UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - August 3, 2021/CLINICAL
Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to [email protected].
Table of Contents
Focus of the Week - Clinical
Announcements
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Department Member Recognition
Clinical Services Spotlight
Wellness Resources
Working on Wellness
Announcements

Department of Family Medicine and Community Health Septemberfest!
Hopkinton State Park, Saturday, September 25th,11:00 – 3:00pm.
Barbecue, activities for the kids, canoe, sailboat and kayak rentals
Please RSVP to Jennifer Masoud. 
Include the number and names of everyone in your party
Carpooling is recommended as the parking lot fills up fast on weekends.

Annual Compliance Training
The Annual Required Education completion for UMass Memorial Health has been extended until August 31, 2021.

Acting Patients Applicants Needed
Acting Patients will work independently to accurately portray specific emotions, behaviors and symptoms while interacting with participants of our Motivational Interviewing Program.
The actor may serve as a standardized patient with various health issues including smoking, anxiety, hypertension, and prescription opioid use. If interested, or know someone, please see attached Acting Patients Job Description for more details.

Medical School Applicant Interviews
The School of Medicine is seeking raters for the Multiple Mini Interviews (MMI) to choose the next class of medical students. It is a great opportunity to meet enthusiastic MD applicants. Attached is a doodle link for a training session. Please forward any questions to Stacy Potts at [email protected] or Brenda Fusaro at [email protected]. Here is the doodle link:

Call for Participation in Research Study
Greetings from the Family Medicine & Community Health Department!
We are searching for Healthcare Providers (e.g., nurses, doctors, clerkship or resident students, behavioral health providers, etc.) who have experience working with chronic pain patients to take part in a 90-minute Teleconference Interview/Focus Group. It will help us evaluate GEMINI (H00017069), an online tool that’s goal is to provide patients with integrative medicine tools that can be used in their daily lives, and to host online telemedicine groups made up of patients and providers. 
  • Research Study Expectations
  1. Answer a brief (15 minute) survey about your professional background and experience with medical group visits and telemedicine programs.
  2. Participate in a 90-minute (at most) structured interview/focus group during which you will be introduced to GEMINI and asked for feedback.
  3. You can earn $50 for your time and participation.
We need your help to understand 1) the features that you expect to see in GEMINI; 2) the benefits that you expect from GEMINI for your work specifically and for other professionals with similar roles in general; and 3) the barriers to adoption of GEMINI that you foresee in your practice and in other similar organizations.
If you are interested in participating in our research study or would like to learn more, contact Diana Rinker (Research Coordinator) by phone at 774-314-9509 or email at [email protected].

This year's Family Medicine Discovers Rapid Cycle Scientific Innovation Program (RapSDI) application cycle is open! 
Please encourage any family physicians you know who might be interested, to apply. We've designed this application to be relatively quick and easy to complete in order to reach busy family physicians with great ideas for research projects. Selected scholars receive up to $40,000 for a year for their projects.
The application due date is August 23 (five weeks from today).

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.

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:

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.
Frankly Speaking Podcast

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

Join us for this episode to discuss the Perennial allergic rhinitis affects both children and adults, and management includes both allergy avoidance as well as medication managements. Intranasal steroids are the mainstay of treatment and have traditionally required consistent use, but new data are emerging. Find out the results of a new study evaluating PRN use as an alternative approach. Guest: Alan Ehrlich, MD, FAAFP presents: Nasal Steroids for Perennial Allergic Rhinitis: Is PRN Use Enough? - Frankly Speaking Ep 235.
Department Member Recognition

Paula Gardiner, MD, was featured in the Alliance to Advance Comprehensive Integrative Pain Management on her work for medical group visits.
Clinical Services Spotlight:
COVID-19 UPDATES

UMass Memorial
  • UMass Memorial has reopened the all-COVID unit at the Memorial Campus (West 1) and a University Campus unit will open soon. 
  • Total confirmed cases at UMass is 22 (19 at the medical center; 3 in ICU).
  • A cluster of exposed individuals at the University Campus is being evaluated and tested.

Massachusetts
  • COVID-19 cases are rising. Total confirmed 672,488.
  • The 7-day average positivity rate is 2.28%.
  • Hospitalizations 215. Confirmed deaths 17,714.
  • As of July 24, Massachusetts has seen 6,373 breakthrough cases. Of the 6,373 cases, 361 people have been hospitalized and 91 have died. 
  • The city of Worcester has confirmed 24,165 total cases since the pandemic, with 281 new cases in the month of July.
  • Alert 7/30/2021: The MASS DPH recommends wearing a mask 
  • If you are inside and not in your own home.
  • If you have a weakened immune system.
  • You are at increased risk for severe disease because of your age.
  • If you have an underlying medical condition.
  • If someone in your household has a weakened immune system, is at increased risk for severe disease, or is an unvaccinated adult. 
  • Masks are still mandatory for all individuals on public and private transportation systems (including rideshares, livery, taxi, ferries, MBTA, Commuter Rail, and transportation stations), in healthcare facilities, and other settings hosting vulnerable populations, such as congregate care settings.
US
  • There is a rapid increase in the Delta Variant, which now accounts for more than 83 percent of COVID cases in the US according to the CDC. 
  • This year we have a rare summer rise in Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in children and older adults. It can present similar to COVID. It usually presents in Fall. Stay alert since missing the diagnosis in an ill child can be critical.
  • Who is at risk?
  • Children: Infants < 6 months, premature babies, children < 2 with chronic lung or heart disease, and children with trouble swallowing. 
  • The usual presenting symptoms include runny nose, sneezing, coughing, trouble breathing, tachypnea, nasal flaring, wheezing, and poor feeding.
  • Adults: Age greater than 65 years old, older children and adults with comorbid conditions, and those who are immunocompromised.
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
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
Zumba with Dr. Anna Zheng

May 2021 & summer months (until Sep 2021):
Please join department members Monday mornings at 6:00am, Thursday evenings at 6:15pm, 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.

Much appreciation to Dr. Anna Zheng for hosting these outstanding classes. Join Zoom meeting: https://kennedychc.zoom.us/j/5578995952?pwd=bzVnY0xXdFNTQkpQQ1hmZkw3Snh6Zz09.