Spotlights
Congratulations to Dr. Meena Kumar, Clinical Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, who has been appointed as Wellness Director of the BMC Medical Dental Faculty Wellness Committee. She will be working closely with BMC and BU to assist in creating wellness around our medical campus and assess the needs of our medical staff community to increase their own personal wellness with a focus on mindfulness, resiliency and nutrition. Dr. Kumar is caring for patients at the newly opened South Boston Health/Seaport Community Health Center where she delivers primary care and functional/integrative medicine.
Congratulations to the following Family Medicine faculty members have been accepted to our longitudinal faculty development programs:
- Academy for Faculty Advancement (early career) – A. Mansa Semenya, Cheryl McSweeney, and Jordana Price
- URM Faculty Development Program – Evelyn Chiapko and Michelle Dalencour
- Mid-Career Faculty Leadership Program – Karin Leschly (this program started in January 2016 and will end in November 2016)
What is a family doctor?
Why Should I See a Family Doctor?
Ground-Breaking Research on Integrative Medicine that may Help People Living with Chronic Pain [Interview][Transcript]
Congratulations to Katherine Gergen Barnett who was invited to deliver a keynote address in Melbourne Australia about the work that she and colleagues Rob Saper, Paula Gardiner and others have done in integrative medicine treatments of chronic pain. While in Australia, in addition to her dinner keynote, Katherine was asked to conduct six radio interviews, 2 video recordings, and another talk at the conference.
To listen to the radio interview click here.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations to Dr. Rob Saper and his colleagues for being informed that their PatientCentered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) application for funding has been approved for our five-year, $14 million, large pragmatic comparative effectiveness trial entitled, “Targeted Interventions to Prevent Chronic Low Back Pain in High Risk Patients: A Multisite Pragmatic RCT” (The TARGET Study). Of the 231 letters of intent submitted in response to the research funding announcement, 40 institutions were invited to submit full applications, 35 submitted complete proposals, and ours is one of five approved for funding.
Anthony Delitto, PT, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Pittsburgh and Dr. Saper are the Co-Principal Investigators. Dr. Delitto was the physical therapy consultant for Dr. Saper’s recent Back to Health Trial. The project will be based at the University of Pittsburgh with subawards to Boston Medical Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System, Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, and The Medical University of South Carolina. Using a two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial, the question being asked is:
Can chronic low back pain be prevented when patients with acute low back pain are promptly referred to physical therapy augmented with cognitive behavioral principles?
At each of the five regional study sites, 12 primary-care clinics will be randomly assigned to either (1) PCP standard of care informed by best practices or (2) PCP care plus prompt referral to evidence-based physical therapy with cognitive behavioral coaching. Across the five regions, we expect to recruit 2,640 patients with acute low back pain who are at high risk for transition to chronic pain. An additional observational cohort of 10,560 patients in lower risk groups will be followed to assess the study outcomes of transition to chronic pain, disability at 6 and 12 months, and medical resource use for treatment.
Drs. Paula Gardiner, Charles Williams, Katherine Gergen Barnett, Jennifer Loh, Aram Kaligian, Stephen Tringale, and Ramon Cancino are all co-investigators working with Dr. Saper. Health Centers that will be taking part in the study in addition to clinics in BMC (Family Medicine, General Medicine, Women’s Health) include Roslindale, Upham’s, EBNHC, SBCHC, Dorchester House, Codman Square, Mattapan, Dimock, and South End.
See press coverage in the Boston Herald here.
More information about PCORI’s pragmatic clinical trial program and the five awards can be found here.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations!
- To Gabe Johnson, MD for her quote in the Bay State Banner describing the importance of Family Medicine and continuity!
- To Nidhi Lal, MD on her acceptance into the 2015-2016 BU Academy for Faculty Advancement
- To Ruth Potee, MD who has been honored by the Franklin District Medical Society as the 2015 Community Clinician of the Year!
- To Maria Wusu, MD for two outstanding honors:
- Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism and Excellence in Teaching Award
- BUSM Robert Russell, M.D. Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society
__________________________________________________________________________________
JAMA Viewpoint on The Health of Young African Men
Congratulations to Steve Martin for leading this effort!
This JAMA Viewpoint emanated from Dr. Jack and his team’s work planning the health IT system for young African-American men (Gabe). This viewpoint is accompanied by a similar Viewpoint by Winston F. Wong, Thomas A. LaVeist, and Joshua M. Sharfstein, and an editorial by JAMA Editor-in-Chief Howard Bauchner. These writings focus on those left behind in the midst of exorbitant US healthcare spending (links are below). Please tweet and post widely so that we can help reset expectations for health.
BMC Press Release JAMA Viewpoint Health of African American Men
JAMA The Health of Young African American Men 2015
Also, congratulations to Steve Martin for being featured on the Social Gradient Podcast-Science and Health Media on this matter! Check it out here.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations to Stephen F. Cummings, MD, Senior Advisor to the DFM’s Global Health Collaborative, who has been selected to receive the 2015 Gabriel Smilkstein Award Outstanding Contributions to the Growth and Development of Family Medicine Education Throughout the World! The Group on Global Health will present the award at the STFM annual meeting in Orlando, Florida.
The Gabriel Smilkstein Award Outstanding Contributions to the Growth and Development of Family Medicine Education Throughout the World.
The Gabriel Smilkstein Award is given annually to honor that member of the STFM community whose career work exemplifies the work of Gabriel Smilkstein in furthering the development of family medicine education throughout the world. The Award is intended to recognize achievements in and contributions to the development of family medicine education outside the United States and Canada over the course of the Awardee’s career.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Congratulations to Nicole Bryant for her promotion to Finance Manager for the Department of Family Medicine! Nicole joined Family Medicine in November 2012 as a Financial Analyst. She has been responsible for tracking and reconciling provider productivity and compensation. She also tracked contract revenue and assisted with the monthly financial close. Prior to joining FM, Nicole managed the finances for several non-profits and most recently, a law firm, where she also managed client communication and events. Congratulations Nicole!