UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - March 4, 2025/CLINICAL

Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to FMCHtuesdaytalk@umassmed.edu. 

Table of Contents

Reminder!

Focus of the Week - Clinical

Announcements

Presentations and Publications

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Resources

Reminder!

UMass Family Medicine at 50: Staying Focused on Access, Equity, and Justice

Register here!

Join 150+ alums, former faculty, students, residents, and current colleagues. Saturday afternoon will kick off at 12:15pm with a casual networking lunch followed by a program starting at 1:30pm that explores the role of family medicine in health and health justice, culminating with a networking reception from 4:30-6:30pm. With the support of generous sponsors, the ticket price is $75. CME approval is in process. 

Registration deadline extended to Friday, March 7th.

More details at the link above.

Notes

• Well Child visits adherence continue to have large racial and ethnic disparities
• One of our system goal continues to be improvement in disparities among those attending well child visits
• Content matters. Use the Bright futures guidelines and guidelines from the AAFM and AAP to make sure the necessary items are covered
• EPIC templates are built with the necessary items in mind

Our goal is to address the health issues of vulnerable populations aiming for equitable care and improving outcomes. Our goal this year is to reach beyond the minimal goal to soar toward top ranking. Let’s do this together. Below are a few tips to use.

Improving Well Child Visits and Enhancing Health Equity (Best Practice Tips)

1. Avoid missed opportunities
2. Include well child visits when a child comes for chronic care or an emergent visit if they are overdue
3. Use Epic to send reminders near due date
4. Get the team involved
5. Consider team activities to engage providers in the challenge

Let’s move the envelope, soar to improve health Equity in Well Child visits! If you have new ideas, share them with the team at Josephine.fowler@umassmemorial.org.

Update

More than 4,217 eligible patients in the last 12 months. Our goal is to get them all in in 2025. Thanks to the teams that made it possible for more than 65% of our patients to reach the goal of improving health equity in well child visits. Let’s continue to move toward excellence in health care equity.

In 2025, we will strive to meet health equity goals in the following

• Well Child Visits
• Osteoporosis
• Colon Cancer screening
• And evaluate an important factor “Social Determinants of Health”

Join the movement- send ideas to Josephine.fowler@umassmemorial.org

New Clinical Practice Guideline for Medication Abortion Services at UMass Memorial Health Clinics

UMass Memorial Health is working to ensure equitable access to reproductive health care with the introduction of a new Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) for Medication Abortion. This evidence-based guideline provides a standardized protocol to help clinicians competently offer medication abortion services, making care more accessible to patients across our system. The initiative is part of UMass Memorial’s broader commitment to reproductive health and addressing racial disparities in accessing abortion services at earlier gestational ages, where care is safer and outcomes are improved. Kristina Gracey provided co-leadership to the development of the CPG. For more information see flyer. You can access the full guideline on the Hub.

STFM's Medical Student Educators Development Institute (MSEDI) is now accepting applications for its 2025-2026 fellowship class through March 4th. This 18-month fellowship offers training, tools, and support for faculty who educate medical students and is particularly suited to those who aspire to be clerkship directors or medical student education directors. MSEDI Fellows build skills in developing curriculum, advising students, and recruiting & maintaining preceptor networks. Apply or learn more at 

https://stfm.org/MSEDI

Save the date for the Mass AFP Spring Refresher

March 14-15, 2025

See the link for registration. https://massafp.org/page-1075355

The 2025 Faculty for Tomorrow Workshop for Residents will be held on May 3rd, 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/

Presentations and Publications

Sonal Singh presented his work at the Patna Medical College Centenary Celebration, Trial to Trust-A historical perspective on drag safety, where he received the distinguished alum award. The power point presentation is available at the link below:

Trial to Trust- A historical perspective on drug safety | PPT

Philip Day and colleagues recently published an article exploring health literacy amongst youth aging out of foster care: Empowering Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: A needs assessment to improve transitions to independent living. Child Welfare 2025;104(2): 117-146.

Philip Day delivered a faculty development session, “Active Learning Strategies for Hospital Precepting,” to an interdisciplinary audience at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, MA on February 27, 2025.

Matthew Morrow (PGY-2) and Cailee Dean (PGY-1) with assistance from faculty mentors and osteopathic education directors Jessica Salerni, DO, and Corey Costanzo, DO, submitted an abstract entitled “How to Stay in the Game: The Osteopathic Approach to the Modern-Day Athlete.” They were accepted to lead a two hour osteopathic workshop at the Northeast Regional Osteopathic Conference (NEROC) in October 2025. 

Lindsay Donahue (PGY-2) and Matthew Morrow (PGY-2) with assistance from faculty mentors and osteopathic education directors Jessica Salerni, DO, and Corey Costanzo, DO, submitted an abstract entitled “Effectiveness of Osteopathic Education in the Allopathic Setting.” They were accepted for a poster presentation at the 2025 National Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM) Spring Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Please join us for a weekly Podcast series for an overview: Conflicting data on alcohol's health effects leave clinicians uncertain about patient guidance. In this episode, we review the PREDIMED trial's findings on wine and cardiovascular outcomes, explore objective biomarkers for intake, and examine the National Academy of Sciences' recent report to clarify the risks and benefits of moderate consumption, giving you confidence in counseling patients. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP presents, "The Wine Debate: Cardiovascular Benefits vs Cancer Risks" - Frankly Speaking Ep 422.

Listen on Apple Podcasts:

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

Resources

Resources to promote Family Medicine Proud and celebrate our 50th Anniversary: 

a PowerPoint template, Zoom backgrounds, logo etc:  

https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/faculty-resources/department-logos/

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. 

Please join us on Wednesday(s), 6:30-7:30am, for a gentle awakening yoga session led by the talented Liz Erban.

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