UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - August 25, 2026/RESEARCH

Table of Contents

Message From the Chair

Upcoming Events

Focus of the Week - Research

Announcements

Department Member Recognition

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Resources

Message from the Chair

M. Diane McKee, MD, MS, Professor and Chair, UMass Memorial Ledwith Chair in Family and Community Medicine

UMMH Dependent Verification

If you are enrolled in a UMass Memorial Health benefit plan and cover dependents, you should have received communications from UMMH’s verification process partner, Willis Towers Watson (WTW), requesting documentation to confirm dependent eligibility.

Please know that dependent verifications are a common practice across employers. They are considered an industry-standard process used to ensure that organizations remain compliant with benefit plan requirements and applicable regulations. 

What you need to know:

• Don’t ignore! All required documentation must be submitted by September 25, 2026. We are being told this is a hard deadline. 
• Failure to submit the required documentation will result in dependents being dropped as of January 2027.
• This does not apply to school employees (but it does apply to dual employees taking advantage of UMMH benefits).
• If you can’t find the information sent to you, go to ummhealthdrs.ehr.com and sign in with your umass memorial email.
• You will need 2 qualifying documents to verify. Details available here.
• Once you have the documents, it only takes a minute to upload them. 

Thank you for your attention and cooperation.

Upcoming Events

SAVE the DATE - FMCH Grand Rounds

Annual Steven L. Putterman Memorial Lecture. A hybrid event scheduled for Tuesday, September 29th, 12:00-1:00pm, will be presented by guest speaker Michael A. Curry, Esq., President & CEO of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers.

SAVE the DATE - for our Annual Awards Celebration: October 27th, 5:30pm.

More details to come!

Focus of the Week - Research

Jennifer Carroll, MD, MPH, Vice Chair, Research

Suzanne Mitchell, MD, MS, Director, Research

Sonal Singh is leading a two-year project focused on strengthening patient and caregiver involvement in research for people living with dementia. The project is supported by a $300,000 Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington Engagement Award. A 20-member panel of patients, caregivers, clinicians, nurses, healthcare organizations and other partners will help identify the outcomes that matter most to people living with dementia and their caregivers. The team will also develop open-access resources to support dementia-friendly research engagement. Ultimately, the project aims to build meaningful partnerships that prepare patients and caregivers to participate not only as research participants, but as collaborators and future research leaders. The project was recently featured by UMass Chan News. Read the full story here. 

Hugh Silk has been selected to serve on the CareQuest Institute Research Advisory Committee. CareQuest Institute provides approximately $14 million in grants annually and conducts research focused on oral health and medical-dental integration. 

Eliot Hu and colleagues published a narrative review in Cureus titled, “Exercise Collapse Associated With Sickle Cell Trait: Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention, Current Controversies, and Gaps in the Literature.” The review examines current evidence surrounding exercise collapse associated with sickle cell trait (ECAST), a potentially life-threatening complication that can occur during intense physical exertion. The authors discuss strategies for recognizing, treating, and preventing ECAST, particularly among athletes and military personnel. The review highlights the importance of prompt recognition and treatment while identifying continued gaps in awareness of sickle cell trait among athletes, military personnel, and their supervisors. 

Click here to read the full paper.  

A new paper led by Suzanne Mitchell and co-authored by Sophia Greisner (CHW in FMCH) and Maria DelPico (Class of ’27) was recently accepted for publication in The Gerontologist. “Themes of Incongruence in the Relationships between Care Partners and Care Recipients During Discharge from Hospital to Home” explores how differences in perspectives between patients and their care partners may affect preparedness for the transition home and hospital readmission risk. Stay tuned for the full publication and findings! 

Rahi Patel (Class of ’27) is working with Gopal Vijayaraghavan on a study examining primary care providers’ perspectives on breast cancer risk assessment and screening. The team is seeking primary care providers to complete a brief 5-minute survey about the use of breast cancer risk assessment models and opportunities to improve screening practices. Findings will be considered alongside retrospective data to better understand how risk assessment models are being used and their potential impact on breast cancer screening and outcomes. Primary care providers are encouraged to participate and share their perspectives. Take the 5-minute survey here.

Announcements

Apple picking with MassAFP!

September 13th, noon to 4pm at Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stowe, MA.  

Attendings: $70 per family; Residents and Students – FREE! Includes ½ peck picking bag, cider donut, caramel apple, apple cider and unlimited access to the hedge mazes. More information available here.

FUNDING THE PROVIDER WORKROOM AT RISE

Hello - we are beginning a fundraising challenge in the department to sponsor the Provider Work Room at Worcester RISE for Health, led by our colleagues Drs. Olga Valdman and Katharine Barnard. Our goal is to raise $10 000. It will take 4 $1000 donations, 4 $500, 4 $250, 20 $100 and 20 $50 donations. Hugh Silk and his wife started the donations with a gift of $1000 (so we only need 3 of those now!). Please choose a level that works for you and go to https://givebutter.com/FMCH_RISE. There is more information about RISE and this campaign at this link. It will feel good to support our colleagues who are helping those with great needs in our community. Thank you for considering.

Reminder! Proposals for the STFM Annual Spring Conference are due September 4, 2026.

Please see additional information here. 

Massachusetts Hepatitis C ECHO

(Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes)

You are invited to join an exciting virtual collaborative learning opportunity which will allow you to build expertise in the evaluation and management of patients living with chronic

Hepatitis C. Participants can receive up to 7 CME credits and the course is free. A new cohort begins Friday, September 11th, 12:30-1:30pm ~ with 7 sessions. See flyer for more information.

Register today!

Regional Tuberculosis Infection ECHO

The Global Tuberculosis Institute will partner again this year with the Brown University ECHO hub and health departments across 20 TB program areas in the Northeastern United States to offer a Regional Tuberculosis Infection (TBI) ECHO Course in Fall 2026 for primary care team members. This is a six-session virtual and interactive TBI ECHO course which begins September 24th. Participants can receive up to 6 CME credits and the course is free. Please see brochure for more details. Register here.

iCELS Intro to POCUS hands on course

October 6th, 8:00-5:00pm, Albert Sherman Center. See flyer for more information.

SAVE THE DATE FOR MED MOTH - Tuesday, October 13th at 5:30 PM in the Albert Sherman Center Multi-Purpose Room (Cafeteria).

Med Moth is an event based on The Moth Story Hour, where members of the UMass Chan community (including SOM, GSN, GSBS, faculty, residents, and hospital staff) share stories for 5–10 minutes each. This year, we'll also be welcoming live music, poetry, visual art, and other forms of expression. Past talks have explored speakers' journeys into medicine, meaningful patient encounters, and other experiences that shape personal or professional identity in health care. Some have been humorous and others more serious.

They are looking for speakers too! Those interested in sharing a story can contact the event organizers, Mariam Tolba (mariam.tolba@umassmed.edu) or Maddie Mulkern (madeline.mulkern2@umassmed.edu), for more information. 

Jeanne Cawse-Lucas, Philip Day and Linda Cragin are planning a one-day symposium for medical students with the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers. If you are willing to share your career trajectory working with underserved populations, please let Linda.Cragin@umassmed.edu know. The date is Saturday, October 17th from 9-1 at the League’s training center in Worcester. 

Unlock your teaching potential at the TOT Workshop - 2 Days of Training

October 23rd and April 2nd, 8:00-4:00pm, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, 11 French Drive, Boylston, MA. See flyer, contact susan.foley@umassmed.edu, or visit the website Teaching of Tomorrow for more information.

Department Member Recognition

Thanks to the many, many faculty members who supported students in summer research and community health experiences. We had more than 17 FMCH faculty members involved (too many to name!), constituting 20% of the total faculty involved. Meanwhile, nearly 29% of the students involved were AHEC Scholars. Each student (or group) created an introductory video and poster which you can access here: Poster Session 2026

Tracy Kedian was interviewed for the online journal HealthDay, Aug. 24, 2026: https://www.healthday.com/health-news/general-health/family-medicine-shortage-why-future-doctors-look-elsewhere

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Please join us for a weekly Podcast series. Stay in the know with this breakdown of the latest American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) recommendations for lipid testing and management. New approaches to evaluating hyperlipidemia, as well as limitations of the updated guidelines, are discussed to provide you with practical strategies for tailoring treatment decisions to individual patient risk. Guest: Alan M. Ehrlich, MD, FAAFP, presents, "Recalculating Risk: Updated Guidelines for Lipid Management". Frankly Speaking Episode #499. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367

Resources

Past editions of the Tuesday Talk are available at 

https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/ under Resources.

The UMass Memorial Caring for Caregivers Program is available at 508-334-HELP,

EAP at 866-263-3525, and the UMass Chan EAP at 800-322-5327.

www.LiveandWorkWell.com 

Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban. New members always welcome. 

Wednesday(s), 6:30-7:30am, for a gentle awakening yoga session led by Liz Erban.

https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/91343267992?pwd=ZHF3NHVrVlR1MVdMV09HSE5lTzdsQT09

FMCH Department Calendar a centralized resource designed to highlight departmental dates, deadlines, and events. If you experience any issues, please reach out to (natalia.tobon@umassmed.edu) or (sandra.girouardtodd@umassmed.edu).