Welcome to General Academic Pediatrics

The Section of General Academic Pediatrics has a long and distinguished record in improving the lives of Colorado's children through clinical care, community service, and advocacy activities.

The Department of Pediatrics’ four-pillar mission—clinical services, advocacy, research, and education—is wholly reflected in the work of the Section of General Academic Pediatrics. Children regionally and nationally have benefited from the innovative systems and care advances it has introduced. Of note:

  • The Child Health Associates program, founded in 1968 by Henry Silver, MD, transformed pediatric care by training physician assistants to provide medical care for infants, children, and adolescents under the supervision of physicians.
  • Ongoing legislative guidance at both the state and national level has resulted in policy changes that have improved access to care for pediatric patients as well as early learning opportunities.
  • The Child Health Clinic provides a true medical home for underserved children in Aurora; the Special Care Clinic is the nation’s largest complex primary care clinic.
  • The Children’s Outcomes Research program, later becoming part of the ACCORDS health outcomes research center, has become a national model. One of its major programs, Immunization delivery has been improved through research-based protocols funded by seven separate grants.
  • Pediatric telephone triage services pioneered here have been adopted nationwide.
  • Preventive dental care—a collaborative, research-based initiative of the Section, Denver Health, and ACCORDS—is garnering national provider attention.

Section faculty train 53 Pediatric residents, 16 Family Medicine residents, 22 Child Health Associates, and 10 medical students each year while providing longitudinal, comprehensive primary care in the Child Health Clinic at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Other training sites include clinics and inpatient units at Denver Health, Children’s Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Hospital, and community practices.