 The mission of the PREMIEre Program is to ensure infants at risk of developmental delays due to prematurity, catastrophic illness at birth, or environmental factors are evaluated for growth, neurological, and developmental abnormalities in an intense follow up program with developmental testing, appropriate interventions, and family education. Goals: - To have a specialized program for all South Texas babies born prematurely and weighing less than 3.5 lbs at birth available through referral by the primary care physicians.
- To have a parent education program that begins before the infant is discharged home from the nursery. To enable the family to become knowledgeable about their baby’s developmental needs, help the infant to achieve maximum potential and to empower families with information to access healthcare.
- To provide developmental age-appropriate testing and enhance development.
- To conduct research and educational programs that will further the knowledge of premature infant development, how families access healthcare for their children, and health disparities in those areas.
 The program offers extensive developmental assessments in the areas of growth and nutrition, mental and motor development and speech and behavior up to three years of age. The clinic is staffed by a developmental psychologist, a full-time nurse coordinator, a nurse case manager and a medical director specialized in neonatology. Early intervention is planned as needed and the family is connected with appropriate services taking into account transportation and insurance. The assessments also serve as framework for teaching parents about infant development and their role in guiding the growth of their own baby. The program is open for referral of premature infants (birth weight < 3.5 pounds) throughout San Antonio and South Texas. It began in 1979 and serves about 800 patient visits a year with 70-80 new patients added every year. A PREMIEre Reunion is organized every year in October for graduates of the program. Contact: (210) 567-5235 PREMIEre Program Physicians Kathleen Matula-Linkhart, Ph.D. Clinical assistant professor
PREMIEre Program
Phone: 210-567-5235
Email: matula@uthscsa.edu Education:
Ph.D., child development and family relations, University of Texas, Austin, 1990 Recent Publications:
Black, M.M. & Matula, K. (2000). Essentials of Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II Assessment. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Matula, K., Gyurke, J.S., & Aylward, G. (1997). Response to commentary: Bayley Scales II. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 18, 112-113. Thompson, B., Wasserman, J. D., & Matula, K. (1996). The factor structure of the Behavior Rating Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-II. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 56(3), 460-474. Interests:
Efficacy of parenting intervention, parent-child interaction and outcomes on child development, identify formation and mastery/achievement motivation. Carolyn McLerran, M.S.N. Instructor of pediatrics
Program coordinator, PREMIEre Program
Phone: 210-567-5235
Email:&nbs p;mclerranc@uthscsa.edu Education:
M.S.N., Nursing, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio Graduate School of Nursing, San Antonio, 1991 Certification: Nursing, 1974; Clinical Nurse Specialist, 1994 Recent projects:
Efficacy Pilot of Parents as Teachers Curriculum with a Population of Premature Infants, Assisting in the development and implementation of a pilot study to examine the impact of the Parents as Teachers Curriculum on the long term developmental outcome of very low birth weight premature infants. Interests:
Sociocultural factors affecting developmental outcome of very low birth weight infants; Temperament, maternal perception of temperament and the environment as they affect the developmental outcome of very low birth weight infants. |
