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Transformational Times
Words of Hope, Character & Resilience from our Virtual Community
Friday, July 1, 2022
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In This Special Climate and Health Issue: | |
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Guest Director's Corner
Perspective/Opinion
Poetry Corner
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Bryan Johnston, MD: It's not climate change
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Your Turn
Upcoming Events/Announcements
- Thank you to the Kern Family Foundation for their continued investment in the Kern Institute and the Kern National Network
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SPARCC Keynote Address: Beyond 'Us' and 'Them': Advancing Equity and Eliminating Disparities Among Patients and the Doctors Who Treat Them
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Listen to the Podcast: Let Me Ask You Something
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Guest Director's Corner
Climate Action: The Power of Education
By Joanne Bernstein, MD, MSE and Caitlin Rublee, MD, MPH
Drs. Joanne Bernstein and Caitlin Rublee share their work in climate change and health through education with colleagues and the next generation of physicians. With a warming planet, the health sector will be increasingly challenged to care for patients and be strapped with resource constraints–human and supply chain. Yet, there is much that can be done now to prepare and protect health, especially for the most vulnerable…
Our first meeting was outside the Milwaukee Public Market. As an internist and emergency physician during a global pandemic, there was no shortage of conversation topics. It was not long before our attention turned to that of the climate crisis and what we can do—not in three or five years—but right now. We reflected on the increasing burden of climate-sensitive conditions that patients were presenting with at the VA, Froedtert Hospital, and community sites: allergens, tick-borne illnesses, asthma exacerbations, heat-related illnesses, among others. Some of our patients had moved all over the country to avoid climate insults only to realize that there is no “fly-over state” when it comes to the climate crisis.
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Perspective/Opinion
Climate Change is Making the Scene Unsafe
By Sarah Cornell, MS, EMT-P
The WHO estimates that more than 13 million deaths around the world each year are due to avoidable environmental causes. Fire and emergency response crews risk their safety to protect the public and this critical public service infrastructure faces a large burden of preventable damage…
As Engine 71 approaches the scene of a reported electrical hazard, I think to myself “is the scene safe?” – we are trained to evaluate the risks and hazards of every scene before we enter, for our own safety. Heavy rainfall and strong winds have caused a tree to collapse onto a nearby powerline, which is still arcing and sparking. It is the job of my crew to mitigate the hazard, so we must exit the safety provided by our apparatus to address the situation.
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Perspective/Opinion
A Call to Action - Changing the Curriculum for a Changing Climate
By Alexis Puyleart and Rachel Gordon, MCW School of Medicine Class of 2024
A letter requesting the addition of climate change into the medical school curriculum was signed by over 75 MCW medical students. With the current curriculum reform, now is the time to integrate this topic to prepare and empower future physicians ...
As air temperatures continue to rise and weather becomes more extreme, it has become increasingly evident that climate change is the leading public health crisis of our generation. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report declared robust and alarming evidence of record-breaking heat, flooding, and air pollution. To us, these are not just events, but sources of harm to people. International leaders have called it code red for humanity. These changes are causing and contributing to widespread diseases and barriers to care for our patients and community members. In order to address this present and growing threat, we as future physicians want to be as prepared as possible. Whether we practice right here in Milwaukee or at any other location in the world, we will be impacted.
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Perspective/Opinion
Addressing Climate Health Equity at MPS: Can Green Playgrounds Improve Mental Health and Stormwater Management?
By Jean C. Bikomeye, MPH; Shana T. Snarrenberg, Justin Hegarty, P.E., LEED A.P.; Kirsten M.M. Beyer, PhD, MPH, MS
What is a community intervention that can control urban stormwater to reduce flooding and improve water quality while also supporting children’s mental health, physical fitness, respiratory health, and more?
On July 22, 2010, Milwaukee experienced record-setting torrential heavy rains with flash flooding and much damage, including the death of a 19-year old man who was swept from his vehicle when Lincoln Creek flooded. Multiple people were injured and county officials estimated the damage at over $ 30 million. All Lake Michigan beaches were closed for at least a weekend due to over two billion gallons of combined sewer overflow contamination. The City of Milwaukee received at least 2000 calls for sewer backups into homes’ basements, and the northern half of the city, mostly inhabited by racial and ethnic minorities, was hardest hit. Over 4,400 homes reported water-filled basements, and the Mitchell International Airport was closed for several hours due to flooded runways and roads around the airport. More recently, on August 2, 2020, Milwaukee experienced another heavy rain and flash flooding event. Although this event was less catastrophic, streets and portions of I-43 were closed, vehicles were submerged, and backyards and basements flooded.
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Perspective/Opinion
The Next Step for Climate Action: Asking Questions
By Michael Hii, MCW School of Medicine Class of 2023
From British Columbia to Wisconsin, medical student Michael Hii shares his reflections on climate change and medicine. The way he sees it, they are not so different and our roles as health professionals can begin by starting conversations with the people around us…
I moved from a Canadian province where the status quo was to not only appreciate, but actively protect, the local environment. It was a responsibility that we as citizens cherished, and it allowed us to enjoy the beautiful landscape that supported our physical and emotional health—mature forests, fresh air, and clean water. It was our home.
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It’s not climate change
By Bryan Johnston
It’s not climate change
It’s violence
Cruelty—
Arbitrary, mostly
Modern day Hitlers
And the like.
It’s not climate change
It’s famine
This happens, sometimes
Just look at history
The sky just dries up
What can you do?
It’s not climate change
It’s collateral damage
War is part of human nature
How else can one get their point across
And the people, well
You could say it’s bad luck.
It’s not climate change
It’s a hard winter
Just a winter storm
Not global warming
Cold winters are, like
The opposite. Come on.
It’s not climate change
It’s bad forestry
Sky full of smoke
Wear a mask and hose down the roof
Listen for the sirens
Decide to stay or go.
It’s not climate change
It’s the seawall
Crumbling, decrepit
Someone dropped the ball
And now the shoreline lurches in from all sides
Like a wad of paper tossed in the fire.
It’s not climate change
It’s overfishing
That has emptied our bellies
Forced us into small rafts on the sea that once sustained us
Shifting surface revealing
The power to end it all.
It’s not climate change
It’s the weather
Don’t you know the weather is always changing?
Wild as always
Hurricanes in a line and all the rest
Stay in your basement until it’s over.
Or, you know, leave. It’s up to you.
Bryan Johnston, MD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at MCW. He is a Family Physician who provides refugee health intake screenings on the north side of Milwaukee. Over time he has learned to recognize the impact of climate change in causing his patients to flee their homes.
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For this week's reflection prompt, please answer the following question:
What is one thing that's made you smile this week?
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Thank you to the Kern Family Foundation for their continued Investment in the Kern Institute and the Kern National Network
We are pleased to share that the Kern Family Foundation is renewing its support for making transformational advancements in educating medical students and in the medical profession with a $50 million contribution to the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). The contribution accelerates efforts by the Kern National Network for Caring and Character in Medicine and the Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Institute for the Transformation of Medical Education.
“The Foundation is delighted to renew our support in the visionary leadership at the Medical College of Wisconsin and the teams working to integrate character, caring, practical wisdom and flourishing into the training of physicians and other health professionals,” says James Rahn, president of the Kern Family Foundation.
“Since their launch in 2017, the Kern Institute has become a catalyst for transformation within MCW and a recognized thought leader in medical education, while the Kern National Network has begun to coalesce a network of leaders and institutions that is poised to grow and impact the practice of medicine, the lives of healthcare professionals and the communities they serve,” he adds.
“This transformational investment will help us reshape the profession of medicine to benefit learners, physicians, and their patients,” says John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, president and CEO of MCW. “The generosity and leadership of the Kern Family Foundation supports our shared commitment to driving fundamental changes to how patients and families receive medical care and moves us further toward our goal of advancing health for all through human flourishing, character and caring.”
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SPARCC Keynote Address
Beyond 'Us' and 'Them': Advancing Equity and Eliminating Disparities Among Patients and the Doctors Who Treat Them
The Cancer Center and Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology are pleased to invite you to the SPARCC (Student-centered Pathway to Advance Research in Cancer Careers) keynote address by Oluwadamilola “Lola” Fayanju, MD, MA, MPHS, FACS, who will present, Beyond 'Us' and 'Them': Advancing Equity and Eliminating Disparities Among Patients and the Doctors Who Treat Them.
Dr. Fayanju is the inaugural Helen O. Dickens Presidential Associate Professor in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Fayanju serves as the Chief of Breast Surgery for the University of Pennsylvania Health System. She is also Surgical Director of the Rena Rowan Breast Center in the Abramson Cancer Center and an Innovation Faculty member at the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I).
Friday, July 8
12:00 - 1:00PM
Live Via Zoom
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Let Me Ask You Something Podcast
Listen to Dr. Adina Kalet as an interviewer as the group discusses "Because We Care: A Philosophical Investigation into the Spirit of Medical Education" by Camillo Coccia and Mario Veen. You can download it here.
This is the 8th installment of the series on philosophy in medical education of Mario Veen and Anna Cianciolo, which appears in Teaching and Learning in Medicine: An International Journal -- it will also appear as a book chapter in our upcoming book Helping a Field See Itself: Envisioning a Philosophy of Medical Education (Springer, forthcoming 2022).
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The Transformational Times publishes weekly, delivering stories of hope, character and resilience to our virtual community. | |
Editorial Board: Kathlyn Fletcher, MD, Adina Kalet, MD, Wendy Peltier, MD, Erin Weileder, Nabil Attlassy, Julia Bosco, Ana Istrate, Scott Lamm, Sophia Neman, Wolf Pulsiano, Eileen Peterson, Neehal Shukla, Sarah Torres, Anna Visser, James Wu, Serena Zacharias & Emelyn Zaworski
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