UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - January 4, 2022/CLINICAL
Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to [email protected].
Table of Contents
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Clinical
Announcements
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Faculty Presentations/Publications
Clinical Services Spotlight
Upcoming Events
FMCH Grand Rounds
Tuesday, January 4th, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Tina Runyan, PhD, presents: Colliding Emotions in Clinical Practice: The Dialectic of Anger and Compassion
Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

FMCH Town Hall
Tuesday, January 11th, 12:00 - 1:00 pm
Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

FMCH Grand Rounds
Tuesday, January 18th, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, Anne Gifford, MD, presents: Dementia
Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH
Focus of the Week - Clinical

Happy New Year to the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. As we enter 2022, we are reaching for better health for you and our patients, and for wellness opportunities to improve the way we work - smarter and not harder.
 
For the year 2022, the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health will continue to focus on several projects that will improve the overall care of our patients and improve health equity. Stay tuned for more information including initiatives and team highlights. 
 
New recommendations from the CDC regarding Health Care Professionals
  • Detailed descriptions for healthcare workers exposed to COVID or who are positive and asymptomatic can be found on the CDC website. 
  • Due to the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant, guidelines were updated on 12/23/2021.

Return to School
  • Many schools closed on Monday, January 3rd, to prepare for the increasing infection rates.
  • Worcester has distributed more than 135,000 rapid COVID tests to communities since Friday.

Signs and symptoms of COVID-19
  • Symptoms are very much like the common cold or flu. Since the number of symptoms is vast, I have included the CDC list in the link below. 

Telehealth and Public Health Emergency
  • Telehealth is a viable option to care for patients during the pandemic. In an effort to take precautions and maintain a safe workplace, please remind patients to wear face masks, maintain social distancing, and avoid coming to the office if they have signs of COVID.
  • Due to staff shortages and rising cases, FMCH practices will optimize opportunities to continue telehealth.                                                                                        
Announcements

New Faculty Orientation
Faculty Affairs will hold a New Faculty Orientation on January 11th, 2022 from 8:00 -10:00 am for anyone hired since January 2020. See the attached flyer or QR code to register.

Mick Huppert Community Health Scholar Awards
If you are working on a community engaged initiative with a second year medical or nursing student, please reinforce for them this opportunity: For the fourth year, the annual Mick Huppert Community Health Scholar awards will be given to second year medical and graduate school of nursing students who have demonstrated a commitment to community engaged service and scholarship. Students should also have an interest in a career as a family physician or family nurse practitioner. Between two and four awards, each up to $2,500 will support awardees’ proposed community health initiatives. Medical and nursing student pairs will be considered and are encouraged. A pair would split one award. Click the link to get to the full announcement and application form. https://umassmed.edu/fmch/communityhealth/sep/mick-huppert-community-health-scholar-awards/ Applications due to [email protected] by January 17, 2022.

Faculty Development Updates
Mentoring Workshop 
Dr. Ahn, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, will be providing a faculty development workshop January 19th, 530-7:00 pm, to kick off our 2022 mentoring program cohort. If you are interested in participating in the FMCH mentoring program in 2022 please reach out to Jennifer Masoud at [email protected]. We will be working to pair people up to meet your mentoring needs. 

White Belt Training Opportunity - Upcoming LEAN Training
UMassMemorial Health is committed to disseminate LEAN management tools to all physicians and clinicians and offer leadership development to our providers. Practicing LEAN principles enables team building and promotes respect to our fellow caregivers. It’s a platform that fosters innovation and improves the care we provide to our patients — as well as to advance our own work environment. LEAN is practiced by many caregivers in our health care system. Physicians and clinicians should be educated and have the tools needed to implement successful huddles, idea board systems and process improvement efforts. Our department will offer LEAN white belt training through two upcoming grand rounds. The first session will be a great refresher for those trained many years ago and the second session will include important updates including how to use Innovation Station. For individuals who have not done LEAN training in the past, this is an opportunity to meet the institution's requirement for white belt certification.  
  • January 25th, 12-1pm: LEAN White Belt: Part 2 - Innovation Station
If you are unable to make these trainings and are in need of certification, additional
Lean White Belt training registration is available through E-learning 4U. 

Volunteers needed for WFCC
Worcester Free Care Collaborative is always in need of volunteer family physicians and family nurse practitioners to support its mission to address needs of the uninsured and underinsured of our community. We also need help with pediatric vaccine program management. You fill find it fulfilling to address needs for vulnerable patients and work with highly motivated student volunteers. Contact student leader Tyler Healy ([email protected]) for needs across the 6 programs or Danielle Heims-Waldron ([email protected]) for Monday night’s Epworth program. 

Teaching of Tomorrow (TOT) - Virtual Event
After careful consideration of the current COVID surge and new guidance for safety, the TOT event will be transitioned to a livestreaming virtual event. Although we all looked forward to being together in person, the recent increase in positivity rates and the upcoming holidays lead us to be cautious of in person gatherings. Our livestream virtual event will provide the same interactive format of Teaching of Tomorrow with large and small group sessions with faculty skill building and teacher identity formation. We are sorry for the disappointment and inconvenience that this may cause. This decision was difficult but prioritizing the health and safety of our faculty and participants is paramount.
Frankly Speaking Podcast

A weekly Podcast series covering newsworthy topics in primary care medicine.

Please join us for an overview: Gout is a common condition seen in primary care, and the incidence and prevalence continue to rise. Despite previous recommendations from the American College of Rheumatology, urate-lowering therapy is still underused. Listen to this episode for a concise overview of the American College of Rheumatology's updates for the management of gout and walk away with a clear understanding of the first-line treatment options for acute gout flares. Guest: Jillian Joseph, MSPAS, PA-C, presents: "Gout. - Frankly Speaking Ep 257.
Faculty Presentations/Publications
 
Hugh Silk, MD, MPH, FAAFP, was co-author of sub-section Education within Oral Health Workforce, Education, Practice, and Integration in the follow up to the 2000 Surgeon's General Report on Oral Health entitled: National Institutes of Health. Oral Health in America: Advances and Challenges. Bethesda, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 2021. 

Hugh Silk, MD, MPH, FAAFP, had an article published on the topic of "Why Should Primary Care Clinicians Learn to Routinely Examine the Mouth?" in AMA Journal of Ethics in January edition (2022;24(1):E19-26) written with Jesse Feierbend-Peters when he was a medical student at UMass and is now an intern at Lawrence Family Medicine Residency Program. Article can be accessed here: https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/why-should-primary-care-clinicians-learn-routinely-examine-mouth/2022-01.
Clinical Services Spotlight:
COVID-19 UPDATES

COVID in Massachusetts
  • We have crossed the 1 million mark with 1,140,614 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in MA. 
  • MA has had a 137% 14-day increase in COVID cases. 
  • The 7-day average of percent positivity is up to 18.42%.
  • There are 1,954 patients hospitalized with 387 in the ICU, and 243 intubated. 
  • There are 20,273 confirmed deaths. 
  • Children are catching COVID more than other age groups in MA but the number of hospitalized children remains low. Compared to other states, the number of children hospitalized with COVID is low. 

COVID UMMMC
  • As of January 2, there are 176 in-house patients at UMMH and 128 at UMMMC. 
  • Of those positive, 39% are fully vaccinated.  
  • Of the 68 in acute care, 31 are fully vaccinated and of the 34 in the ICU, 7 are fully vaccinated. 
  • Worcester Stop-the-Spread test positivity is at 21.1%.
  • In-house test positivity for asymptomatic patients is at 11.5%, and 20.5% for symptomatic patients.

CHANGES TO EMPLOYEE HEALTH COVID TESTING
Until further notice, when a COVID test is ordered for a symptomatic healthcare worker, the worker will be advised (if they have chosen to have their results in Epic) that they can review their test result in MyChart. If the employee did not choose to have their results in Epic, Employee Health will reach out to the worker to communicate their test results. Those employees with a positive test result will need to stay out of work and will be followed by Employee Health. If the COVID test is negative, symptomatic employees may proceed to work if they do not have vomiting, diarrhea, or a frequent cough and their temperature has been less than 100.4o F during the last 24 hours without the use of acetaminophen, ibuprofen, Aleve (naproxen) or aspirin. If an employee is unsure about their symptoms, they should stay home until consulting with Employee Health.
Wellness Resources

The Caring for the Caregiver Program provides resources such as the Caregiver Support Line (508-334-HELP) and The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which offers a variety of services and supports (including virtual peer support and wellness tips. EAP can be accessed at 866-263-3525, or www.LiveandWorkWell.com, [company code UmassMemorial]. More information is available on the Caring for the Caregiver page.
Working on Wellness
Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban
New Yoga Link!
Our Yoga class hit the 1 year anniversary - which in zoomland means we need a new link. Happy anniversary yogis and much gratitude to our fearless leader, Liz!

Also, a great time to join, new members always welcome. Start your mid week with some relaxing yoga! 

Please join department members for early morning gentle yoga, Wednesday mornings 6:30am via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting ID: 923 9393 3653 Passcode: 764113
Zumba with Dr. Anna Zheng

Zumba Monday 6am is on hold.
On hold until the new year in 2022. 

Thursdays 6:15pm: In-person or ZOOM
Please join department members Thursday evenings at 6:15pm**(30 Anna Street: tall & spacious indoor location) and get moving with Zumba. Please note details and any changes via webpage: http://annazheng.zumba.com/. ZOOM still possible for all classes.
 
Much appreciation to Dr. Anna Zheng for hosting these outstanding classes. New to the class? Please email Dr. Zheng at [email protected] to register, complete brief health screen if it's your first class and the ZOOM link.