Lauren VonHoltz, MD, MPH is an Assistant Professor in the Emergency Medicine Department at the Perelman School of Medicine and a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Attending at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. VonHoltz’s research interests focus on determining the best ways to address the health-related social needs of children presenting to the Emergency Department to improve a broad number of health outcomes. Additionally, she has a keen interest in the intersection of health and digital and social media technologies. She seeks to find innovative ways to identify and serve at-risk youth within digital networks that are an integral part of their daily lives. She also aims to use technology to bridge the divide between patients and their doctors through novel communication methods.
Dr. VonHoltz currently is the director of Family Connects, a social needs assessment and resource navigation program that operates out of the CHOP Emergency Department. Utilizing a multidisciplinary study workforce, families with self-reported needs are provided with information about available community resources, offered brief counseling and a gun lock. To date, the program has reached out to over 23,000 families presenting to the ED, has provided resources and counseling to 6,300, distributed more than 1,718 gun locks and contributed to the education of over 350 students. Over the coming years, Dr. VonHoltz aims to continue to grow the Family Connects Program, incorporating best practices from research to address health-related social needs from a population health perspective.