The New Jersey Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics announce a new program for 2021!

 Virtual House Calls: “Empowering Communities to Fight the Opioid Epidemic Program” will promote family-centered strategies and trauma-informed care to prevent opioid abuse, reduce the opioid prevalence and promote healthy and resilient communities.

In April 2020, with support from the Horizon Foundation for NJ and the New Jersey Pediatric Residency Advocacy Collaborative, the NJAAP launched a bilingual webinar series, titled, “Virtual House Calls” (VHCs) in response to the public health crisis caused by the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) in our communities. The goal of this initiative was to support the NJ Department of Children and Families’ statewide network of Family Success Centers with evidence-based health information on COVID-19 and related health prevention strategies, and strengthen the connections between community pediatricians, other health care providers, and parents during this unprecedented time.

Thanks to the continued support of the Horizon Foundation for NJ, NJAAP is delighted to expand the scope of this VHC series to share messaging with family strengthening strategies related to behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD). NJAAP will offer a series of six to eight bilingual community webinars focused to highlight patients’ rights, risks and responsibilities associated with prescription opioids, raise awareness about the importance of informed patient conversations with your doctor, and provide local/state resources available to support families.