Improved medical home bookmarks

(3/09) - Starting in winter 2009, improved medical home bookmarks will be available after the current supply runs out.

Based on the medical home educational materials survey conducted last December, we made the following changes:

• To make it clearer for who parents need to call when their child is sick, all six bookmarks will say: "Remember you can call your medical home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week"

• "Fever: the body's way of fighting sickness" bookmark will encourage parents to call the doctor or go to the emergency room if a child has a convulsion, without specifying how long it should last. It previously described the convulsion that lasts for more than three minutes

• To appeal more to families of children with special health care needs, we replaced a picture on the "Choosing a quality medical home" bookmark with a photo of a girl with a nebulizer; on the Spanish side of the "Make each doctor's visit work for you!" we placed a photo of a Latino boy with special needs.

Also, please take note that last year we updated three medical home bookmarks: "Colds, the flu and other infections, "Fever: the body's way of fighting sickness" and "Make each doctor's visit work for you!" You can recognize those bookmarks by checking the print date on the English side after the print cost statement, in the lower corner. It should say: "5/08." Please make sure to discard older versions and order newer pieces.

Both "Fever" and the "Colds" bookmark changes followed new recommendations released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2008 regarding the use of over-the-counter cough and cold products for small children. The FDA said such products "have not been shown to be safe or effective in children under 2." For more information, visit http://www.fda.gov. Hence, the "Colds" bookmark now says "Treat pain or fever with over-the-counter acetaminophen or ibuprofen" instead of "over-the-counter expectorant and Tylenol. In addition, both bookmarks had another change under the "What to do" section that reads: "Make sure your child gets lots of rest and clear liquids." We removed examples of liquids: "broth or juice mixed with water." The "Make each doctor's visit work for you!" bookmark had several changes throughout the text based on suggestions from healthcare professionals.

To order outreach materials in bulk via fax, mail or online, visit the NC Healthy Start Foundations Web site at: www.NCHealthyStart.org and click on "Order". To view al materials available and download a single copy, click on "Catalog." If you have any questions about ordering, please call the Foundation at (919) 828-1819.