UMass FMCH Tuesday Talk - April 27, 2021/RESEARCH
Welcome to the FMCH Tuesday Talk. Please continue to send us your announcements, celebrations, and accomplishments to [email protected].
Table of Contents
Upcoming Events
Focus of the Week - Research
Announcements
Frankly Speaking Podcast
Faculty Presentations/Publications
Department Member Recognition
Clinical Services Spotlight
Wellness Resources
Working on Wellness
Message from the Chair

Another extraordinary month in the US has added more mass shootings, including Indianapolis, Atlanta, Boulder, Orange CA, and Rock Hill SC. This comes on the heels of a decline during the worst of the pandemic, only to resurface. President Biden referred to this as ‘epidemic and a national embarrassment’.
 
Meanwhile, another epidemic rages. Just days apart, Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo, Andrew Brown Jr. and Ma’Khia Bryant are added to the very long list of people of color killed at the hands of police. We followed the trial of former Officer Derek Chauvin, wondering if history would repeat itself. We held our collective breath waiting to see if he would be held accountable under the law for the death of George Floyd. But most importantly, we acknowledge the pain experienced in the Black community, and appreciate how the trial and media coverage were re-traumatizing.
 
To our friends, colleagues, and patients, especially those of color, we offer our support. To the families, we hope for some measure of peace. To the passer by, whose recording ignited the broader consciousness, we offer thanks for her bravery. To Mr. Blackwell and the prosecution team, we offer thanks for their skill and effectiveness. Indeed, “Mr. Chauvin’s heart is too small”. For the future, we hope that this is a watershed moment, yet we mourn for the recent lives lost that demonstrate how far we have to go. We must advocate for decisive policy changes, and hope that this one rare conviction indeed leads to systemic change.
Upcoming Events

FMCH Grand Rounds
April 27th, Tuesday, 12 - 1 pm: Chinazo Cunningham, MD, MS presents: Addressing the Opioid and Overdose Epidemics through Buprenorphine Treatment in Primary Care during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Meeting ID 191 986 273 Password: FMCH
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/191986273?pwd=NEtlZmNkdWlSUGwyeTJQU3dCeUs1QT09  
Focus of the Week - Research

Research-Oriented Faculty Development Workshops
Judy Savageau, MPH will lead two faculty development workshops on Wednesday, May 12th and Wednesday, May 26th.
#1. Dissemination: Getting Started, Picking the Right Journal, Authorship, Responding to Reviewers’ Comments, and More. May 12th, 5:30-7:00 pm
#2. Writing for the Peer-Reviewed Literature: What Goes into Each Section of a Manuscript. May 26th, 5:30-7:00 pm.
 
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.
Announcements

WELCOME
We are pleased that Dr. Manju Mahajan joined Hahnemann Family Health Center at the end of March. Dr. Mahajan earned her medical degree at M.S. Ramaiah Medical College in Bangalore, India and completed her residency at University of Texas Medical Branch. She most recently worked at Nashoba Valley Medical Center. Please join me in welcoming her to the department. 

Massachusetts Latent Tuberculosis Infection ECHO
(Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) You are invited to join an exciting virtual collaborative learning opportunity to learn about latent TB infection testing and treatment held once a month on Thursday at 12:15 – 1:15pm. CMEs are available. Please visit our website at https://www.umassmed.edu/echo or register at https://umassmed.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_2c9OeVIyyKmqVbn.

CIPC Course and Recruitment Announcement
The UMass Medical School Center for Integrated Primary Care (CIPC) is currently developing a new course entitled Certificate in Primary Care Behavioral Health for Primary Care Providers, an online, asynchronous training on key areas of knowledge to assist PCPs in providing more robust mental health care services in primary care and to do so collaboratively on primary care teams that include behavioral health providers. There will be a Course Co-Director Position open and would like to encourage people to apply. (see attached flyer)

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: https://umassmed.zoom.us/j/91563174994pwd=Um1MVWdPalloMWE2V3ptMXB5aDA1dz09.

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/.
Frankly Speaking Podcast

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

Join us for this episode as we discuss another finding of the Nurses Health Study II - this podcast focuses on the findings of a prospective look at GERD and the effect of diet and lifestyle on the prevention of GERD. Guest: Jill M. Terrien, PhD, ANP-BC presents: With GERD, Diet and Lifestyle Win Out - Frankly Speaking Ep 221.
Faculty Presentations/Publications

Ekaterina Pivovarova, PhD., Use of Medications for Opioid Use Disorders: Implementation Barriers and Facilitators. Presented at Law and Psychiatry Seminar, Department of Psychiatry, UMMS (4/5/21).

Ekaterina Pivovarova, PhD., Anderson, B., Stein, M. Perceived causes of addiction and relationship to treatment history among individuals who use heroin. Presented at the Academic Consortium for Criminal Justice Health (4/8/21). 

Preventive Medicine resident, Benjamin Eovaldi, DO, co-authored an APHA blog on Vaccine Points-of-Dispensing Medical Exercise about a military medical simulation of mass vaccine administration and the lessons learned for preparation for COVID19:  

Tiedt M, Paula Gardiner, MD, MPH, Leeman J, Gaylord S, Miller K, Faurot K , Barnhill J, Chilcoat A, Roth I: Improving Virtual Integrative Medical Group Visit Programs for Chronic Pain: Lessons Learned During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Integrative Medicine & Health Symposium, Virtual, April 12 2021(poster).
 
Paula Gardiner, MD, MPH, Roth I, Chao M, Thomas-Lastad: A Integrative Health Equity in Implementation Research, Integrative Medicine & Health Symposium, Virtual, April 12 2021 (symposium).

Phil Bolduc, MD is co-editor of the 2021 Edition of AAHIVM’s Fundamentals of HIV Medicine textbook published this month and is available for pre-order from Oxford University Press. This version of the textbook is accredited for 40.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM, 40.0 contact hours (4.0 CEUs) of continuing pharmacy education credits and 40.0 contact hours for continuing nursing education credits.
Department Member Recognition
 
Jim Ledwith, MD has a new role as an opioid management consultant for UMass Memorial Health Care, specifically tasked with assisting individual physicians and practice groups with establishing systems for safe opioid prescribing and guiding the transition of care when patients on opioid therapy lose their physician to retirement or relocation. He is also a physician consultant for MCSTAP and encourages all health care providers working with patients challenging pain or substance use to make use of the free consultation service for management advice and resources. www.MCSTAP.com 
1-833-PAIN-SUD (1-833-724-6783).
Clinical Services Spotlight:
Annual Faculty Review Deadline- May 15th.
  • Reminder to clinical faculty to meet with your medical director or supervisor to complete the AFR Meetings.

COVID Updates
United States
  • Confirmed Case 32,824,389.
  • Active Cases 6,858,406.
  • Deaths 586, 152.

Massachusetts
  • Confirmed cases 640,399; Hospitalizations 641, ICU 152, Intubated 96.
  • Active cases 29,563.
  • Confirmed deaths 17,199.
  • Percent positivity 7-day average 1.74%.

UMass Memorial
  • Worcester “Stop the Spread” test positivity declined to 5.8%.
  • In house test positivity for symptomatic patients declined to 9.8%.
  • Current inpatient census 34 (10 in ICU).
  • Employees out 23 (6 over the weekend, 4 of whom were unvaccinated).
 
Health Equity
Source: CDC assessed 4/24/2021
COVID Cases
Data from 25,154,682 cases. Race/Ethnicity was available for 15,543,611 (61%) cases.
Data from 443,810 deaths. Race/Ethnicity was available for 369,379 (83%) deaths.
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

Please join department members Monday mornings at 6:00am, Thursday evenings at 6:15pm, Saturday mornings at 9:15am and get moving with Zumba via Zoom. Please note schedule changes starting 5/1/2021 via webpage: http://annazheng.zumba.com/
Much appreciation to Dr. Anna Zheng for hosting these outstanding classes. Join Zoom meeting: https://kennedychc.zoom.us/j/5578995952?pwd=bzVnY0xXdFNTQkpQQ1hmZkw3Snh6Zz09
 
Then for May 2021 & summer months (until Sep 2021):
Please join department members Monday mornings at 6:00am, Thursday evenings at 5:45pm**(new time; outdoor location), 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.