UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - May 31, 2022/DIVERSITY
Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to FMCHtuesdaytalk@umassmed.edu.
Table of Contents
Message From The Chair
Focus of the Week - Diversity
Announcements
Faculty Presentations/Publications
Department Member Recognition
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Clinical Services Spotlight
Message From The Chair

Please take time before end of day tomorrow to complete the UMass Memorial 2022 Caregiver Survey. Our department participation rate is at 48%. We can do better! The results will inform further efforts to improve caregiver support and engagement across the institution. Look in your email for the survey link in an email from Press Ganey.
Focus of the Week - Diversity

Thank you to all who contributed to the vision work at the FMCH retreat. 
Highlights of the retreat: During the retreat, the attendees of the session developed this mission statement -"A diverse, equitable, and inclusive community with a culture of continuous improvement." Three sessions were held to determine a strategy for developing the future state of diversity and equity in the department by 2030. Some of the strategies included hiring a DEI consultant in the initial period to assist in the development of a department-wide training program specifically addressing the items identified in the recent survey. The group set both short-term and long-term strategies and goals. At the forefront of achieving our goal is the desire to have a department that includes diversity and equity in every decision in our future state.

One of the top priorities of the diversity discussion included recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. At the top of the list, participants agreed to commit to developing a pipeline that would be a catalyst for training and recruiting a diverse workforce among providers and staff. All agreed that this would not be a success without a robust mentoring program. Overall, the attendees agreed to move forward with these strategies . We believe that creating a more diverse workforce is necessary to improve the equity in the department and equity in the care we deliver.

Congratulations to Dr. Fowler and her team for reducing the disparity in receipt of well-child visits at UMass Memorial.  It’s exciting to see them publishing the results of this high-impact project based on clinical data.  Prioritizing Child Health: Promoting Adherence to Well-Child Visits in an Urban, Safety-Net Health System During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2022 Apr; 48(4): 189–195. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8789396/

In June, the city of Worcester will begin to unveil markers designating the Worcester Black History Trail. Join us for the unveiling of the first of many markers on Thursday, June 2, 2022, 5:30 pm at Dix and North Ashland St, Worcester MA – which is just about halfway between the Memorial campus and Family Health on Queen St. Other Worcester Black History Trail markers will be placed at the sites of the Belmont Street location of A.M.E. Zion Church, the Liberty/ Palmer Street area, the Rejoice Newton farmstead at Newton Square and the 18th residence of the Afro-Indian Hemenway family at May and Westfield Streets in 2022. All are welcomed.
Announcements

The work of NEAETC was highlighted in a blog by Harold Philips, Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy for The White House. NEAETC has launched a four-part webinar series on providing mental health care to people with HIV in primary care settings, covering depression, pharmacotherapy for depression, anxiety disorders, and trauma- and stressor-related disorders. Three of the sessions are led by Jordan Howard-Young. The blog is here: The Key Role of Mental Health Services in Ending the HIV Epidemic | HIV.gov.

From Jen Reidy:  As a member of the statewide task force to reform the MOLST program and bring it into compliance with national POLST, please share this job opportunity at the MA Executive Office of Elder Affairs which is looking to hire a Program Manager for the new POLST Program. This program is important because it seeks to ensure seriously ill patients' treatment preferences are honored at end of life via the MOLST/POLST form. Deadline for applicants is 6/12. The MOLST program started many years ago at UMass and Commonwealth Medicine, so it would be wonderful for our institution to stay involved every step of the way!

FMEC Annual Conference - Opportunity for Students
Student Scholarships are available for the FMEC annual conference in Arlington Virginia September 16-18th. Please encourage students with interest in Family Medicine to attend. There is a call for student poster presentations open until July 30th if they have an interesting project to present this is a great opportunity.  
Faculty Presentations/Publications

Barre faculty presented at the 2022 MAPA (Massachusetts Association of PAs) Spring CME Conference in Springfield, MA on April 30, 2022.
  • Kristina Gracey, MD, MPH - "COVID-19 Vaccines: What We Know" 
  • Cynthia Jeremiah, MD - "Taking the Stress out of Stress Testing"
  • Jillian Joseph, MSPAS, PA-C - "Pre-Operative Testing: Do No Harm"
  • Michael Maddaleni, MD - "The Wide World of Sports"
  • Ashley Mitton - "The Mental Health Crisis: Behavioral Approaches for Patients with Anxiety"

Suzanne Mitchell, MD, MSc and her colleagues at BMC, published a paper in the Annals of Family Medicine, "Reducing Readmission of Hospitalized Patients With Depressive Symptoms: A Randomized Trial". Ann Fam Med 2022;20:246-254. https://doi.org/10.1370/afm.2801.
Department Member Recognition

Josephine Fowler, MD, Kristina Gracey, MD, MPH and Madeline Johns developed and led the inaugural UMass ALSO Instructor Course on May 17, 2022. Supported by the teaching of Tracy Kedian, Henry DelRosario and Instructor Candidate Becca Gwaltney. Eight of our physicians including residents (Lyndsey Stadtmueller, Katie Price, Divya Bhatia, Nicholas Croce) and faculty (Melanie Gnazzo, Lisa Gussak, Amber Sarkar, Sara Casey) trained as Instructors. Our newly minted teachers will join our experienced faculty in teaching at the upcoming UMass ALSO Provider Course on June 28, 2022.
Frankly Speaking Podcast

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

Please join us for an overview: Misconceptions abound on the long-term effects of chronic use of marijuana. This episode tackles these misconceptions head-on, highlighting new data on marijuana's adverse effects on central nervous system function, including loss of memory, IQ points, and executive functioning. It's a must-listen for clinicians caring for patients engaging in regular marijuana use. Guest: Jillian Joseph, MSPAS, PA-C, presents: "Forget About Weed". - Frankly Speaking Ep 278.
Clinical Services Spotlight:
COVID-19 UPDATES

COVID -19 US
  • The CDC is considering changes with Paxlovid in lower-risk patients due to recurrence of symptoms five days after completion of medication. 
  • The CDC recommends a 7-day re-isolation if patients relapse after Paxlovid. 
  • Recommendation for Paxlovid: PAXLOVID has been authorized for emergency use by FDA under a EUA, for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 40 kg) with positive results of direct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing, and who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.

COVID MA
  • Confirmed COVID cases 1,710,941. 
  • The 7-day percent positivity average is 8.34%.
  • The number of patients hospitalized is 795 with 79 in the ICU and 29 intubated. 
  • Total confirmed deaths, 19,404.
  • MA has had more than 530,318 breakthrough cases as of May 10, 2022.

COVID UMMMC
  • The in-house cases as of May 30 are 60. Of the 60 in-house patients, 68% are fully vaccinated. 
  • There are 12 patients with COVID in the ICU. Of the 12 patients, 8 are fully vaccinated. 
  • The 7-day percent positivity average is 15.2%.

Monkeypox
  • Worldwide cases are greater than 257 with more cases being investigated. 
  • To date, there are 14 cases of Monkeypox in the US (1 case was diagnosed in MA).
  • Identifying Monkeypox in a patient:
  • Suspicion that a rash could be consistent with Monkeypox. (e.g. vesicles, pustules that are deep-seated, firm, and well-circumscribed. The lesion may be umbilicated and can progress to scab.)
  • Recent travel history to central or west African countries, parts of Europe where Monkeypox has been reported, or other areas reporting Monkeypox cases, Monkeypox should be considered as a possible diagnosis.
  • Presenting symptoms typically include fever, chills, a distinctive rash, or new lymphadenopathy; however, the onset of perianal or genital lesions in the absence of subjective fever has been reported.
  • The rash associated with Monkeypox can be confused with other diseases that are encountered in clinical practice (e.g., secondary syphilis, herpes, chancroid, and varicella-zoster).  
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.

Wellness
You are invited to become a member of the Department Wellness Committee. Key goals for this year include improving the efficiency of use with the Electronic Health Record. Watch your email for future training sessions.
Working on Wellness
Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban

Classes have resumed!!

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

Please join 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

All classes both in-person and over ZOOM are on hold until week of Thursday, June 23rd

Please note details and any changes via webpage: http://annazheng.zumba.com/. ZOOM still an option for all classes.
 
Much appreciation to Dr. Anna Zheng for hosting these outstanding classes. New to the class? Please email Dr. Zheng at ZumbawithAnnaZheng@gmail.com to register, complete brief health screen if it's your first class and the ZOOM link.