The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.
Issue link: https://louisville.epubxp.com/i/43017
HAPPENING HERE ULSD, Pediatrics create a safety net of care for kids Up to 3,500 of the region's most vulnerable children now have greater access to primary medical and dental care, thanks to a new partnership between UofL and Home of the Innocents. Expanding on a 10-year relationship and funded with a $250,000 grant from Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, the School of Dentistry (ULSD) and UofL Pediatrics have joined forces to provide care in the new Hockensmith Pediatric Assessment Center. Promoted as a "medical home," this innovative health care model offers a multiplicity of services under one roof, resulting in an unprecedented level of care for children served by Home of the Innocents. "This is a partnership in providing top-quality medical and dental care to children with special needs, and is a critical element in our success," said Home of the Innocents Presi- dent and CEO Gordon Brown. "Most of these children do not often get the care they need or deserve, due to their circumstances." The center serves as a specialty teaching site for ULSD professionals, residents and Green efforts win silver and gold When it comes to shrinking its environmental foot- print, UofL is making strides. And these efforts, part of the school's 2020 strategic plan to make measurable gains in campus sustainability, are already garnering awards. Recently, UofL placed near the top of a nation- wide rating system that tracks how well U.S. colleges and universities are doing at reducing their environmental impact. The university qualifi ed for a silver designation in the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), developed by the As- sociation for the Advance- ment of Sustainability in Higher Education. The association, made up of 900 members in the U.S. and Canada, encourages schools to adopt practices that are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. UofL also recently earned a Gold Leadership in Energy and Environ- mental Design (LEED) certifi cation for its $44 million Center for Predictive Medicine biosafety research lab on ShelbyHurst. It is the third building at the university to qualify for LEED gold certifi cation. "We've been working hard to be more sustain- able, and it's great to see our STARS rating refl ects this," said UofL President James Ramsey. "But we're not going to stop here. Now we can monitor our progress over time and make sure we continue to improve." UofL is among only a handful of schools to receive the silver designa- tion, the association's third-highest rating, with 50.11 points. A total of 45 points is needed to qualify for silver. Only one school, the University of Colorado- Boulder, has placed higher with a STARS gold. No school has yet earned a platinum award, the high- est STARS designation. The university joined STARS as a charter participant last year, soon after the rating system was created. Schools taking part must gather and report internal data in dozens of areas, including energy effi ciency, climate action planning and public engagement. Credits earned in each area are added together for a total score. FALL UOFL MAGAZINE|9 students, offering medical, dental, psychosocial, psychiatric, radiology, audiology and family assessment and treatment services in the best and most cost-effective manner. It also includes the "Village Pharmacy," a nonprofi t pediatric pharmacy that allows for specialized pharmacy compounding for specialized treatment of children with extraordi- nary medical needs. "This partnership is a great example of how health care will be delivered in the future — specialists making their expertise more accessible to their patients by co-locating in one site," said Gerard Rabalais, MD, MHA, chairman of UofL Pediatrics. UofL has offered dental services to children at Home of the Innocents since 2006, when the program started at the dental school under the leadership of Dr. Ann Greenwell. Now, with a three-chair clinic onsite, ULSD will be able to provide more comprehensive care to medically fragile children. The new partnership is enhancing the relationship between Home of the Innocents and UofL Pediatrics. Ten years ago, a UofL Pediatrics faculty member was named medical direc- tor of the pediatric convalescent center. Since then, other UofL Pediatrics faculty have com- mitted time to Home of the Innocents. UofL pediatrician Dr. Elaine Martin is now medical director of the clinic in the new Hockensmith Pediatric Assessment Center.