Pediatrics residents, students and faculty take part in local summer camps

Pediatrics residents volunteer at Camp Seale Harris, a camp for children with Type 1 diabetes.

With a focus on community outreach, the pediatrics residency program, led by Haidee Custodio, M.D., has been encouraging USA Health physicians-in-training to engage with members of the community as much as possible outside the hospital setting.   

One way they can do that is through sharing some of their free time at summer camps for children with specific health challenges. USA Health residents and Whiddon College of Medicine students with an interest in pediatrics have volunteered at three separate camps – Camp MASH for kids with rheumatological conditions, Camp Rapahope for children with cancer, and Camp Seale Harris for children with Type 1 diabetes.  

“The idea is not just to do clinical care outside of the usual clinic and hospital settings, but also for residents to begin to envision themselves as healthcare leaders, such as being a medical director for a camp,” Custodio said, “and also to see children having fun in spite of a medical condition – not just seeing kids when they are at the hospital when sick.”  

Pediatric endocrinologist Anne-Marie Kaulfers, M.D., is well-known for her ability to make a Mobile-area juvenile diabetes camp fun and engaging for children, residents, and students. Several residents even joined on a volunteer basis and as part of their general pediatrics clinic rotation. Kaulfers, a professor of pediatrics at the Whiddon College of Medicine, was joined by two other faculty members who served as co-medical directors of the camp: Whei Ying Lim, M.B.B.S., and Melissa Perez Garcia, M.D., both pediatric endocrinologists and assistant professors of pediatrics.  

During the week of the camp, the physicians gave insulin injections at all meals and snacks, and then adjusted doses daily as needed. The residents attended either for one day as part of their clinic rotation, Kaulfers said, or volunteered on their days off.  

They didn’t limit their volunteer work to dayside shifts. Chief pediatrics residents Anna Paula Flores, M.D., and Reham Yehia, M.D., volunteered to do night rounds with the camp directors at 2 a.m., where they helped check each camper's blood sugar and treated for hypoglycemia. Two medical students, second-year Lou Ann Crosby and fourth-year Emily Cleveland, also helped at the diabetes camp for the week.