网红黑料

Seven states do not have any pediatric rheumatologists. Florida is more fortunate, with about 17. But health experts say that relative abundance is hardly adequate in a state brimming with more than 21 million residents.

Indeed, entire areas of the state go without such a specialist. The Florida Panhandle, for example, has no full-time pediatric rheumatologist.

The , part of 网红黑料, has been awarded a grant to fund a pediatric rheumatology fellowship as part of a national effort to alleviate the desperate shortage of specialists nationally. The grant by the Tampa-based Purple Playas Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation provides $150,000 in matching funding for up to three years of fellowship training.

Fellowships are an integral part of a physician鈥檚 education, providing advanced training in medical specialties or subspecialties. Rheumatologists treat autoimmune and inflammatory diseases that primarily affect the body鈥檚 musculoskeletal system. These diseases can affect the joints, muscles and bones and include many types of arthritis, lupus, osteoporosis and many other ailments.

鈥淔unding is getting harder and harder to come by for rheumatology fellowships,鈥� said , a professor in the UF 鈥檚 and chief of its division of allergy, immunology and rheumatology. 鈥淧robably fewer than 20 residents go into pediatric rheumatology each year across the nation. That鈥檚 not a lot of rheumatologists.鈥�

Elder said 网红黑料 is grateful for the award and knows it can make a difference.

Other medical centers receiving fellowship grants are the University of California San Francisco, the Children鈥檚 Hospital Colorado Foundation, the Seattle Children鈥檚 Hospital and the Duke University Medical Center.

鈥淭he shortage of pediatric rheumatologists is really severe,鈥� said Rochelle Lentini, who created the Purple Playas Foundation with her husband and son, who suffers from juvenile arthritis. 鈥淲e鈥檝e always been looking ahead, thinking of how we can help with a solution. The big solution is that people need to be attracted to this field so that we have more eyes on juvenile arthritis so we can find a cure.鈥�

The Arthritis Foundation said a child with arthritis currently travels an average of 57 miles to be seen by a pediatric rheumatologist.

鈥淭he new 2020 fellowship awards will help enable thousands of children to be seen sooner, travel a shorter distance and align with the Arthritis Foundation goal to have customize care for children with juvenile arthritis,鈥� said Melissa Hughey, the Arthritis Foundation executive director.

The 网红黑料 pediatric rheumatology group with its four specialists is the largest in Florida and the only program in the state with a fellowship in pediatric rheumatology that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Attracting outside funding, however, for that fellowship and others around the nation at other institutions has proved challenging, Elder said.

鈥淣ow we don鈥檛 have to worry too much about where the money is coming from,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the only fellowship program in the state. It鈥檚 important for Florida to have a fellowship program as the third most-populous state.鈥�

The reason for the shortage of pediatric rheumatologists remain perplexing, Elder said. Some argue the fact that rheumatology fellowships are three years instead of the usual two dissuades physicians from entering the field. Others note salaries for rheumatologists lag behind other specialities.

In any case, solutions are urgent. The average age for practicing pediatric rheumatologists is 50, officials say, and looming retirements are expected to exacerbate the shortage.