UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - March 26, 2024/RESEARCH

Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to [email protected]. 

Table of Contents

Message from the Chair and Vice Chair

Upcoming Events

Focus of the Week – Research

Announcements

Department Member Recognition

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Message from the Chair and Vice Chair

Diane McKee, MD, MS

Josephine Fowler, MD, MBA

Doctor's Day 2024

Want to see what's happening at UMass for Doctor' s day? See the many events taking place this week in the attached calendar of events!

Upcoming Events

FMCH Grand Rounds

Tuesday, March 26th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Mary Lindholm, MD, Patricia Seymore, MD, and Frank Domino, MD, present, "The New FM Longitudinal Clerkship and UME Milestone Assessment System".

Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/191986273?pwd=NEtlZmNkdWlSUGwyeTJQU3dCeUs1QT09

Research in Progress Meetings

Thanks to all who attended our in-person Research in Progress meeting on Friday, March 22nd. We hope to establish a regular, quarterly schedule of in-person meetings every March, June, September, and December. In that spirit, please save the date for the next in-person gathering for FMCH researchers on Friday, June 14th from 9am-12pm noon. The full proposed schedule is posted here: 

2023-24 Academic Year

Friday, April 12: cancelled/ no meeting

Friday, May 10: meet on Zoom from 10-11 am; guest speaker is Dr. Apurv Soni

Friday, June 14: meet in person from 9am-12pm

No meetings in July/ August 2024

2024-25 Academic Year

Friday, September 13: meet in person from 9am-12pm

Friday, October 11: meet on Zoom from 10-11 am

Friday, November 8: meet on Zoom from 10-11 am

Friday, December 13: meet in person from 9am-12pm

Friday, January 10, 2025: meet on Zoom from 10-11 am

Friday, February 14, 2025: meet on Zoom from 10-11 am

Friday, March 14, 2025: meet in person from 9am-12pm

Friday, April 11, 2025: meet on Zoom from 10-11 am

Friday, May 9, 2025: meet on Zoom from 10-11 am

Friday, June 13: meet in person from 9am-12pm

No meetings in July/ August 2025

In the meantime, join us for our next Research-in-Progress meeting on Zoom on Friday, May 10th at 10am. Dr. Apurv Soni from the Division of Health Systems Science will present on digital health recruitment strategies.

Research Forum

We invite you to our upcoming Research Forum on Friday, April 19th at 12pm noon on Zoom. Our scheduled presenter is Dr. Ben Gerber, Professor, Internist, and Division Chief of Health Informatics and Implementation Science in PQHS. All are welcome!

Have a recommendation for a future speaker? Please contact Suzanne Mitchell at [email protected]. We are now booking for Fall 2024.

Grant Opportunity

Advanced notice from Philip Day, PhD: Apply for grant funding through the Remillard Community Service Fund. This is an opportunity to recognize both students and faculty. Established at the Medical School in 2015 with a $3 million donation by the Remillard Family Foundation, the Remillard Family Community Service Fund is dedicated to providing ongoing support for community outreach programs. This year, there are 6 awards of up to $20K each to work with community-based partners. Start to think about projects.

For additional information about the above meetings or to highlight any funding news in a future newsletter, please reach out to [email protected].

22nd Annual Primary Care Days will be held Tuesday, April 9th and Wednesday, April 10th, 8:30am - 2:00pm, Beechwood Hotel, 363 Plantation Street, Worcester. Please see flyer for additional information and schedule.

Black Maternal Health Week Event

The Collaborative in Health Equity (a partnership across many parts of UMMH and the UMass Chan Medical School) is hosting an incredible set of events for Black Maternal 

Health Week (April 11-17). We hope you’ll take some time to listen, learn, and engage on this important topic. You can read all about it in the attached program or check out the website: https://www.umassmed.edu/healthequity/collaborative-in-health-equity/

MAY 16th: The Department’s Annual Retreat with our theme Family Medicine Proud!, from 12:30 - 6:30pm at the UMass South Street campus in Shrewsbury. Please save this date on your calendar. Make sure you sign up for the retreat when registration is available! 

UMass Memorial Children’s Medical Center is hosting a Teddy Bear Clinic on

May 18th, 2024. This year’s Teddy Bear Clinic is sure to be an exciting adventure that kids will love. Not only will they get to learn more about the doctor's office but also meet some educational professionals who will help teach them about proper hygiene and healthy habits. If you are interested in hosting a booth, please fill out the form here: https://forms.office.com/r/QhusB1NXCw. Please note, all booth volunteers who are not already UMass Memorial employees will need to be onboarded by our volunteer services group and will need to be pre-registered with UMass Chan to be on site. If you have any questions or would like to talk more about the Teddy Bear Clinic, please feel free to reach out to [email protected]. 

Recruiting volunteers for the Worcester Free Care Collaborative

Jim Ledwith would like to encourage colleagues to step into a special experience in volunteer medicine. Jim has enjoyed working with the student-run free care programs since 2006, and there are now six programs at varied sites across the community that operate weekly on Monday through Thursday evenings.  The program provides a low-pressure environment in which we can engage with students and patients without concern about coding and RVUs, and the gratefulness of uninsured individuals who need our assistance is incredibly rewarding. Some of the programs are facing a staffing crisis, especially for the next two months. Please consider offering an evening, and if you like it, return every month or two. Just add your name and contact information to this Google Form = https://forms.gle/SSg2zviZsG3KhzT27 and the student coordinators will connect you with a team that fits your availability.

Department Member Recognition

Congratulations to the following on their faculty appointments and promotions: 

Megan Coveney, PA-C, Assistant Professor

Stacie Meisner, CMI, PA-C, Instructor

Stefan Muzin, MD, Instructor

Ekaterina Pivovarova, PhD, promotion to Associate Professor

Following the premier of the New England AIDS Education and Training Center’s U=U storytelling video at APHA’s film festival (Storytelling Series - What U=U Means to Me (youtube.com), Vanessa Carson-Sasso was interviewed as a Public Health Hero by 77DragonsHealth. The interview is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbGIRiXPwsk and has been widely disseminated via social media.

Hahnemann resident alum ‘97, Wayne Altman, professor and chair at Tufts University School of Medicine was interviewed by his local cable station about the importance of primary care and the primary care legislation (PC4You) under discussion by the MA legislature. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGa_tRy7044

Frankly Speaking Podcast

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

Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/frankly-speaking-about-family-medicine/id1194659367.

Please join us for an overview: In this episode, we review the effectiveness of intensive lifestyle intervention for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remission. We unpack study findings on total diet replacement and consider its potential for improving weight loss and maintenance in patients. Tune in to enrich your clinical toolkit, empowering you to optimize patient outcomes and enhance quality of life. Guest: Jill M. Terrien, PhD, ANP-BC, presents: "Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Can Lifestyle Reverse It?" - Frankly Speaking Ep 373.

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.

Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban



New members always welcome. 

Please join us at 6:30-7:30am for a gentle awakening yoga session led by the talented

Liz Erban. All are welcome. 

Happy third year anniversary to the yoga class.  

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

Past editions of the Tuesday Talk Newsletter are available at 

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