Pediatrics in the Community: The Earn-A-Bike Program

1. Robert J. Haggerty, MD As Pediatrics in Review begins a new series focusing on community pediatrics, we are privileged to begin with an introduction by one of the most influential leaders in that area, Dr Robert J. Haggerty, the founding editor of this journal.—LFN The quality of children’s health results from many factors other than the direct medical care they receive in physicians’ offices, important as that is. Critical are the physical, psychosocial, educational, and recreational environments in which they live. All of these make up a healthy community for children. The concept of community pediatrics includes dedication to serving all children in a community and to working with other individuals to improve the environment of the communities in which children live as well as to ensure their access to medical care. It is entirely appropriate that Pediatrics in Review begin a section on community pediatrics. This journal has been dedicated, since its inception 27 years ago, to meeting pediatricians’ need for up-to-date reviews designed to help them deliver better health care to children. Our readers serve the children in their offices well, but many do even more in the wider community. In an article I wrote in Pediatrics in 1999, (1) I observed that there were a number of successful examples of programs that teach the “how to do it” of …