• The CONACH holds an annual legislative visit to Washington DC each spring, where committee members visit Capitol Hill to discuss Native American child health issues. In addition, the CONACH sponsors Congressional Briefings on topics of interest. Recent briefings include:

  • "Native American Child Welfare: Challenges in Protecting Vulnerable AI/AN Children" was co-sponsored by a number of organizations, and held on April 14, 2008. The highlight of the briefing was the personal story shared by Ms Tamika Wilder, a Native youth. Other speakers included:

    Benjamin Hoffman, MD, FAAP, American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Native American Child Health (slides)
    Kansas DuBray, MD, Association of American Indian Physicians (slides)
    Kelly R. Moore, MD, FAAP, AAP Committee on Native American Child Health (slides)
    Terry Cross, National Indian Child Welfare Association
    Delores Subia BigFoot, PhD, University of Oklahoma (slides)
    *Dr BigFoot's presentation was reviewed by Dr Mick Storck at the briefing.
    

  • "A Threadbare Safety Net: Native American Child Health Care" a briefing jointly sponsored with the National Indian Health Board, and held on March 12, 2007. Speakers included:

    Benjamin Hoffman, MD, FAAP, American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Native American Child Health (slides)
    Kitty Marx, Legislative Director, National Indian Health Board (slides)
    Carol Barbero, JD, Hobbs Straus Dean and Walker, LLC (slides)
    Vincent Biggs, MD, FAAP, AAP Native American Child Health Subcommittee on Legislative Affairs (slides)

  • "Poisoning Our Future: Children and Methamphetamine", a briefing jointly sponsored with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and held on March 20, 2006. Speakers included:

    Penny Grant, MD, FAAP, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (slides)
    Carl Baum, MD, FAAP, FACMT, Yale University (slides)
    Anthony Dekker, DO, IHS Clinical Consultant in Addiction Medicine (slides)
    George Brenneman, MD, FAAP, AAP Committee on Native American Child Health
    J. Chris Carey, MD, FACOG, ACOG Committee on American Indian Affairs

  • "Oral Health: It's More than Just Teeth", a briefing on oral health issues among Native American children held in March 2005. Speakers included:
    

    Vincent Biggs, MD, Moderator (CONACH member)
    Chris Halliday, DDS, MPH (IHS Division of Oral Health) (slides)
    Joseph Bell, MD (CONACH member) (slides)
    Robert Brandjord, DDS (American Dental Association)
• Members of the CONACH conduct annual pediatric consultation site visits. In September 2007, the CONACH visited four sites in the Nashville Area. Sites visited include:

Catawba Health Clinic (Catawba, SC)
Cherokee PHS Indian Hospital (Cherokee, NC)
Poarch Creek Indian Health Department (Atmore, AL)
Seminole Health Department (Hollywood, FL)

The CONACH is tentatively planning to visit additional sites in the California Area in September 2008.

• The CONACH collaborates with the Canadian Paediatric Society, the Indian Health Service, and the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch/Health Canada to sponsor the International Meeting on Indigenous Child Health. This conference takes place every 2 years, and focuses on clinical care and research related to indigenous populations in the US, Canada, and other parts of the world. Information and handouts from the 1st International Meeting (2005) and the 2nd International Meeting (2007) are available.

• The Native American Child Health Advocacy Award is presented at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition to recognize individuals who have made a major contribution to Native American child health. This award is not limited to physicians, and nominations are accepted on a rolling basis.

• The CONACH Legislative Subcommittee reviews federal legislation affecting Native American children and the pediatric staff who care for them. An e-mail list is available for those interested in receiving periodic updates. To join, please send an email to indianhealth@aap.org.

• The CONACH maintains a listing of current Indian Health Services (IHS) pediatricians and IHS "alumni," and helps distribute the IHS Child Health Notes, a newsletter for IHS pediatricians.