The Medical Society of Delaware's 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting & Educational Program will be held Tuesday November 17th - Thursday November 19th. This year's education program will focus on the medical implication of climate change.

The first 40 to register by November 1st for the Council Meeting will be provided a “Swag Care Package!” Join us for these Zoom meeting events from the comfort of your home! For more details, visit the MSD website.

Governor John Carney and the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services have announced the creation of a Health Care Relief Fund to support Delaware health care professionals through the COVID-19 crisis. The $100 million fund will support health care professionals throughout the health care industry that have been on the front lines fighting COVID-19 in Delaware. Funding from the Health Care Relief Fund can be used to support COVID-19 related investments, including technology upgrades, purchases of personal protective equipment (PPE), and environmental modifications in health care facilities. Read more.

According to the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), Delaware has a total of 678 fatalities due to COVID-19, an increase of 16 from last Friday. In addition, 106 individuals are currently hospitalized due to COVID-19 in Delaware.

Update on COVID-19 Outbreaks in Long-term Care Facilities: DPH continues to investigate COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities throughout the state. Facilities where significant ongoing outbreaks are occurring, as of Oct. 22, 2020: 

Aggregate K-12 School-Related COVID-19 Statistics: Delaware cumulative number of COVID-19 positive students and staff, statewide, who were in-person at a school or child care facility while potentially infectious, reported to DPH between Sept. 1, 2020, and Oct. 23, 2020: 

Read more.

Additional demographic data on COVID-19 cases and deaths, including race/ethnicity, more age-specific data and rates information by ZIP code, and information on Delaware's contact tracing efforts can be found on the Division of Public Health's My Healthy Community data portal. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the antiviral drug remdesivir as a treatment for patients with COVID-19 who require hospitalization. The IV administered drug works to stop replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to the drug's manufacturer, Gilead Sciences, Inc. Previously authorized by the FDA for emergency use to treat COVID-19, the drug is now the first and only approved COVID-19 treatment in the United States.The drug is either approved or has temporary authorization in approximately 50 countries. Read more.

More than 52,000 Delawareans have down loaded the free COVID Alert DE mobile app for Apple or Google. The app uses bluetooth technology and will send an anonomous notification to a user who has been exposed to another user who tested positive for COVID-19. Delaware’s app is interoperable with COVID Alert PA in Pennsylvania, COVID Alert NJ in New Jersey, and COVID Alert NY in New York. Users should download the application in the state where they are currently living. Download on Apple or Google. For more information.

MSD member Cedric T. Barnes, DO was recently interviewed by WHYY for an in-depth article regarding the challenges COVID-19 presents for black-owned private practices. The Milford physician highlighted the challenges physicians face on a daily basis with insurance reimbursement and contracts and explained why some physicians opt into alternative practice models. Dr. Barnes also spoke to the benefit of having a physician that patients can relate to. Read article.

The Delaware Care Collaboration (DCC), an

Accountable Care Organization (ACO) and member of Trinity Health Mid-Atlantic, which is partnered with Saint Francis Healthcare and the Medical Society of Delaware,

will serve as a Delaware Medicaid ACO. The DCC has been

authorized as a Medicaid/CHIP Accountable Care Organization (ACO) in the State of Delaware and will begin serving Medicaid/CHIP patients July 1, 2021 by partnering with the State’s Medicaid Managed Care Organizations including AmeriHealth Caritas and Highmark Health Options. Read more.

The fourth annual Tilton Award for Medical Achievement event looked a little different this year due to an abundance of COVID-19 caution. A socially-distanced and masked audience of peers gathered at the University and Whist Club in Wilmington to celebrate the lifetime achievements of Garrett H.C. Colmorgen, MD, who has been a leader in the field of maternal fetal medicine and who continues to make his mark on the infant and maternal mortality rate in the First State. This year's event featured tributes by MSD Past Presidents Richard W. Henderson, MD and Stephen R. Permut, MD; Bayhealth Chief Medical Officer Gary Siegelman, MD; and Philip A. Shlossman, MD from the Delaware Center for Maternal & Fetal Medicine at ChristianaCare. (Pictured above from L to R: Garrett H.C. Colmorgen, MD and Stephen R. Permut, MD)

Read Richard W. Henderson MD speech.

Read Garrett H.C. Colmorgen, MD acceptance speech.

View photo gallery.

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has agreed to plead guilty to three federal criminal charges for its role in creating the nation's opioid crisis and will pay more than $8 billion and close down the company. The funds will go to opioid treatment and abatement programs. The privately held company has agreed to pay a $3.5 billion fine as well as forfeit an additional $2 billion in past profits, in addition to the $2.8 billion it agreed to pay in civil liability. Read more.

Mark your calendar for the next Practice Management Education lunchtime webinar on Wednesday, October 28th from 12:00 – 1:00 pm. This session, Connect to Lead: Caring for Yourself and Others During COVID-19, presented by Curi, will provide an overview of how to recognize major factors influencing work-life balance and the key drivers of burnout. For more information.

MSD's Members Department is pleased to announce the newest member of the Medical Society of Delaware. Welcome to the third oldest medical society in the country!

If you know someone interested in joining the Medical Society of Delaware, please contact Michelle Seymour at 302-224-4905 or Michelle.Seymour@medsocdel.org.

MSD members are afforded a seven day review period from the date of this publication to comment regarding an applicant applying for membership. Please contact Mary LaJudice at (302) 224-5183 or Mary.LaJudice@medsocdel.org with any questions or concerns.