Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk.
We will have a focus of the memo each week, along with timely upcoming events and other announcements.
Week 1 – Clinical Updates
Week 2 – Education Updates
Week 3 – Community Health Updates
Week 4 – Research Updates
Week 5 - (when available) – Other
Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to FMCHtuesdaytalk@umassmed.edu. Feel free to title according to the focus area. We look forward to hearing your news!
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FMCH Virtual Town Hall Meeting
January 19th, Tuesday - 12pm - 1pm: Zoom information to follow.
FMCH Grand Rounds
January 26th, Tuesday - 12 - 1pm: Stacy Potts, MD, MeD presents "Family Medicine Training: Past, Present, & Future"
Faculty Development Workshop - Feedback and Evaluation
January 28th, Thursday - 8am - 9am: Presented by Reid Evans, PhD
RSVP to Jennifer.masoud@umassmemorial.org for zoom information
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Department Member Recognition |
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Dennis Dimitri MD, FAAFP has been elected to a two year term as the chairman of Tobacco Free Mass. TFM is a privately-funded coalition that advocates for funding and policies that support tobacco prevention and cessation and the reduction of exposure to secondhand smoke. The coalition was formed in 1991 to pass Question One, which raised the state’s tobacco excise tax to fund, in part, the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program and other public health initiatives.
Dan Mullin, PsyD, MPH, Director of the Center for Integrated Primary Care, is pleased to share that the medical school’s Educational Policy Committee (EPC) has approved a CIPC-developed/SAMHSA-funded DATA Waiver course as a graduation requirement for the Class of 2022+; it will be available for the Class of 2021. The American Society for Addiction Medicine (ASAM) has approved this 8-hour course so it is nationally portable. Credit goes to the CIPC team including Amber Cahill, PsyD, Paula Gardiner, MD, Jess Baer, Amy Green, and Linda Cragin, MS with critical support from Steve Martin, MD, Jeff Baxter, MD, Phoebe Cushman, Gerardo Gonzales, several students and colleagues at Tufts, BU and Harvard schools of medicine, and the Graduate School of Nursing. https://www.umassmed.edu/cipc/about/resources/waiver-course/
Efforts are underway to deploy this curriculum at Tufts, BU, and Harvard medical schools to ensure that 100% of Massachusetts medical students are eligible to receive their buprenorphine waiver. If you are aware of medical schools in other states who would be interested in adopting this curriculum please notify Dr. Mullin at Daniel.Mullin@umassmed.edu.
We are also interested in partnering with NP/PA programs interested in adopting this curriculum.
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CIPC is promoting a new course to develop and manage Medical Group Visits lead by Paula Gardiner, MD. The 12-week online course with facilitated live sessions provides a step-by step process to successfully implement MGV. UMass affiliated providers are encouraged to register for this training: https://www.umassmed.edu/cipc/MGVTraining/
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Paula Gardiner, MD is seeking providers to participate in a study: Perspectives on Motivating Lifestyle Change in Women with Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy. The purpose of this study is to identify providers’ perspectives on dietary counseling and barriers faced in counseling pregnant women with obesity, chronic hypertension, gestational hypertension, or a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Additionally, we hope to elucidate referral patterns and barrier faced in providing referrals to dieticians and nutritionists in these populations.
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Amanda Dostaler, DO, FFMR had her GEM published by FPIN as the GEM's Spotlight Article of the Week: A Slice of Bread Less a Day Keeps Celiac Away published online by the Family Physicians Inquiries Network
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Department News Spotlight |
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Mick Huppert Awards
As we reflect this week on Martin Luther King Day, it is appropriate to feature the Mick Huppert Awards, which memorialize an icon of community engagement and service-learning in our department. Thanks to funding by both Family Medicine and Community Health and the Graduate School of Nursing, there are 4 projects that were awarded this past year.
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Filia Van Dessel (SOM) and Cathleen Cuddihy (GSN) partner with the Island Disability Coalition on Martha’s Vineyard following their 2019 Population Health Clerkship (PHC). They have developed a comprehensive, accessible, and easy-to-use guide to ensure youth and their families are aware of local physical activity and recreational opportunities.
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Haley Schachter (SOM) and Aisling Ryan (GSN) continue the work they began through a PHC at Outer Cape Health Services (OCHS) to strengthen the evidence of the OCHS’s navigator program’s impact on treating social determinants of health as part of integrated primary care.
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Anushay Mistry (SOM) built on a relationship with the Worcester Refugee Assistance Program (WRAP) to improve WRAP youth’s ability to cope with adversity and to participate in open conversations regarding mental health. UMMS students are paired with individual youth to provide academic and emotional support and, due to the pandemic, offer activities such as virtual yoga.
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In partnership with the Emergency Food Pantry at the Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. Family Services Community Health Center, Christine Callahan (SOM) and Iha Kaul (SOM) developed a community healthy eating education strategy. Due to COVID, they shifted from in-person cooking demonstrations to remote demonstrations, providing food and recipes for participants to cook and training community members to present healthy cooking demonstrations.
New England AIDS Education and Training Center
NEAETC now resides in the department and provides education to care teams throughout New England. Phil Bolduc, MD serves as the Principal Investigator and Vanessa Carson-Sasso serves as Executive Director. There are three new initiatives of note.
- New England AIDS Education and Training Center (NEAETC) has two current initiatives focused on Community Health Workers (CHWs) in the region –
- In collaboration with Community Health Center Association of CT, NEAETC’s CT Regional Partner site is facilitating an ECHO to support and enhance CHW HIV knowledge and service delivery.
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As part of the larger Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) activities targeting Suffolk County, NEAETC’s MA Regional Partner site will convene the Suffolk County HIV CHW Advisory Group to bring together HIV CHWs working in Suffolk County to provide them with professional networking and development opportunities (a forum to strategize and problem-solve) and inform EHE activities. The Advisory Group will begin in January.
True North - Health Equity and Well Child Care Visits
Are you seeing children in your practice? Our goal this year is to make sure no child is left behind in receiving the well child visit. Currently, the organization has set a metric to improve the number of WCC visits to decrease the gap noted between ethnic minorities (Black and Latino) and whites. It is a multidisciplinary approach with Family Medicine and Pediatrics working along with OCI and IT to improve this metric.
Watch your emails for updates. These are a few things you can do in your practice:
- Actively manage scheduling of WCC visits of those who have not been seen.
- Schedule visits both in person and by telehealth as applicable.
Below are some key points to remember when scheduling or completing well childcare visits:
- Consistent with previous guidance, all well-childcare should occur in person whenever possible and within the child's medical home where continuity of care may be established and maintained.
- Our goal is to see "in person" children less than 4 years of age, those who require vaccination, and for those who require a physical exam for more complex reasons.
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Telehealth visits are part of a combined matrix of care options available to provide the right care in the right place at the right time. Use of telehealth should be based on the medical condition, preferences of the patients, families, provider, and resources available.
- Elements that require in-person care include, at a minimum, the initial newborn visit, the comprehensive physical examination; office testing, including laboratory testing, hearing, vision and oral health screening, fluoride varnish and immunizations.
- All pediatric health care services, including telehealth, should be coordinated through the medical home.
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Items that cannot be done using telehealth: the complete physical exam, immunizations, and complex medical visits.
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All telehealth visits should be followed up with a physical exam as soon as feasible.
- Parents should be educated on the processes in place to make the medical home a safe place for the clinical visit.
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Telehealth visits must be audio/video.
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Clinical Services Spotlight: COVID 19 Updates |
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COVID-19 UPDATES
Thank you all for giving your time, your talents, and expertise daily to meet the challenges of the pandemic. We notice your resilience and appreciate your tenacity. We are a Village, and we appreciate the work you do for the team. Please take some time to reflect on the great things you do. Together we make a difference. Remember you are appreciated. You are amazing. You matter!
Vaccine Administration
State of Massachusetts
- Current COVID vaccination administered 69% of allotment.
- Total cumulative vaccines shipped to Massachusetts, 328,000. Total administered 141,108.
- Vaccine distribution breakdown
- Minorities are 12-15.6 times less likely to have been administered the vaccine when compared to Whites.
- When reviewing age, the largest groups that have received the vaccine are the age groups 30-49 and 50-69.
UMMMC has vaccinated over 10,000 health Care Team members with face-to-face interactions in Phase 1.
UMMHC plans for distribution in Phase 2
- UMMHC is planning to receive the vaccines for phase 2 in February.
- The vaccines will be distributed in alignment with the State of Massachusetts and the CDC guidelines. The UMMHC patient vaccination program is part of a larger State initiative to ensure all patients who want to be vaccinated, can be.
- The targeted audience includes the patients receiving care at UMMHC. This includes Medical Center, Medical Group, Health Alliance, Clinton and Marlborough.
- This includes patients currently seen in our clinics or receiving specialty care service.
- Targeted audience is UMMHC patients seen within the last two years.
Phase 2 Patients are defined:
- 65 years old or greater
- Patients age 18-64 with 2 comorbidities or more
Patient Notification
The UMMHC process will include notification to the patients by MyChart, text, and other means as determined by the organization. Patients should also be directed to the UMass website for information and update.
Delivery of Vaccines
- Distribution of vaccines is part of a State effort to deliver the vaccine.
- UMMHC is working on securing at least 2 large sites initially for regional vaccination.
- Additional information is available on the UMass Website and State portal. This information is evolving.
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Wellness Resources
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Wellness Rounds during the month of January Wellness Rounds will meet twice weekly, Tuesday evenings 5:30-6:30pm and Wednesday mornings 7:30-8:30am via Zoom. The meetings will continue to be facilitated by Ethan Eisdorfer, PsyD, Shahida Fareed, PsyD and Dan Mullin, PsyD. Please feel free to drop in as often or infrequently ask you like. Late arrivals are welcome. The time will be unstructured but will include brief mindfulness practice, discussion, and reflection.
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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 |
Please join department members Monday mornings at 6:00am, Thursday evenings at 6:00pm, Saturday mornings at 9:00am and get moving with Zumba via Zoom. Much appreciation to Dr. Anna Zheng for hosting these outstanding classes. Join Zoom meeting: https://kennedychc.zoom.us/j/5578995952?pwd=bzVnY0xXdFNTQkpQQ1hmZkw3Snh6Zz09
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