UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - March 17, 2026/COMMUNITY | | |
Table of Contents
Message From the Chair
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Community
Announcements
Department Member Recognition
Presentations and Publications
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Resources
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Message From the Chair
M. Diane McKee, MD, MS, Professor and Chair, UMass Memorial Ledwith Chair in Family and Community Medicine
What better way for our department to be represented than in the leadership of the Massachusetts Academy of Family Physicians. The academy held their Annual Meeting and Spring Refresher in Waltham, March 13-14. Keynote speakers included Kisha Davis, President-Elect of AAFP; Kiame Mahaniah, Massachusetts Secretary of Health and Human Services; and our own Frank Domino and Olga Valdman. Fred Baker received the annual award for Preceptor of the Year. We were extremely well-represented with sessions offered by Manju Mahajan, Rebecca Gwaltney, Erin Cathcart, Noah Welker, Christine Donohue, and Kristina Gracey. Affiliate faculty who presented include Samantha Mekrut and Matthew Libby, with alums including Michael Richardson.
In leadership transition, Ron Adler completed his service as Board Chair, and Manju Mahajan will now serve as President of the MassAFP. Congratulations to all!
MassAFP’s next major event will be Advocacy Day at the State House in Boston May 13th. As there is strength in numbers, all Massachusetts Family Physicians are encouraged to join MassAFP (and AAFP); details available here: https://www.massafp.org/membership
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Focus of the Week - Community
Hugh Silk, MD, MPH, Vice Chair of Community Health
Black Maternal Health Week event - Community Pregnancy Pop-Up Celebration
Saturday, April 11th, 11am-2pm at the YWCA, 1 Salem Street, Worcester. More information available here.
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Reminder - The Warren Ferguson Visiting Professorship in Community Health is April 14th. Etel Haxhiaj, former Worcester City Councilor and housing advocate, will be giving Grand Rounds on From Clinical Practice to Advocacy: Your Voice Matters! Please plan to join us in person on the University Campus or by zoom. You can donate to the Ferguson Professorship here through the Family Medicine and Community Health Fund or with this QR code:
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What the Health? Health Equity Book Club
The book club meets 7pm on the last Wednesday of the month on Zoom.
- March 25th - Under the Skin by Linda Villarosa
- April 29th - Mothering the Mother by Shafia Monroe
- May 27th - Random Family by Adrian Nicole Leblanc
- June 24th - Notes on Being a Man by Scott Galloway
- July 29th - The Privileged Poor by Anthony Jack
More information here: https://www.patientsrwaiting.com/bookclub
Free Fitness Resources for you, your family and your patients
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University Park Fitness Court (965 Main St., Worcester): A 7-station, bodyweight-based outdoor court designed for all fitness levels, with a companion app for workouts.
- Coolidge Park (198 Townsend St., Fitchburg)
(Part of National Fitness Campaign – app; 30 places in MA – 15 by BCBS
(https://www.nationalfitnesscampaign.com/map?l=61435136)
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Senior Center FitLot (128 Providence St.): An outdoor gym offering free 1-hour, instructor-led circuit training classes.
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Newton Hill near Elm Park (Doherty High Parking Lot – 299 Highland St): Features a 18-hole disc golf course and hilly terrain suitable for hiking. (https://www.pdga.com/course-directory/course/newton-hill)
- Worcester Fitness in the Parks
12 week program – options include Tai-Chi, HIIT, basketball, etc.
Next = June-August https://www.worcesterma.gov/summer-fitness
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Announcements
Please plan to attend the Annual Faculty Development Day (formerly known as the departmental retreat) the afternoon of Thursday, May 14th, at the Albert Sherman Center on the UMass-Chan campus. Topics will include addressing bias in the clinical and learning environments, ambulatory procedures, intrapartum care, and integrating learners into scholarship. Now is a great time to ensure that your clinic schedule is clear! For new faculty members (in the past 3 years), there will be a new faculty academic onboarding that morning (May 14) from 9-12pm in the Benedict Building, which will cover scholarship opportunities, library resources, and setting yourself up for a successful academic.
We have been awarded a grant to evaluate AI use in clinical practice in the primary care setting. This project entails the participant to complete an 8-9 question multiple choice pre survey. A subset will be asked to primarily use a specific AI tool for their clinical needs but may still use other tools like websites, other apps or books afterwards. After 2 weeks, all participants will again complete the survey. For their participation, all will receive a high end insulated travel mug (like a Camelback or Yeti). Please share this invite with all primary care providers in your system, including Family Physicians, Primary Care Internists, and Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants who practice primary care. If interested, please sign up by registering your name and email at link below:
https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cO6dYGsDRaNyhwi?Q_CHL=qr
Lisa Gussak will offer a talk on “Growth Mindset and Feedback”, Thursday, April 16th from 4:30-6pm. This topic is aligned with the work that is being done across the department to improve our ability to give and receive feedback. Please register if interested. https://www.umassmed.edu/academy-of-educators/events/education-grand-rounds/
(Message from Frank Domino)
The Department is offering a “Precepting Performance Improvement Program - Part IV” as part of the ABFM recertification process. If you precept LEARNERS (preferably medical students) 180 hours per year, you are eligible. The process involves completing one of the BRIEF online Faculty Development Modules, committing to making at least ONE change in your precepting skills, and then precept students. After 180 hours, you will receive a post-test in December to revisit your commitment to change, and we will process with the ABFM. This Enrollment Form also serves as the Pre-Test. If you have any questions, please reach out karen.rayla@umassmed.edu.
Joint Commission Readiness
We have officially kicked off the Joint Commission Readiness Countdown—our very own prep rally for the big upcoming triennial survey. Each week leading up to survey, we’ll post a fun and informative activity on the Hub.
- Go to the Hub and scan the weekly QR code with your phone or click the link.
- Complete the activity for the week.
- Get entered into our weekly prize drawing
Spread the word to your teams, encourage everyone to join in, and let’s make this a fun, team-powered push toward readiness. We’re excited to launch our very first weekly Joint Commission Newsletter starting March 1st. Each edition will spotlight key JC focus areas and “easy wins” in a clear, concise, and totally actionable way—think of it as your weekly cheat sheet for survey success. Each week we’ll share tips, reminders, and little nuggets of wisdom to help you and your teams stay ahead of the game.
(Shared by Michael Burdulis)
This commentary shares new 2026 data that links access to a usual source of primary care results in 20% fewer hospitalizations and 54% lower total costs in adults with chronic disease; the benefits for children are even more striking.
https://www.patientcareonline.com/view/primary-care-tied-to-54-lower-costs-for-chronic-disease-new-data
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Department Member Recognition
Kudos to Rosa Fernandez, Central MA AHEC center director who was highlighted in the 3/6 issue of the Worcester T&G for her commitment to the Worcester community.
Congratulations to the Family Medicine Clerkship, which was rated in the 94th percentile for quality of clerkships nationally on the AAMC Graduation Questionnaire.(For comparison: the next best clerkship at UMass rated in the 74th percentile!) This is a huge achievement and a well-earned recognition of the expertise, care, and logistical mastery of our clerkship team, Mary Lindholm and Karen Rayla, as well as all of the educators and preceptors that participate in the effort. Thank you to everyone who teaches our students!
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Presentations and Publications
Congrats to Maria DelPico, Class of 2027 for her narrative essay: “Cribbage, Cowboy Hats, and Connection" now published on the STFM Family Medicine website with this direct link: https://journals.stfm.org/familymedicine/online-first/delpico-0277/ Her article will be assigned to a monthly issue of Family Medicine in the future.
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Frankly Speaking Podcast
Please join us for a weekly Podcast series. Melatonin is widely used and often perceived as a safe, natural solution for insomnia. However, a new preliminary study raises concerns about long-term melatonin use and increased risk of heart failure, hospitalization, and all-cause mortality in patients with chronic insomnia. In this episode, we review the findings, discuss how they fit with existing evidence, explore limitations, and offer practical guidance for clinicians counseling patients about sleep supplements. Guest: Mariyan Montaque, DNP, FNP-BC, presents, "Melatonin: Is a "Natural" Sleep Aid as Harmless as We Think?". Frankly Speaking Episode #476. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367
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