UCSF DEM Newsletter - Fresno

Awards

Dr. Rais Vohra, who serves as Fresno County’s Department of Public Health Interim Health Officer, was honored as MedWatch Today’s Healthcare Hero for his work and leadership during the COVD-19 pandemic.

Invited Presentations

Dr. Eric Schmitt gave Trauma Grand Rounds at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo on the topic “Pediatric Trauma: Fundamentals and Controversies” on March 24.
He also served as a faculty instructor at the AirMethods Annual Cadaver Procedure Lab in Long Beach, CA, on March 2 and 3.

Fred Wu, PA-C, (pictured below in Media Coverage) was invited to speak at the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants 46^th Annual Conference on the topic “Emergency Medicine: A Guide for Students.”
He also gave the keynote address at the Mayo Clinic NP/PA Emergency Medicine Fellowship graduation on March 26.

Dr. Nikhil Ranadive (R1) was invited to give a lecture on “Climate Change and the Healthcare Sector” to both graduate and undergraduate students at the University of Washington on March 3.

Media Coverage

Drs. Kenny Banh and Rais Vohra (pictured above in Awards) were interviewed by various news outlets for their work in the community during the pandemic. Listed are a few:

Local hospitals seeing some progress in fight against COVID-19, February 1, ABC30
Stay away from Super Bowl parties this year, experts warn, February 5, ABC30
UCSF Vaccination site providing COVID-19 vaccinations with an equity lens, February 24, YourCentralValley.com
Fresno County now vaccinating food & ag workers, education & childcare, March 1, ABC30
Does mRNA COVID vaccine interact with your DNA? Will a vaccine hurt pregnancy chances, March 3, GVWire

Dr. Lori Weichenthal was interviewed by ABC30 Action News for a news piece from March 4 entitled COVID-19 impacts kids from Black, Latino communities disproportionately about the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 is having on Black and Latino children.

Dr. Rene Ramirez and his family were featured in a story by the Los Angeles Times entitled One house, two doctors, three generations and the long-awaited relief of a vaccine. In it, he and his wife, also a physician, share the challenges they face as they help patients and raise their family during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how receiving their vaccines affects their outlook.

Dr. Jessie Werner, Medical Education Fellow, was interviewed by The Business Journal for a March 23 news piece entitled Low flu rate 'unsung success story of the pandemic' about how the pandemic has affected seasonal flu rates.

Reveal News followed Dr. Paloma Marin-Nevarez (R1), during her first months as a physician – into the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Marin-Nevarez shared her journey from finishing medical school to what it is like to train as a new doctor during a public health crisis in this article from February 27 entitled Into the COVID ICU.

Learn a little bit more about EM PA Residency Program Director, Fred Wu, PA-C: he was interviewed in the March issue of Focus on UCSF Fresno Spotlight.

Announcements and Activities

We welcome our new faculty, Dr. Courtenay Pettigrew! Dr. Pettigrew attended medical school at Jefferson Medical College (now Sidney Kimmel Medical College) in Philadelphia and completed training in Emergency Medicine at UCSF Fresno in 2018. Dr. Pettigrew has been working at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center as an Emergency Medicine Physician.

Along with her role as the Department of Emergency Medicine’s Residency Program Director, Dr. Stacy Sawtelle Vohra has been appointed as Director of Faculty Development at UCSF Fresno.

The EM team has been convening virtually to exercise their artful talents…

EM staff gathered for virtual DIY crafts on February 19 (pictured above)
And on March 25, faculty, residents, and staff painted beautiful “Sunset Lakes” and “Vibrant Veggies” (pictured below)

Residency and Fellowship Activities

Congratulations 2021-2022 Fresno EM Chief Residents!

Pictured above, left to right: Drs. Charney Burk, Shaughnessy Costigan, Robert Hashemzadeh-Gargari, Samantha Williams

Welcome Fresno Emergency Medicine Residency Class of 2025!

Pictured above, left to right: Drs. Delvin Akins (Oregon Health & Science University), Robyn Coelho (University of California, San Francisco), Cassandra DeWitt (University of California, Los Angeles), Julie Heger (University of Miami), Marcus Olivares-Perez (University of California, San Francisco), Natalie Peters (Emory University), Caitlin Roake (Stanford University), Katherine Rodman (Oregon Health & Science University), Liliana Samano (University of California, Davis), Lavinia Turian (Oregon Health & Science University)

Welcome 2021-2022 Fresno EM Fellows!

Pictured above, left to right: Drs. William Bunzel, Wilderness Medicine and Rahul Rege, Medical Education

Publications

Ford T, Fix M, Shappell E, Egan D, Mannix A, Bailitz J, Li X, Gottlieb M. Beyond the emergency department: Effects of COVID‐19 on emergency medicine resident education. AEM Education and Training. Electronically published 28 January 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/aet2.10568

Kumar A, Weng Y, Duanmu Y, Graglia S, Lalani F, Gandhi K, Lobo V, Jensen T, Chung S, Nahn J, Kugler J. Lung ultrasound findings in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. J Ultrasound Med. Electronically published: 05 March 2021. doi:10.1002/jum.15683. PMID: 33665872

Ranadive N, Jayraj L, Sathish K, et al. Climate change adaptation: prehospital data facilitate the detection of acute heat illness in India. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health. Electronically published 24 March 2021. DOI: 10.5811/westjem.2020.11.48209

SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS

Fujimoto J, Schreyer KE. Procedures for Performing Digital Anesthesia. In: Campo TM, Lafferty KA, eds. Essential Procedures for Emergency, Urgent, and Primary Care Settings: a Clinical Companion. 3rd ed. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 2021: 295-302.