Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to FMCHtuesdaytalk@umassmed.edu.
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Table of Contents
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Research
Announcements
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Faculty Presentations/Publications
Department Member Recognition
Clinical Services Spotlight
Wellness Resources
Working on Wellness
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Message from the Chair
Earlier this month, we marked two grim events—the one-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd and the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. As a nation, we are beginning to acknowledge important aspects of our history that for too long have been underrecognized. Facing uncomfortable realities of our country’s history, and our present, is important. Understanding the significance of Juneteenth, which celebrates freedom for Blacks, is an important step.
We must continue to fight racism and address inequities. This week in Tuesday Talk and Thursday memo, we have important contributions from individuals who have lived experience of racism. Our Grand Rounds will focus on the problems of ‘race-based medicine’. I commit to keep reading, to keep listening, and to deepening my understanding of the burden of racism shouldered by people of color. On Juneteenth and every day, I will work to keep my mind and heart open and hope we all do the same.
Appointment of Steve Anderson, Senior Administrator, FMCH
In case you missed the announcement last week, I am pleased to say that Steven Anderson, MBA, has accepted the position of Senior Administrator for the Department. As many of you know, Steve has been at UMass Memorial since November of 2020, working in an interim capacity for the Senior Vice President of Ambulatory Services. Among his responsibilities, he served as interim manager of the Barre practice (while a search was underway) and he currently serves as interim Senior Director of Primary Care Services. He assumed the role of acting clinical administrator for our department in early February of this year. In his time with us, he has proven the value of his wealth of experience, as well as his adaptability and his highly collaborative and collegial style. Please join me in welcoming Steve to the department. He will continue to split his time between our department and the health system for about a month, when he will transition to full time for FMCH. Until that time, Linda Cragin will continue to serve as acting school administrator.
MESSAGE FROM VICE CHAIR, CLINICAL SERVICES
JUNETEENTH!
On June 17, 2021, President Biden signed bipartisan legislation designating Juneteenth as a Federal holiday. Much gratitude to 94-year-old activist Opal Lee and many others who worked diligently on this effort for many years.
Juneteenth represents the day of celebration on June 19, 1865, when the people of Galveston, Texas were notified by 2,000 Union troops that the civil war was over, and that slavery had been abolished in 1863 with the Emancipation Proclamation. The city of Galveston became the first to celebrate Juneteenth as a holiday. On January 1, 1863, known as "Freedom's Eve" or "Watch Night", African Americans both enslaved and free waited for the news confirming the Emancipation Proclamation. At midnight, the enslaved were declared free by executive order. The thirteenth amendment declared emancipation of slaves throughout the United States. Juneteenth represents the second day of independence in the United States.
Who is Opal Lee?
At the age of 89, Ms. Lee marched from Fort Worth to Washington DC to advocate for Juneteenth Day as a Federal Holiday. In 2020, she began a petition that ultimately collected 1.5 million signatures to support making Juneteenth a national holiday. To Opal Lee, the holiday means freedom. She had a dream and did not give up.
Another group that did not give up is The Department of Family Medicine Wellness or "WOW" Committee. In 2020, WOW added to its many goals the task of evaluating concerns that impact physician satisfaction and wellness. One major request from our physicians was the renovation of the MCH call room, specifically addressing the need to replace the floor. We look forward to showing you the finished product in our next Tuesday Talk. Many thanks to the team and those who are supporting this project.
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Upcoming Events
FMCH Grand Rounds
June 22nd, Tuesday, 12 - 1pm: Dorothy Roberts, JD presents: The Problem with Race-Based Medicine.
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Focus of the Week - Research
A few reminders about human subjects research:
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Studies involving human subjects typically require review by the Institutional Review Board (IRB). If you are unsure whether your study requires review, contact the UMMS IRB for a determination. Information about the IRB and how to submit applications is available by following this link: https://umassmed.edu/ccts/irb/
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Our department requests that all IRB applications be submitted for internal review prior to their submission to the IRB. You can find information on the Department’s policies and procedures for review and where to go for questions about your application here. https://umassmed.edu/fmch/research/irb/
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All members of the research team involved in the design, conduct, or reporting of human subjects research must complete training. Online training is provided through the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) human subjects training program. Information about the CITI exam and links to training modules are available here: https://umassmed.edu/ccts/irb/CITI-GCP/
- CITI training must be renewed every three years. We urge all potential research team members to begin CITI training well before submitting an IRB application to avoid delays in approval of your application.
- Finally, the UMMS IRB will soon be moving to a new, more efficient, platform for submitting IRB applications. Initial rollout is scheduled for July. Stay tuned for more information.
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Announcements
The WFMR is happy to announce a Fall Resident Retreat date:
10/5/21 8am to 5pm at Camp Selah, Orange, MA. We appreciate faculty who will be doing additional service to allow the residents this important wellness and team building time. Also, residency faculty who are interested and able to be free are invited to join. Please mark your calendars and contact Hilda Alers for further details.
Faculty Development Workshops
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June 23rd, Wednesday, 12:15 - 1:15pm: Jennifer Bradford, MD and Heather-Lyn Haley, PhD present: Stand Up: Taking Action to Reduce Bias and Racism.
Please RSVP to Jennifer.Masoud@UMassMemorial.org if you would like to attend.
FHCW Wednesday Cultural Rounds
The residents at FHCW host the event each Wednesday from 5 – 5:30pm. We welcome a member of the community to talk about their culture and the ways it can impact their health and the care they receive. The sessions are informal and involve a robust Q&A. Through these weekly discussions, we hope to promote cultural humility and the continuous process of learning about perspectives outside of our own in order to improve the care we provide. We welcome anyone interested in joining us each week at the link below:
The FMCH Town Halls are once again being recorded for those unable to join the live meeting. A separate folder has been created on the FMCH website under Faculty Resources. No password is required to view these recordings. This URL will take you to the Faculty Resources portion of the FMCH website and it can be bookmarked for future reference. https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/faculty-resources/gr/.
Upcoming Conferences and Calls for Abstracts
The research staff maintains a list of upcoming meetings and conferences that FMCH faculty members often attend. The list has information on deadlines for abstract submissions and links to conference websites. The list can be downloaded from the Department website:
Research Support
A reminder that the Department offers support for FMCH faculty research leading to scholarly publications and/or presentations. You can find more information, including a form for requesting support, on the FMCH website: Research Initiatives - UMass Medical School - Worcester.
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Frankly Speaking Podcast
A weekly Podcast series covering newsworthy topics in primary care medicine.
Join us for this episode to learn proven strategies to help you practice trauma-informed care, including how to recognize trauma and offer effective interventions to help patients dealing with these issues. Guest: Susan Feeney, DNP, FNP-BC, NP-C presents: Acknowledging the Pain - Incorporating Trauma-Informed Care into Your Practice - Frankly Speaking Ep 229.
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Faculty Presentations/Publications
On Thursday, June 17th and Friday, June 18th, Suzanne Cashman, ScD gave a talk entitled Population and Community Health Research: What, Why, and How? to Berkshire Medical Center residents.
Judy Savageau, MPH just completed an extensive analysis of Health Care Outcomes Among High-Risk MassHealth Members with Behavioral Health Conditions: Behavioral Health Service Utilization, Costs, Health Care Disparities, and Risk Factor Analyses for MassHealth's Office of Behavioral Health. Several manuscripts are being planned with these analyses. Dan Mullin served as a clinical consultant on the project and we hope to have him join the team for a new project with the same office starting July 1 - a mixed methods project adding in a large qualitative component to the analysis with data through 2020.
Judy Savageau, MPH is also completing this week a series of technical assistance workshops to the Merrimack Valley ACO in helping their leadership and data analytics teams with developing evaluation plans, data analysis at various levels and how to develop meaningful messages with their data. She has just signed a new contract for this coming academic year furthering their professional development training so that they can work toward developing their own internal evaluation team to assess the ACO's implementation and patient outcomes.
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Clinical Services Spotlight: |
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COVID UPDATES
Massachusetts
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91 new cases confirmed Saturday 6-19-2021.
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Total confirmed cases 663,210. Active cases 1,940.
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7-day average percent positivity 0.34%.
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Hospitalizations 108 with 32 in the ICU and 19 intubated.
UMASS
- Hospitalizations at UMass Memorial 3 (all in ICU).
- COVID-19 paid emergency leave available to all caregivers May 28, 2021, to September 30, 2021. (See the Hub for details)
- COVID vaccination in ED and inpatient units begins this week.
- Employees out due to COVID in past 7 days is 2 (1 vaccinated).
Visitor Policy Changes
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Inpatient: Three visitors are now allowed per day, one at a time, with visiting hours expanding to 10am to 8pm.
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Ambulatory: One visitor per patient, with physical distancing to best extent possible (in line with DPH criteria).
- Visitor screening continues. Additional access points to our facilities are opening to avoid crowding. This includes the Levine Bridge from 8am-5pm and the Benedict building from 8:30am-5pm. The Jacquith entrance will open from 8:30am-5pm later.
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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.
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Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban
Please join department members for early morning gentle yoga, Wednesday mornings 6:30am via Zoom.
Much appreciation to Dr. Erban for hosting these outstanding classes. Join Zoom Meeting
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Zumba with Dr. Anna Zheng
May 2021 & summer months (until Sep 2021):
Please join department members Monday mornings at 6:00am, Thursday evenings at 5:45pm**(new time; outdoor location), some Saturday mornings at 9:15am**(only 1x/month; outdoor location) and get moving with Zumba. Please note schedule changes via webpage: http://annazheng.zumba.com/. ZOOM still possible for all classes.
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