public Act No. 17-194: Access to Student Records for Unaccompanied Youth
An unaccompanied youth entitled to knowledge of and access to educational, medical or similar records included in youth’s record maintained by local or regional board of education.

Public Act No. 17-210: Well-Being of Children Affected by Prenatal Drug or Alcohol Exposure
Commissioner of DCF to develop and implement policies and procedures to secure health, safety and well-being of infants identified as affected at birth by drug use, withdrawal symptoms related to prenatal drug or alcohol exposure or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder ...

We Want to Hear From You! 

Are you a pediatrician?  Medical provider?  Practice or hospital administrator? 

Please send us your feedback. Let us know what you would like to see in an upcoming issue or send us your question …  

Center for Children's Advocacy
65 Elizabeth Street, Hartford, CT 06105
211 State Street, Bridgeport, CT 06604


cca-ct.org/mlpp
 

 
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