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The last few months have been a wonderful example of the connectedness of our community and of health sciences.
The Annual Meeting of the Delaware Academy of Medicine/Delaware Public Health Association hosted world-renowned global health expert Dr. David Heymann, who (among other achievements in a lifetime of such) led the global fight for polio eradication as part of the World Health Organization. This global effort connects to the smallest towns in the US, for the simple reason that Rotary International adopted this cause as its signature global health effort many years ago. At our meeting, attendees who were members of their local Rotary chapter who had never met Dr. Heymann were, nonetheless, intimately familiar with his work.
Since the connections didn’t end there, they reminded me (unsurprisingly, to alert readers of this space) of the kind of connectedness in cars. We were able to coordinate our annual meeting - for the first time in history - with the oldest infectious disease conference in the US—Delaware’s own William J. Holloway Infectious Disease Symposium. Due to exceptional coordination between teams (like a well-oiled machine, one might say), Dr. Heymann was able to speak at the Holloway conference in the morning, and at the Academy/DPHA in the evening.
It was doubly an honor to be part, just one day prior, of the renaming of the HIV community program to the William J. Holloway Community program, in recognition of all that Dr. Holloway did to establish HIV care in the state, as part of Christiana Care. Our keynote speaker reflected that he actually started his WHO career in HIV/AIDS, following his work on the Ebola outbreak, when he was part of the US CDC. It also happened that the leaders of the Holloway Community Program, Dr. Susan Szabo and Arlene Bincsik, were this year’s honorees of our Public Health Recognition award (see below)
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We were truly hitting on all cylinders.
As always, what makes our machine run is exceptional team members: the staff of the Academy/DPHA, whom I have the privilege of working with and learning from. They are the machine’s builders, mechanics, drivers.
For fans of motor racing, when we recall great races of the past (such as the rivalry between Ferrari and Ford in the 24 Hours of Le Mans), we remember even more drivers Ken Miles, Mark Donohue, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren. Ron Howard’s movie “Rush” highlighted the famous rivalry and then friendship between the racing greats James Hunt and Niki Lauda (recently deceased, May 20, 2019)- though we may barely remember the cars they drove.
So when you reflect on our Annual Meeting and all the associated events this year, I doubt we will all remember it was our 89
th
, or that it occurred on a Tuesday, in May 2019. We will, however, recall the people- our racing team’s exceptional crew: Tim Gibbs, Kate Smith, Elizabeth Lenz, Sharon Folkenroth-Hess, Elizabeth Healy.
Thank you all for your support of this team and our work- we look forward to your feedback!
Omar Khan, MD MHS FAAFP
President, Delaware Academy of Medicine/ Delaware Public Health Association
Editor in Chief, Delaware Journal of Public Health
4765 Ogletown Stanton Road, Suite L10, Newark DE 19713
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Delaware Journal of Public Health
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"
The focus on infectious diseases in public health ebbs and flows. Students of the field are taught that developed countries have undergone an epidemiological transition whereby morbidity and mortality from non-infectious diseases have eclipsed that of infectious causes."
~ Dr. Neal Goldstein and Dr. Deborah Kahal, Guest Editors
This issue of the Journal is dedicated to the infectious diseases that are still plaguing Delaware residents and the people and healthcare systems that are trying to thwart them. Pertussis (whooping cough), measles, STIs, hepatitis C, and tuberculosis are all highlighted within its pages.
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The Delaware Academy of Medicine Annual Meeting!
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The Academy's 89th Annual Meeting, Keynote Address, and Awards Ceremony was held on May 7, 2019.
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Our keynote speaker, Dr. David Heymann, MD, DTM&H, CBE, discussed the global eradication of communicable diseases.
Dr. Heymann is Head of the Centre on Global Health Security at the UK’s Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House), and Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
He has served in senior positions in the US CDC and the World Health Organization, including as WHO Assistant Director-General, and as Representative of the Director-General for polio eradication. Dr. Heymann has worked on infectious diseases worldwide, including in the smallpox eradication campaign (India); the Ebola outbreak in then-Zaire in 1978; Legionnaire’s disease (Philadelphia); and leading the global response to SARS.
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The Academy leadership recognized the extraordinary work of the William J. Holloway Community Program at Christiana Care Health System in its work with the HIV/AIDS community in Delaware.
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Also recognized with Sherman Townsend, Chair of the Delaware Institute for Medical Education and Research (DIMER) for his leadership in making DIMER and the Delaware Branch Campus at Christiana Care Delaware's "medical school."
Images from the meeting can be found on our
website
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Academy Interns are Going Places!
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One of the Academy/DPHA's star interns, Madeline Brooks, has done some great things! Now working for the Value Institute at Christiana Care Health System, Maddie is recently published!
Click on the link below to read her research!
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As Delaware's Affiliate to the American Public Health Association, we are pleased to announce that registration and housing are now open for APHA's 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo! Join us November 2 - 6 in Philadelphia!
"Creating the Healthiest Nation: For Science. For Action. For Health."
APHA's Annual Meeting and Expo is the largest and most influential annual gathering of public health professionals. Nearly 13,000 attendees will descend on Philadelphia to present, learn, and find inspiration. Let's make sure Delaware is well represented!
Delaware Reception
We are in the process of planning a reception for our Delaware colleagues! Stay tuned for additional details!
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Dr. Rizzo is the Chief of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Christiana Care’s Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Section.
Dr. Rizzo’s appointment to the job in 2007 follows 24 years of service in the section as an assistant and associate section chief. His responsibilities include representing the section’s interests to the Department of Medicine and working with the Credentials Committee to provide credentials and privileges to section members. He coordinates educational programs for section members and develops projects to improve their job performance.
He served as medical director for Pulmonary Disease Management. This role included developing guidelines for treating and discharging patients with lung-related illnesses such as asthma, pneumonia, emphysema and bronchitis. In addition, he is on the Lung Cancer Health Improvement Team and the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee.
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Delaware Chronic Disease Coalition
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Chair: Dr. Rizzo
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States, six in ten adults have been diagnosed with one.
A chronic disease is defined as lasting a year or more, and requiring ongoing medical attention, limiting activities of daily living, or both. In Delaware, from 2011 to 2014, over 65% of adults were diagnosed with at least one of the following chronic diseases: arthritis, asthma, cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, obesity, and/or stroke.
The Delaware Chronic Disease Coalition is working to consolidate all available Delaware resources for patients with chronic disease into one website, and strengthen the relationships between providers in the State.
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Aphasia Awareness Month
Fireworks Safety Month
Pride Month
Men's Health Month
Scleroderma Awareness Month
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Trust for America's Health: Wellness and Prevention Digest -
Subscribe
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The Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association
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Academy of Medicine
2018 - 2020 Board of Directors
President:
Omar A. Khan, MD, MHS
Vice President:
S. John Swanson, MD
Secretary:
Sandra P. Medinilla, MD, MPH
Treasurer:
David M. Bercaw, MD
Immediate Past President:
Daniel J. Meara, MD, DMD
Executive Director:
Timothy E. Gibbs, MPH, NPMc
Directors
Stephen C. Eppes, MD
Eric T. Johnson, MD
Joseph F. Kestner, Jr, MD
Rita Landgraf
Brian W. Little, MD, PhD
Arun V. Malhotra, MD
Joseph A. Napoli, MD, DDS
John P. Piper, MD
Albert A. Rizzo, MD
Emeritus
Robert B. Flinn, MD
Barry S. Kayne, DDS
Leslie W. Whitney, MD
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DPHA
Advisory Council
President:
Omar Khan, MD, MPH
Executive Director
: Timothy E. Gibbs, MPH, NPMc
Members
Louis E. Bartoshesky, MD, MPH
Gerard Gallucci, MD, MSH
Richard E. Killingsworth, MPH
Erin K. Knight, PhD, MPH
Melissa K. Melby, PhD
Mia A. Papas, PhD
Karyl T. Rattay, MD, MS
Margot L. Savoy, MD, MPH
William Swiatek, MA, AICP
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The Delaware Academy of Medicine / Delaware Public Health Association
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