By By ROBERT BLANKENSHIP – Managing Editor
Brewton pediatrician Marsha Raulerson, M.D. was recently elected to serve as president of the Alabama chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Raulerson has served as a pediatrician in Brewton and has been a member of the AAP for 22 years.
The Brewton doctor was voted upon by member pediatricians across the state. She will take office in September 2003.
The mission of the Alabama Chapter of the AAP is to: promote the health, safety and well being of all children in Alabama; organize pediatricians to do this effectively and provide education and advocacy for Alabama pediatricians.
The group's mission statement reads, "The Alabama Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics is dedicated to the principle of a meaningful and healthy life for every child. As an organization of physicians who care for infants, children, adolescents, and young adults, the Alabama Chapter-AAP seeks to promote this goal by encouraging and assisting its members in their efforts to meet the overall health needs of children and youth; by providing support and counsel to others concerned with the well being of children, their growth and development; and by serving as an advocate for children and their families within the community at large."
Raulerson said the president of the organization helps lead the effort to meet the needs of Alabama's children by working with the state's other pediatricians. Among her goals will be expanding programs she has taken an active role in.
One of those is the Reach Out and Read program that is designed to provide reading materials for children and encourage parents to begin reading to children as young as six months old.
She is also the chairman of the AAP's national committee on Reaching Children Building Systems for Care which helps pediatricians design programs to identify uninsured children in their areas and helping those children apply for coverage.
Raulerson has served the Alabama AAP as the coordinator of CATCH and liaison to the Department of Children's Affairs. As a CATCH facilitator, Raulerson travels across the state to help other pediatricians develop projects that will help them meet the needs of the children in their area. She has served as a facilitator for three years.
Raulerson, who is currently serving the state's AAP as vice-president, will take the seat now occupied by Dr. Bob Beshear of Montgomery.