What Pediatricians Are Prescribing To End Childhood Hunger
Mark Del Monte, CEO and EVP at the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Dr. Kimberly Montez, pediatrician at Wake Fores...
About This Episode
Mark Del Monte, CEO and EVP at the American Academy of Pediatrics, and Dr. Kimberly Montez, pediatrician at Wake Forest University, discuss an important new partnership between Share Our Strength and AAP to help pediatricians screen for food insecurity, identify children and families at risk, connect those families with appropriate community resources, and follow up on whether they access the resources (“closed loop referrals”). “Whatever the problem that families are facing, they bring it into the pediatrician’s office, even if it’s not medical, even if it’s about transportation or housing or food insecurity,” says Del Monte. Pediatricians are well positioned to recognize the symptoms of food insecurity. “Food insecurity can be invisible. It can look like depression, it can look like developmental delay, it can look like behavioral problems,” notes Montez. “Pediatricians are natural advocates. We recognize that our patients don’t have the ability to vote so they don’t have a voice, so we are their voice.”Resources and Mentions:
Mark Del Monte, JD
CEO/Executive Vice President
Mark Del Monte, JD serves as the CEO/Executive Vice President of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The organization serves 67,000 pediatrician, pediatric medical subspecialist, and pediatric surgical specialist members.
Kimberly Montez, M.D., M.P.H
Associate Professor of General Academic Pediatrics and Social Sciences and Health Policy
Kimberly Montez, M.D., M.P.H., is an associate professor of general academic pediatrics and social sciences and health policy at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. She is the associate program director for the Pediatric Residency program, co-director of the Health Equity Certificate Program and director of the Health Justice Advocacy Certificate Program in conjunction with the School of Law. She is also the associate director in pediatrics of integrating special populations for the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity and vice chair for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.
The American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is dedicated to the principle of a meaningful and healthy life for every child. The Academy seeks to promote this goal by encouraging and assisting its members in their efforts to meet the overall health needs of children and youth by providing support and counsel to others concerned with the wellbeing of children and by serving as an advocate for children and their families within the community at large.
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