UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - July 20, 2021/COMMUNITY
Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to [email protected].
Table of Contents
Focus of the Week - Community
Announcements
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Faculty Presentations/Publications
Department Member Recognition
Clinical Services Spotlight
Wellness Resources
Working on Wellness
Message from the Chair

Annual Required Education Due July 30!!
Don’t shoot the messenger, but just a reminder that the Annual Required Education, in E-Learning4U, is due July 30 . There is a bright spot- a task force worked to streamline it, and there is now the opportunity to shorten the experience by testing out of modules. No sugar coating here though- it’s still a lot- so please get going if you have not already. 
Focus of the Week - Community

The Farm to Health Center Initiative 
In 2013, Melanie Gnazzo, MD responded to the passion of two medical students who wanted to partner with the Family Health Center of Worcester to address patient food insecurity. Learning that the Grafton-based Community Harvest Project’s mission is to donate food it raises to help feed food insecure individuals, Melanie, the students, the farm, and the health center developed a collaborative working relationship that has endured for close to a decade. While specifics of the initiative have changed with the years in response to logistical and human needs, the goal has remained constant: to provide produce to people who cannot afford to purchase it in the stores. Click on the link below if you have a UMass med email, or on the attachment if you do not, to hear from Melanie about how this initiative has linked the clinic and the community, with each learning from the other and enriching the lives of all the participants.  

Did you know that you can advance your community health projects through engaging medical and GSN students in a Population and Community Health Clerkship (PCHC) this fall? We can help you develop your PCHC team descriptions due at the end of July. Reach out to Heather and Vicky at [email protected] for more info. You can also download a blank team template at https://drive.google.com/file/d/13po0xtAV1RPM55xVxjO4neIND9q2Dnkg/view?usp=sharing .
 
We can now record our community health activities and projects using UMMS’s Collaboratory platform. Contact Dr. Haley as she works this summer with three interns: Deisy Rodriguez Ledezma adding activities related to community health in our Worcester-based PCHC, Ashley Meehan adding Western MA-based activity with our partners at PURCH/Baystate, and Tarik Terry focusing on Remillard grants and activities through the Office for Community and Government Relations. Have an activity to share? You are welcome to add it yourself or reach out if you’d rather send existing documents to one of us to get the entry started and follow up with a 15-minute Zoom interview to finalize before publishing.  
Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
Septemberfest!
Hopkinton State Park
Saturday – September 25th 
11:00 – 3:00pm
Barbecue
Canoe, Sailboat, Kayak Rentals
Activities for kids
Please RSVP to Jennifer Masoud. 
Include the number and names of everyone
in your party
Carpooling is recommended as the parking lot fills up fast on weekends.
Announcements

Fake BORIM Investigation/Extortion Scam
It was brought to the Massachusetts Board of Medicine’s attention that Massachusetts licensees have been receiving scam calls from individuals posing as investigators of the Massachusetts Board of Medicine or the DEA. The caller will falsely state that the licensee is under investigation and that their medical license is in jeopardy or has been suspended. The caller might ask for additional information including NPI, DEA registration number, financial information and may state that the call was being recorded on a secure line. Please note that the scam calls may show up as the Board of Medicine’s main number. Please note, no employee of the Board of Medicine will ever contact a physician to demand money or request confidential personal information.

On-Line tool to support Integrative Medicine Group Visits for Chronic Pain
Dr. Paula Gardiner, CIPC faculty member who leads our efforts in Group Medical visits.
In 2019 Dr. Gardiner published the results of a randomized controlled trial in PLOS ONE (read it). MassMedNow featured a story about this research (read it) showing that reduction in pain medication is possible for patients with chronic pain and depression participating in integrative medicine group visits. 
Now Dr. Gardiner is continuing this study and currently recruiting participants to evaluate GEMINI, a new online tool to support medicine group visits for patients with chronic pain.

Call for Participation in Research Study
Greetings from the Family Medicine & Community Health Department!
We are searching for Healthcare Providers (e.g., nurses, doctors, clerkship or resident students, behavioral health providers, etc.) who have experience working with chronic pain patients to take part in a 90-minute Teleconference Interview/Focus Group. It will help us evaluate GEMINI (H00017069), an online tool that’s goal is to provide patients with integrative medicine tools that can be used in their daily lives, and to host online telemedicine groups made up of patients and providers. 

Research Study Expectations
  • Answer a brief (15 minute) survey about your professional background and experience with medical group visits and telemedicine programs.
  • Participate in a 90-minute (at most) structured interview/focus group during which you will be introduced to GEMINI and asked for feedback.
  • You can earn $50 for your time and participation.
We need your help to understand 1) the features that you expect to see in GEMINI; 2) the benefits that you expect from GEMINI for your work specifically and for other professionals with similar roles in general; and 3) the barriers to adoption of GEMINI that you foresee in your practice and in other similar organizations.
If you are interested in participating in our research study or would like to learn more, contact Diana Rinker (Research Coordinator) by phone at 774-314-9509 or email at [email protected].

This year's Family Medicine Discovers Rapid Cycle Scientific Innovation Program (RapSDI) application cycle is open! 
Please encourage any family physicians you know who might be interested, to apply. We've designed this application to be relatively quick and easy to complete in order to reach busy family physicians with great ideas for research projects. Selected scholars receive up to $40,000 for a year for their projects.
The application due date is August 23 (five weeks from today).

Worcester Public Schools provide meals Monday through Friday through the summer. Not practicing in Worcester? Take a minute to check with the school system in towns you serve to see how food access for kids is structured in your area. 

The WFMR is happy to announce a Fall Resident Retreat date
10/5/21 8am to 5pm at Camp Selah, Orange, MA. We appreciate faculty who will be doing additional service to allow the residents this important wellness and team building time. Also, residency faculty who are interested and able to be free are invited to join. Please mark your calendars and contact Hilda Alers for further details.

FHCW Wednesday Cultural Rounds
The residents at FHCW host the event each Wednesday from 5 – 5:30pm. We welcome a member of the community to talk about their culture and the ways it can impact their health and the care they receive. The sessions are informal and involve a robust Q&A. Through these weekly discussions, we hope to promote cultural humility and the continuous process of learning about perspectives outside of our own in order to improve the care we provide. We welcome anyone interested in joining us each week at the link below:

The FMCH Town Halls are once again being recorded for those unable to join the live meeting. A separate folder has been created on the FMCH website under Faculty Resources. No password is required to view these recordings. This URL will take you to the Faculty Resources portion of the FMCH website and it can be bookmarked for future reference. https://www.umassmed.edu/fmch/faculty-resources/gr/.

Upcoming Conferences and Calls for Abstracts
The research staff maintains a list of upcoming meetings and conferences that FMCH faculty members often attend. The list has information on deadlines for abstract submissions and links to conference websites. The list can be downloaded from the Department website:

Research Support
A reminder that the Department offers support for FMCH faculty research leading to scholarly publications and/or presentations. You can find more information, including a form for requesting support, on the FMCH website: Research Initiatives - UMass Medical School - Worcester.
Frankly Speaking Podcast

A weekly Podcast series covering newsworthy topics in primary care medicine.

Join us for this episode to discuss we discuss a recent meta-analysis on mindfulness and learn how cognitive therapies may be effective in reducing distress and HbA1c. Guest: Susan Feeney, DNP, FNP-BC, NP-C presents: Taking the Distress out of Diabetes-Mindfulness and Acceptance Therapies May Help - Frankly Speaking Ep 233.
Clinical Services Spotlight:
CLINICAL UPDATES

COVID-19 Update
  • Statewide COVID-19 cases are increasing again (269 new cases as of 7/16/21). 
  • State percent positivity 0.87%; Hospitalizations 107, ICU 34, and 18 intubated.
  • Two-week average highest number of cases in ages 20-29, followed by ages 30-39. The highest death rate is found in those with an average at 73 years old. 

UMass Memorial
  • COVID-19 positive inpatients: 8 (including 4 in ICUs).
  • Employees out in past 7 days (8; 7 vaccinated).

Variants
  • The most common variant in the US is Alpha (43.4% of all variants), followed by the Delta Variant (31.1%).
  • The most common variant in MA is Delta. (CDC, for the month of June 2021)
  • The Delta variant is highly contagious. According to the CDC, there are more than 24,000 cases.

Summer Medicine
Most Common Pediatric Illnesses in the Summer
  • Hand, Foot, and Mouth Syndrome (Coxsackie Virus)
  • Mosquito and Tick-Borne Illnesses
  • Food Poisoning
  • Enterovirus
  • Summer Allergies
  • Asthma
  • Sunburns
  • Poison Ivy
  • And Yes, a common cold! This is a year-round illness.

Wellness
Staying Healthy during Summer Months
Avoiding Heat Stroke
  • Counsel your patients about heatstroke.
  • When body temperature reaches 104 degrees or more, consider heat stroke.
  • Avoid prolonged exposure to extremely high temperatures.
  • Associated symptoms include nausea and vomiting , rapid heartbeat, altered speech and confusion. 
  • Key Tips.
  • Wear loose fitting clothing.
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Remember some medications can lead to dehydration. 
  • Be cautious if you have increased risks.
Wellness Resources

The Caring for the Caregiver Program provides resources such as the Caregiver Support Line (508-334-HELP) and The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) which offers a variety of services and supports (including virtual peer support and wellness tips. EAP can be accessed at 866-263-3525, or www.LiveandWorkWell.com, [company code UmassMemorial]. More information is available on the Caring for the Caregiver page.
Working on Wellness
Yoga Classes with Dr. Liz Erban
Please join department members for early morning gentle yoga, Wednesday mornings 6:30am via Zoom.

Much appreciation to Dr. Erban for hosting these outstanding classes. Join Zoom Meeting
Zumba with Dr. Anna Zheng

May 2021 & summer months (until Sep 2021):
Please join department members Monday mornings at 6:00am, Thursday evenings at 6:15pm, some Saturday mornings at 9:15am**(only 1x/month; outdoor location) and get moving with Zumba. Please note schedule changes via webpage: http://annazheng.zumba.com/. ZOOM still possible for all classes.

Much appreciation to Dr. Anna Zheng for hosting these outstanding classes. Join Zoom meeting: https://kennedychc.zoom.us/j/5578995952?pwd=bzVnY0xXdFNTQkpQQ1hmZkw3Snh6Zz09.