UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - May 19, 2026/COMMUNITY

Table of Contents

Message From the Chair

Upcoming Events

Focus of the Week - Community

Faculty Review

Announcements

Department Member Recognition

Presentations and Publications

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

Thanks to everyone who attended our Annual Faculty Development Day, to those who led sessions, and to those who stayed behind in the health centers. It was great to see so many and have a chance to be in community, if only for an afternoon.

I also want to extend my congratulations to Jennifer Bradford, MD, MPH, who was recently named Medical Director of Health and Human Services for the city of Worcester. Her selection is a well-deserved indication of Jennifer’s expertise and commitment to the community. We are very proud!

Upcoming Events

FMCH Grand Rounds - Thomas Zand Refugee Health Lectureship

Tuesday, May 19th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Anisa M. Ibrahim, MD presents "Care Without Conditions: Delivering Evidence-Based, Compassionate Care to Immigrant Children". Paul J. DiMare Center theater room #N1-1500 and virtually via Zoom.  

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

Meeting ID: 191 986 273 Passcode: FMCH

Department of Medicine Grand Rounds

Thursday, May 28th, 12:00 - 1:00pm, Margret Chang, MD and Stephen Cina, DAIH, MAc CHM, present "Acupuncture Across the Lifespan: Part Two Internal Medicine."

https://umassmed.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_qsBdErX1SjSiyUobQFnGQA 

Focus of the Week - Community

Hugh Silk, MD, MPH, Vice Chair of Community Health

Looking for something fun to do with your family for Memorial Day. You can find what is happening in every community in Worcester County here. Please share with patients.

Summer is coming. Information for your teens and patients who are looking for youth work in Worcester can be found here and here. Other summer programs through the school system can be found here.

For patient looking to make connections for work and business ideas, there is Coffee and Connection every Tuesday at Workbar. More details here.

Worcester Caribbean American Heritage Festival is coming on June 21st at Institute Park. More information here. (Note this is different than Worcester Caribbean American Carnival which has been cancelled this year).

UMass Chan Remillard Family Community Service Fund Request for Proposals

Funds are to support community service programs for the benefit of the community. Describe the (a) project goals,

(b) potential impact, (c) outline of work and (d) proposed budget. One to two pages in length. Only UMass Chan full-time faculty, staff, residents and students are eligible to apply. Budget not to exceed $20,000, 1 year duration.Email the proposal to 

Cynthia.Nicholson@umassmed.edu no later than June 26th, 2026.

Med Moth is looking for speakers for (new date), Thursday June 4th 2026 at 5:30 pm in person in the Library Conference Room and virtually over Zoom. Med Moth is an event based on the Moth Story Hour where 6-8 members of the UMass Community (SOM, GSN, GSBS, Baystate, and Lahey) share stories for 5-10 minutes each. Those interested in sharing a story contact Aly Wayne (alysandria.wayne@umassmed.edu).

Meeting ID: 9135 708 5904 Password: 048943

https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/91357085904?pwd=ueoFO4qRf7rDyBCuIhR0P1Sut4jEt6.1

Please take this short survey from the breast radiology department for a UMass student project on breast cancer risk models; it will take 5 minutes to complete. Your input will help breast radiologists better understand and improve breast cancer risk assessment and screening practices. Thank you for your time! 

https://qualtricsxmfxpdkgpgj.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6R87tuveQIoxLEO

Faculty Review Information

Jeanne Cawse-Lucas, MD, Vice Chair for Education:

All faculty can start updating your annual review on Etrieve and supervisors should schedule review meetings with faculty.

• Annual reviews for dual-employed faculty should be submitted by supervisors for chair comments by July 17th.
• UMass-Chan-only employed faculty (and their supervisors) please complete reviews ASAP; chair comments are due to the school by May 31st. 

There are many resources for faculty available on the OFA website:  

https://www.umassmed.edu/ofa/academic/faculty-reviews/apr/apr-resources-for-faculty/ 

Faculty:

1. Please let reach out to facultyaprs@umassmed.edu asap if you have trouble opening or saving your progress
2. When you complete your annual review documentation, you can submit it and it will go to your supervisor. If changes are recommended during your review, your supervisor can return the document back to you for edits.
3. In the section on Efforts to Support Mission-Aligned Contributions as part of your reflection, our department is asking you to list to all community engagement and volunteer work including medical (e.g. asylum clinic, free clinic, school doctor) and non-medical (e.g. food bank, coaching, voter registration) experiences over the past year to help us capture all we do as a department. 
4. Some people will have a "second supervisor"; a meeting is only required between you and a primary supervisor, meetings with a second supervisor are at the discretion of you and your second supervisor.
5. People who practice peripartum care will receive a maternity care supplement; you can upload this as a document in your annual review; likewise for those who do clinical teaching with WFMR residents.

Supervisors:

1. Go ahead and start scheduling meetings! We are asking supervisors to complete their meetings with dually employed faculty and submit comments for chair review by July 17th. 
2. Heather Garron will be sending you the lists of your direct reports and if you are a "second supervisor" for any faculty members; these communications have additional guidance on how to "refer" the AFR material. This will apply either to forwarding material to a second supervisor OR forwarding to the correct person if the school assignments are inaccurate.  

Thanks again for your patience and good humor as we learn another new platform, and please feel free to reach out to Jeanne.Cawse-Lucas@umassmemorial.org and/or Garron, Heather heather.garron@umassmemorial.org with questions or concerns.

Announcements

The WDMS and Medical Humanities Lab at the Lamar Souter Library's 2026 Annual Meet the Author on May 20th, 2026 will feature Carolyn Roy-Bornstein, MD speaking at the Lazare Auditorium. Her talk is: This Examined Life: An Evening of Poetry, Reflection and Narrative Medicine. Please register per this flyer. Her book, A Prescription for Burnout, Restorative Writing for Healthcare Professionals, is a gold level winner in Medical and Mental Health from the Nonfiction Authors Association and will be available for purchase.

The School of Medicine is recruiting 1 ECL small group faculty for the next academic year (AY26-27). The positions start on July 1st, 2026, and each is supported at 0.115 (11.5%) FTE. The Early Clinical Learning (ECL) Small Group Facilitators are key longitudinal faculty in Vista. These small group leaders will work in pairs and facilitate consistent small groups of students in 33 Wednesday sessions during the Vista discovery phase (1st and 2nd year students). Preferred commitment is at least 3-years. Any questions may be submitted to Patricia.Seymour3@umassmemorial.org.

Apply at: https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bkgmTFHwVIRmjEa

Last date to apply Friday, May 22nd at 5pm.

Intro to Pocus Hands On Course (Introduction of Point of Care Ultrasound)

Friday, June 12th, 8:00am-5:00pm, iCELS Simulation Lab, Albert Sherman Center

Please see flyer for additional information. https://www.umassmed.edu/icels

Summer Scholarship Writing Circles

WHEN: Mondays in June & July 2026, 12:00-1:00pm

Summer Scholarship Writing Circles provide the space and time for you to make progress on that paper, presentation or curriculum you've been working on. The virtual sessions will consist mostly of quiet writing time, with an opportunity to get support from your faculty peers. REGISTER HERE.

Kristina Gracey is the new lead for the accelerated MD (aMD) Pre-clinical Summer Intensive and is recruiting faculty to teach 3 accelerated MD students prior to the start of their FM clerkship. The Intensive runs July 6-9 and 14-17, 2026. If you would like to teach (or co-teach) a 30-60 minute session on a topic of your choice in order to help grow your CV, advance your work for promotion and contribute to aMD learning, please email Kristina at kristina.gracey@umassmemorial.org

Wellness Resource for Caregivers

What is Core4? Core4 is a FREE 12-week nutrition and wellness program exclusively for UMass Memorial caregivers. It's designed to expand nutrition knowledge and support long-term well-being through lifestyle and positive behavior changes.

Here's how it works:

✅ Starts with a 1:1 session with a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist

✅ Followed by 11 weekly group sessions (1 hour each)

✅ Focuses on boosting overall health, improving eating habits, and building sustainable lifestyle changes

Program Schedule: Virtual individual meetings begin the week of July 12th. The group sessions begin Wednesdays- July 22nd-September 30, 8:00am – 9:00am, virtual. Spots are limited and this program fills up fast! To register, scan the QR code, or hover over the word "register" on the attached flyer or email myhealthmatters@umassmemorial.org 

with any questions.

Department Member Recognition

Congratulations to Philip Bolduc, Sara Casey, and Nicholas Hajj who have been nominated by the Class of 2026 to receive an Outstanding Clinical Educator Award. They will receive the award at the school’s Awards Ceremony/Alumni Breakfast on May 29th.

Erin Cathcart MD, MPH/CPH was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians.  

Presentations and Publications

Olga Valdman was the keynote speaker for Paving the Way to Health Care Access, a conference for medical interpreters held on May 16th at UMass Boston.  Lisa Morris, FMCH faculty and located at the medical school’s ForHealth Consulting division, leads this two-day conference with attendees from across the country.

Frankly Speaking Podcast

Please join us for a weekly Podcast series. Teenagers are at higher susceptibility for hearing loss and often engage in behaviors that greatly increase their risk of permanent damage. In this episode, we look at current prevalence data and the pathophysiology of adolescent hearing loss, providing practical, office-ready prevention strategies to identify at-risk teens and intervene early. Guest: Robert A. Baldor, MD, FAAFP, presents, "Sound Check: Preventing Hearing Loss in Teens". Frankly Speaking Episode #485. 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).