Rebecca R. Seltzer, MD, MHS
Pediatrics
Highlights
Johns Hopkins Affiliations:
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
About Rebecca R. Seltzer
Primary Academic Title
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Johns Hopkins Physician
Background
Rebecca Seltzer is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in the Division of General Pediatrics, with joint faculty appointments at the Berman Institute of Bioethics, Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She received her BA from the University of Virginia as an Echols Scholar, received her MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, completed pediatric residency training at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, completed fellowship training in Academic General Pediatrics and bioethics at Johns Hopkins, and received an MHS from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is also a graduate of the inaugural cohort of the Academic Pediatric Association Health Policy Scholars Program.
Her academic work, which intersects research, clinical care, advocacy, and medical education, focuses on optimizing the care and well-being of children with medical complexity and disabilities, particularly those in or at risk of entering the child welfare system. Her research, which has received federal and foundation funding, aims to inform interventions, practice, and policy that strengthen and support families to care for children with medical complexity in their own home, as opposed to in a hospital or foster care setting.
She is committed to translating her research into impactful advocacy and policy focused on children in foster care and children with medical complexity at the local and national level, as evidenced by authoring AAP policy statements and elected/appointed leadership positions (e.g, Executive Committee of AAP Council on Foster Care, Adoption and Kinship Care, Maryland State Council for Child Abuse and Neglect).
As a clinician and educator, she is a general pediatrician at the Harriet Lane Primary Care clinic, where she teaches pediatric residents and medical students. She is also co-director of the Health Equity and Advocacy track within the Johns Hopkins pediatric residency program. She teaches about bioethics and advocacy to medical students and residents across Johns Hopkins.
Centers and Institutes
Research Interests
Children with medical complexity, disability, housing accessibility, child welfare, bioethics
Research Summary
Dr. Seltzer's research, from a health services, ethics, and policy perspective, focuses on improving care and well-being for children with a combination of medical and social complexities. She has received federal, foundation, and institutional funding to conduct several quantitative and qualitative research projects to explore foster care as a placement for children with medical complexity and identify opportunities to improve the care provided to these children within the health care and child welfare systems. Her ethics-oriented research has focused on serious medical decision-making for children in foster care and barriers to conducting research with youth in foster care. More recently, her intervention and policy-oriented research focuses on improving housing stability and accessibility for children with medical complexity and disabilities.
Selected Publications
Chorniy A, Moffa M, Seltzer RR. Expanding Access to Home-Based Behavioral Health Services for Children in Foster Care. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 2024; 51 (4): 525-528.
Smith B, Donohue PK, Seltzer RR. Family perspectives on provider conversations about housing needs for children with medical complexity. Child: Care, Health, and Development. 2024; 50(2):e13253.
Batson L, Donohue PK, Jarrah M, Smith B, Nalda C, Seltzer RR. The Home Built Environment of Children with Medical Complexity. Clinical Pediatrics. Dec 2024.
Turchi R, Kuo DZ, Rusher JW, Seltzer RR, Lehmann CU, Grout RW, and the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Children With Disabilities and Committee on Medical Liability and Risk Management. Considerations for Alternative Decision Making when Transitioning to Adulthood for Youth With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: Policy Statement. Pediatrics. 2024; 153(6):e2024066841
Foster C, Lin E, Feinstein J, Seltzer RR, Graham R, Coleman C, Ward E, Coller R, Sobotka S, Berry J. Home Healthcare for Children with Disability and Medical Complexity. Pediatrics. Jan. 2025
Locations
- The Johns Hopkins Hospital
- 1800 Orleans Street, Baltimore, MD 21287
- Get Directions
- phone: 410-955-5000
- fax: 410-955-5001
Expertise
Education
- Fellowship: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Pediatrics, 2018
- Graduate School: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MHS, 2018
- Residency: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pediatrics, 2015
- Medical Education: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, MD, 2012
Board Certifications
- Pediatrics: American Board of Pediatrics, 2015
Insurance
- Aetna
- CareFirst
- Cigna
- First Health
- Geisinger Health Plan
- HealthSmart/Accel
- Johns Hopkins Health Plans
- MultiPlan
- Pennsylvania's Preferred Health Networks (PPHN)
- Point Comfort Underwriters
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- Veteran Affairs Community Care Network (Optum-VACCN)