UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - April 29, 2025/DIVERSITY | | Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to FMCHtuesdaytalk@umassmed.edu. | | |
Table of Contents
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Diversity
Announcements
Presentations and Publications
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Resources
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Upcoming Events
FMCH Grand Rounds
Tuesday, April 29th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, "Teaching with Medical Humanities-Evidence, Our Residency, & Practical Strategies", presented by Hugh Silk, MD, MPH, and Sara Shields, MD, MS.
Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/191986273?pwd=NEtlZmNkdWlSUGwyeTJQU3dCeUs1QT09
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Tuesday, June 17th, 8:00 - 5:00pm, "Early Childhood Mental Health: a Primer for Pediatric Primary Care Clinicians"
Registration Ticket Price by June 3rd $100, late registration or on site $115.
Link to register Early Childhood Mental Health below. https://umassmed.ungerboeck.com/prod/emc00/PublicSignIn.aspx?&aat=6d7637774c6f7967462f4a4e6d693431483859376a43514e32384a573455357633426855627055475071453d
For more information see flyer.
Save the Date: May 15th for the department’s annual retreat. More info to come!
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Focus of the Week - Diversity
Jennifer Bradford MD, MPH; Director of Social Justice and Inclusion
Josephine Fowler, MD, MBA, Vice Chair of Clinical Services
HeatherLyn Haley, PhD, Program Director
Happy spring from the FMCH Ombuds Team. We’ve been meeting regularly for training and peer mentoring as we do our best to support learners, staff and faculty with concerns in our clinical and teaching spaces.
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We are working with the clinical DEI team on a fabulous session for the retreat and encouraging folks to record pronunciation of their names for our websites. If you have a concern and want to talk it through, or are unsure of your options for reporting, you can reach out to any of us for support.
(Official reporting is done through the school DIO website.) The FMCH Ombuds are:
- Jennifer Bradford MD MPH, Assistant Professor of FMCH; Director of Social Justice and Inclusion FMCH; and Medical Director, Community HealthLink Detox Continuum
- Alexa Connell PhD,Assistant Professor of FMCH; Asst Director, Center for Integrated Primary Care, and Primary Care Psychologist, Benedict Family Practice
- Shahida Fareed PsyD, Assistant Professor and Director of Integrated Behavioral Health FMCH
- Josephine Fowler MD MSc MBA FAAFP, Professor and FMCH Vice Chair for Clinical Services
- Heather-Lyn Haley PhD, Assistant Professor, Affiliate Faculty, Family Medicine and Community Health
- Manju Mahajan, MD, FAAFP, Assistant Professor, Department of FMCH
- Laquita Morris, MD, Assistant Professor and Fitchburg Family Medicine Residency Director of Family Medicine Clerkship and Maternal & Child Health
- Sarah Pearson PsyD, Assistant Professor and Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Barre Family Health Center
- Claudeleedy “Claudia” Pierre, MD, Assistant Professor and FMCH Co-Director of Perinatal Services; Primary Care at Family Health Center Worcester
Stand Against Racism
Dr. Bradford attended the YWCA of Central MA Stand Against Racism breakfast on April 25th, and was inspired by the message of action conveyed by the keynote speaker, Yavilah McCoy, CEO of the diversity consulting group, DIMENSIONS Inc., shared below:
5 Actions toTake in Support of Freedom, Justice and Equity for our Communities
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Practice economic solidarity: Intentionally support Black businesses, AND all entrepreneurs and institutions that prioritize equity. Redirect your financial powr toward businesses and institutions that genuinely uphold equity and justice.
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Demand accountability: Hold organizations to their DEI promises and call out performative gestures. America’s foundation is built on a history that has, for centuries, marginalized Black Americans through inequitable policies, laws and social constructs. The ⅗ compromise, Jim Crow laws, redlining and mass incarceration were not accidental occurrences but deliberate measures designed to maintain power structures and policies that denied Black Americans full participation in democracy, access to wealth-building opportunities and educational advancement. Demand equity as the bare minimum required for a society to experience Democracy for All.
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Educate and advocate: Ensure that true history is taught in schools and that misinformation is challenged. Be prepared to offer facts and sources when the teaching of lived events by Black Americans in this country is met with resistance, labeled as “woke” or an attempt to make white people uncomfortable.
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Strengthen legal protections & engage in social and political activism: Support legislation and legal battles that reinforce civil rights and equity. Use your voices, platforms and votes to reject division and fear, and engage in advocacy efforts that uplift Black communities and hold leaders accountable.
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Support and engage in practices of self-care: Replenish in “safe spaces” and invest in caring communities. In a society that too often seeks to diminish us, practicing self-care is, itself, an act of resistance. Black Americans have long understood the necessity of creating safe spaces - places where we can exist, thrive and uplift each other without the burden of explaining or justifying our existence. Supporting these spaces is not about exclusion; it is about expanding our capacities for survival, healing and empowerment.
Highlights From The National Medical Quality Forum Leadership Conference 2025
Overview of the impact of not continuing Medicaid Support at current level.
- Currently in the US, about 80 million people receive Medicaid. This impacts all states.
- 1 in 5 individuals receive Medicaid. 42% of all adults are on Medicaid. It covers 40% of all births and about 60% of births in rural areas.
- Covers 60% of nursing home care and it is the largest payor for substance use treatment.
- 43 states contract with private plans and most states run Medicaid through managed care plans. In CA, it is run through at the county level and each county may have some differences.
- In some programs, a tax credit is offered to help pay the cost of care. This will also be impacted.
- With the closure of rural hospitals and the reduction in services, Medicaid reduction will have a huge impact on healthcare availability. More than 190 rural hospitals have closed and more are at risk. Planned cuts will impact services, including individuals, communities, and providers.
- If market credits go away, it will impact access and health care outcomes.
- The Energy and Commerce committee has been charged with cutting $80M and that includes Medicaid. New eligibility, including work requirements, that will lead to people losing coverage. (e.g. Access, medication, treatment)
- Benefits to states will decrease.
- Federal matching anticipated to be reduced below 50%. Both payments to providers and States. Other resources such as transportation, meal plans for elderly, and other support for Social Determinants of Health are at risk for being cut.
- Potential cut in 340B program as well.
- About 44% of all Medicaid recipients are at risk, this includes about 36 million adults.
- Your voice is needed!
From: NMQF Forum 2025
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Announcements
(Message from Nick Rhind)
Dear Colleagues,
As many of you will know, our colleagues in the Faculty Senate at UMass Amherst voted unanimously to endorse a resolution in support of the establishment of Mutual Academic Defense Compacts. Members of the UMass Amherst Senate reached out to their colleagues at the Medical School to encourage us to support their efforts. To that end, I will present their resolution and subsequent actions at other universities in Massachusetts and across the country at Faculty Council meeting next week, and ask for suggestions from the faculty about how we can best contribute.
For those of you on Faculty Council, I encourage you to share this invitation with your departments. For those of you not on Faculty Council, I encourage to attend and/or to speak with your Faculty Council Representative about the issue.
The meeting will be held Thursday, May 1st at 4:00pm. The Zoom link is
https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/510427174. The passcode is 134931.
Thank you for your consideration of this important matter, Nick
The 2025 Faculty for Tomorrow Workshop for Residents will be held on May 3, 2025 as part of the STFM Annual Spring Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. See link for additional information.
https://www.stfm.org/awardsscholarships/scholarships/facultyfortomorrowresidentscholarship/overview/
New Faculty Orientation
If you are a UMass Chan faculty member hired in the last 12 months,
consider registering for the New Faculty Orientation on May 19th, on zoom from
9-11:30am.This event gives new faculty the opportunity to hear from and connect with institutional leadership and with other new faculty.
UMass Chan Cares Days
May 20-21. This is a brand new event for UMass Chan to show the community how much it cares through community service. School employees can use paid volunteer time off to participate. Katie Stickney in the Office for Community and Government Relations has multiple site activities arranged. Learn more and register.
Film Premiere of VITAL SIGNS and Panel - Advocating for Deaf Health Access
Tuesday, June 17th, 4-6pm
Hosted by UMass Chan Medical School, Center for Living and Working, and DEAF YE - Center for Deaf Empowerment and Recovery. 18 Chestnut Street, Worcester, MA.
RSVP melissa.anderson@umassmed.edu.
The 2025-2026 BRC Fellowship Call for Applications Is Open
The Building Research Capacity (BRC) Fellowship has 3 aims:
- Coaching: Provide coaching support to build research and scholarship capacity within a program or institution
- Support: Develop a peer support network among other individuals or teams trying to build research capacity
- Strategic Planning: Create a strategic plan for research and scholarship within their home program/institution
Applications are due July 30, 2025. Learn more and apply here!
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Presentations and Publications
Carolyn Langer, MD, JD, MPH, presented on "The Payer Perspective on Digital Solutions for Population Health Management" at the annual meeting of the Americal Association for Physician Leaders on April 25th.
Warren Ferguson, MD, and Ekaterina Pivovarova, PhD, recently published a paper titled "Patient perspectives of jail-based MOUD treatment: views of individuals who have returned to the community following incarceration". Health & Justice. DOI: 10.1186/s40352-025-00319-7. Open access:
https://rdcu.be/eiQpX
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Daniel H. Lasser Family Medicine Education Innovation Fund
You can contribute by credit card to this link or QR code:
https://alumni.umassmed.edu/lasserinnovationfund. Or you can send a check payable to UMass Chan Medical School with "Lasser Fund" in the memo to: UMass Chan Medical School Office of Advancement, 333 South St. Shrewsbury, MA 01545.
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Frankly Speaking Podcast
Please join us for a weekly Podcast series for an overview: Stay up to date with the latest evidence-based acne treatment guidelines from the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Learn how to optimize topical and oral therapies, minimize antibiotic resistance, and apply new best practices to improve outcomes for adolescents and young adults. Don't miss these key updates for enhancing patient care. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP, presents, "A Clear Path to Acne Management: Key Takeaways from the Latest Guidelines" - Frankly Speaking Ep 430. Listen on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367
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