The Bonnell Foundation has awarded a $10,000 fellowship grant to Michigan Medicine in honor of Dr. Samya Nasr, who has changed what cystic fibrosis (CF) looks like for patients and families, says foundation founder Laura Bonnell. Bonnell decided a fellowship was a good way of showing support for Dr. Nasr’s work because the demand for pediatric pulmonology care exceeds the supply. Nationally, there is a concern that the pediatric pulmonology workforce will not be sufficient to meet the needs of children with respiratory diseases. This concern is particularly acute in Michigan, which has only 1.26 board-certified pediatric pulmonologists per 100,000 children, below the national average of 1.5. This ranks Michigan 26th nationally in the number of pediatric pulmonologists per capita, despite being 10th in the U.S. in total population and in the number of children. The limited supply of pediatric pulmonologists represents a serious threat to the quality and availability of respiratory healthcare for children with chronic diseases such as cystic fibrosis and asthma. According to a 2017 Children’s Hospital Association survey, 48 percent of patients had to wait longer than two weeks for appointments.
For an interview with either Dr. Nasr or Laura Bonnell, please call or email: 248.860.3899 thebonnellfoundation@gmail.com
Pictured from left: Nada Youssef, M.D. Pediatric Pulmonary Fellow; Dr. Samya Nasr, M.D. Director, Professor of Pediatrics, Dir. Cystic Fibrosis Center, Laura Bonnell, Founder/CEO of The Bonnell Foundation: Living with cystic fibrosis; Thomas Saba, M.D. Director, Fellowship Program in Pediatric Pulmonology; Carey Lumeng, M.D. Interim Director, Division of Pediatric Pulmonology