Welcome to the Primary Care Consortium (PCC) Quarterly Newsletter! The PCC continues to promote a positive, diverse culture of collaboration and engagement that supports high value and quality patient-centered primary care, discovery, and innovation across Emory University and Emory Healthcare. Keep an eye on our new website and this quarterly newsletter for news and events. If you have primary care-related news to share, please send it to pc.consortium@emory.edu.
The Emory Primary Care Consortium is delighted to introduce our new Director, Danielle Jones, MD. Former Director Ted Johnson MD, MPH, who has led the PCC since its inception in 2014, will continue his involvement as Co-Executive Sponsor with LeShea Turner, Vice President, Primary Care and Emory Specialty Associates for Emory Healthcare. Dr. Jones is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics at Grady Memorial Hospital. She has served as an attending in Grady's Primary Care Center and inpatient wards and as Medical Director of Grady's Musculoskeletal Injection Clinic for more than ten years. Dr. Jones is also the Associate Program Director for Ambulatory Education for the J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program, has won numerous service and teaching awards, and was inducted into Emory's Academy of Medical Educators in 2014.
The PCC is also pleased to introduce Melissa Stevens, MD, our new Academic Physician Lead for the Atlanta VA Medical Center (VAMC) Section on Quality and Primary Care. Dr. Stevens is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics, Adjunct Instructor at Morehouse School of Medicine, and Affiliated Investigator at the Birmingham/Atlanta Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center. She is based at the Atlanta VAMC where she is the Director of Quality for the Medical Specialty Care Service Line. She serves on multiple VA committees including the Executive Committee of the Medical Staff and the Professional Standards Board. She is the co-Chair for the Facility Flow Committee as well as a member of the National Patient Flow Collaborative for the VA.
Danielle Jones MD Melissa Stevens MD
“Primary Care is often overlooked in funding compared to more romantic, exciting endeavors in medicine. But I believe Primary Care is ideally positioned to face some of the most pressing issues facing modern medicine today. Primary care is in the forefront of trying to provide top quality care while controlling cost. We must remain the voice for the patient, stressing care, equal access and compassion in the face of growing economic pressures. Above all, I feel we must resist the changes which threaten to remove us from the bedside and embrace those innovations that improve patient care and communication.” – Dr. William LaHouse, speaking at the William R. LaHouse Memorial Scholarship dinner, March 2017
Primary Care News
Emory currently has over 20 openings in Primary Care! Check out Primary Care Physician Jobs at Emory for more information. Emory Healthcare's Department of Primary Care also invites residents to a complimentary Brunch with Emory's Primary Care Team on Saturday, August 25th from 11 am - 1 pm at Sun in my Belly.
The Georgia Department of Human Services awarded over $4M to the Georgia Alzheimer's Project to incorporate a statewide plan for training in dementia screening coupled with opportunities for multi-level, longitudinal assessment of practice change outcomes. Emory serves as the primary implementing partner in providing the clinical workflow model for the Georgia Memory Net (GMN). GMN will train primary care providers statewide on conducting an Annual Wellness Visit that includes screening for early memory loss and cognitive decline, as well as providing education and support for patients and care partners and connecting patients to a regional GMN center, one entrée to a network of regional Memory Assessment Clinics across Georgia. Emory faculty who are helping with this project include Co-Directors James Lah MD PhD and Allan Levey MD, PhD and GMN leads Ted Johnson MD, MPH (primary care training), Kenneth Hepburn PhD (community services education core), Chad Hales MD, PhD (cognitive neurology), David Loring PhD (neuropsychology), Laura Medders LMSW (social work services), Rebecca Dillard MA (project director), Alexis Bender PhD (researcher), Miranda Moore PhD (researcher), and Molly Perkins PhD (researcher). More details on Emory's involvement with this project can be found here.
Grady’s big investment in primary care: Grady Health Systems has committed to an over $3 million annual investment to support primary care across all sites, including new positions (care coordinators, behavioral health specialists, etc.) along with an expansion of current roles (CMAs).
The Primary Care Consortium funds advocacy, social, and educational opportunities, grants, and also learner-initiated professional development for learners, faculty, and staff involved in primary care at Emory. You'll find details and application information on our website.
Emory Primary Care is looking for high quality educational experiences for our learners. Learn how become an Emory Preceptor or adjunct faculty member within the Primary Care Consortium.
Primary Care Faculty Development and Excellence
Emory University School of Medicine, the Department of Family Medicine, the Department of Medicine, and the Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics present the 2nd Annual Southeast Review and Update on Medical Care of Older Adults. July 13-15th at Callaway Gardens. CME available. Registration information and program available here.
In honor of National Doctors' Day on March 30th, the Emory Medicine Recognition Committee of the School of Medicine sent out a call for nominations to recognize School of Medicine doctors who go above and beyond. Congratulations to the following primary care physicians chosen to exemplify the outstanding faculty at Emory School of Medicine:
- Bhavin Adhyaru, MD (General Medicine and Geriatrics)
- Tracey L. Henry, MD, MPH, MS (General Medicine and Geriatrics)
- Stacy M Higgins, MD (General Medicine and Geriatrics)
- Kimberly Manning, MD (General Medicine and Geriatrics)
- W Clyde Partin Jr., MD, PhD (General Medicine and Geriatrics)
- Megha Shah, MD, Msc (Family and Preventive Medicine)
- Quratulain Syed, MD (General Medicine and Geriatrics)
- José M. Villalón-Gómez, MD (Family and Preventive Medicine)
The Department of Medicine has initiated a system of tiered Clinical Distinctions to recognize faculty who have made significant clinical contributions. These Primary Care and General Medicine Geriatrics faculty were awarded Clinical Distinction designations in 2017-2018:
Master Clinician: Sharon Bergquist, MD; William Branch Jr, MD; Taylor Graves, MD; Jonathan Masor, MD; W. Clyde Partin, MD; David Roberts, MD; Neil Winawer, MD.
Distinguished Physician: Erica Brownfield, MD; Jada Bussey-Jones, MD; Jerard Cranman, MD; Thomas Jarrett, MD; Lesley Miller, MD; David Propp, MD; Frederick Turton, MD; Jennifer Zreloff, MD.
Senior Physician: Jason Higdon, MD; Danielle Jones, MD; Schuyler Livingston, MD; Eva Rimler, MD; Shabnam Shah, MD; Heather Silver, MD; Christine Stoltz, MD; Pamela Vohra-Khullar, MD.
More information on how to apply for Clinical Distinction is available here on the Department of Medicine website.
With nearly 60 applications, 4 primary care faculty were chosen for the inaugural Woodruff Health Educators Academy Fellowship in Educational Scholarship program: Maura George MD, Jason Schneider MD, and Eva Rimler MD from General Internal Medicine and Jonie Fawley MPAS, PA-C from the Physician Assistant Program. The new 18-month fellowship program is designed to help health science educators study their teaching, mentoring, leadership, or curriculum development efforts and disseminate their findings to other educators.
Susana Alfonso MD, MHCM (Family Medicine), Taylor Graves MD (Geriatrics) and Oguchi Ohuabunwa MD (Geriatrics) have been named Atlanta Top Docs. Dr. Alfonso is based at Emory Family Medicine at Dunwoody, Dr. Graves's practice is located at Emory at Tucker, and Dr. Ohuabunwa is based at Grady Memorial Hospital. Congratulations, Top Docs!
The American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation awards the John A. Benson Jr., MD Professionalism Article Prize to four scholarly articles that explore opportunities to improve healthcare quality at all levels. William Branch Jr, MD (General Medicine) won this year’s research prize for his work “A Multi-Institutional Longitudinal Faculty Development Program in Humanism Supports the Professional Development of Faculty Teachers.”
Tracey Henry MD, MPH, MS, FACP (pictured below with former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush) has been elected to the American College of Physicians' National Council of Early Career Physicians. Dr. Henry (General Medicine) was also the first physician from Emory to be admitted to the Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, which is intended to give professionals perspective on their own leadership styles, provide insights from presidents and their administrations and staffs, and spark future unexpected partnerships, all while supporting the centers' work to address society's greatest challenges. Read more about the program and Henry's work here.
Kimberly Manning MD (General Medicine) is the 2018 recipient of the ACGME Parker J. Palmer “Courage to Teach” Award. This prestigious national award honors program directors from all disciplines who are innovators in education. Dr. Manning was also invited to deliver the 2017 Donald E. Olson, MD, Ph.D Visiting Lectureship. This lectureship invites luminary speakers who display a passion for humanism in medicine and a deep respect for the doctor-patient relationship. Read Manning's powerful reflection on physician wellness and self –care, the cover story of the Winter 2018 edition of Emory Medicine magazine.
Imelda Reyes, DNP, MPH, assistant clinical professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing will be inducted as a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners during the organization’s National Conference in Denver, Colo. this summer. Induction into the AANP Fellowship is considered one of the highest honors for nurse practitioners. Fellows are elected through a highly selective process that recognizes nurse practitioner leaders who have made outstanding contributions to health care through clinical practice, research, education and policy. Read more about Reyes and her work here.
Leadership
The Emory University Department of Medicine is delighted to announce some changes in Internal Medicine education leadership. Meredith Lora, MD (General Medicine) has been named director of the Internal Medicine Core Clerkship. Varun Phadke, MD (Infectious Diseases) will join Lora as the associate clerkship director. In addition, Michael Lubin, MD (General Medicine) will be stepping down after 35 years of leading the internal medicine M4 clerkship and Richard Pittman, MD (General Medicine) will assume the directorship. Congratulations to all of these faculty on their dedication to educating and inspiring the next generation of doctors! You'll find more details here.
Jodie Guest, PhD, MPH (Physician Assistant Program) has been named chair of the Shepard Award Committee at Rollins. This committee reviews and awards the top two theses for each department and the top thesis from Rollins for the year to a graduating masters student. Dr. Guest was also an invited moderator at the 22nd International Workshop on HIV and Hepatitis Observational Databases in Fuengirola, Spain in March. She moderated the Hepatitis and Comorbidities section. Additionally, she presented “Modifiable risk factors for HIV suppression in MSM in Atlanta, GA: data from Engagement, a PRISM Health Cohort” at this conference.
Reena Hemrajani, MD (Hospital Medicine), has been named Associate Program Director for the J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program. She will join the residency program’s leadership team along with six other associate program directors under the direction of residency program director, Karen Law, MD. Read more details here.
Erin Lepp PA-C, MMSc (Physician Assistant Program) has been appointed to the Georgia Department of Public Health's State Office of Rural Health and will be serving as a Board Member on their Farmworker Health Program Advisory Board. She will join in monthly oversight meetings to advise the executives and clinicians that operate the six migrant health centers across Georgia to ensure that the clinic's are providing the highest quality care and operating in accordance to the federal guidelines that provide their funding.
Maha Lund DHSC, PA-C, Program Director and Division Chief for the Physician Assistant Program, graduated from the Woodruff Leadership Academy in April 2018. The WLA combines a program of classroom sessions, off-site team projects, and weekend retreats to motivate professionals and managers within the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center to develop, exercise, and strengthen individual leadership potential. Congratulations!
Anne Tomolo, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Department of Medicine has been appointed associate chief of staff for education for the Atlanta VA Health Care System. Tomolo serves as the chief of quality for medical specialty service at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. In addition, she is the VA Quality Scholars Advanced Fellowship site director and physician senior scholar at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. You can read more here.
The Department of Medicine recently named Camille Vaughan, MD, MS (Geriatrics) as Associate Vice Chair of Research and Faculty Development and Charles Searles, Jr, MD (Cardiology) as Associate Vice Chair of Research and Space Management. Read more about Drs. Vaughan and Searles and their new positions here.
Education
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is one of only a few U.S. nursing schools that offer an ambulatory care nurse residency program. The course is designed to broaden students' knowledge, skill set, and career prospects in the field. Emory Nursing Magazine featured this innovative new residency program in the Winter 2018 issue. You can find the whole story here.
Awarded annually, the Dr. William C. LaHouse Residents Fund supports one Family Medicine trainee for three years. Family medicine physicians are needed to improve affordable access to primary care that is patient-centered and focused on preventing disease. Read about Emory's LaHouse Scholars here.
Match Day 2018
The Department of Medicine will welcome 56 new residents to the J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program in July, 8 of whom are on the Primary Care Track. Learn more about the incoming IM residents here.
The Department of Family Medicine will welcome 10 new residents (pictured below) in July.
Service Learning & Opportunities
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Good Samaritan Health Center in downtown Atlanta, PA students in the class of 2017 donated $2,500.00 to help fund Good Sam’s new homeless clinic. The class gift will help fund the Center’s new homeless clinic initiative that provides a patient-centered medical visit to approximately 60 homeless patients each month. Patients are transported to Good Sam from over 30 homeless and transitional shelters across metro Atlanta and spend an entire day at Good Sam receiving comprehensive medical and dental care, metal health assessment and counseling, patient education, and nutrition support. In summer months, patients will also leave their visit with fresh produce grown on-site in the Good Sam Urban Farm.
The Emory PA Program has a long history of serving patients at the Good Sam patient-centered medical home (PCMH) clinic. Through a unique academic-community partnership, PA student-clinicians spend one Saturday per month managing an entire outpatient medical appointment under the guidance of dedicated physician preceptors in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, including Susana Alfonso MD, MHCM, Emily Herndon MD, Kim Le MDand Oguchi Nwosu MD. The student-run clinic model first piloted by Emory PA students has been so successful in helping expand the Center’s ability to accept new patients that administrators extended the model to include medical students from both Emory and Morehouse and most recently, students and faculty from Emory’s Doctorate Physical Therapy (DPT) Program.
Want to be a part of this outreach? This service-learning opportunity is a great way for faculty to demonstrate teaching and service effort. If interested, please contact Erin Lepp, PA-C, Director of Community-Engaged Learning and Projects for the PA Program at elepp@emory.edu or via cell (770) 608-4590.
In honor of National Farmworker Awareness Week (March 24th-31st), first year PA students, faculty, and staff assembled close to 1,000 personal care kits for distribution to migrant and seasonal farmworkers during the upcoming South Georgia Farmworker Health Project (SGFHP) which will take place June 9th-21st. Each farmworker patient will receive assorted toiletry items, a dental hygiene kit, new pair of work gloves, protective eyewear, and several pair of new cotton socks as well as a food box filled with rice, beans, mesa (corn flour) and cooking oil. Farmworkers and their families will be able to select clothing and footwear from an amazing selection made possible by SGFHP volunteer Lisa Powell and faculty member Karen Newell, MMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA. Through partnerships with the Emory Glenn Preschool and the Central Congregational United Church of Christ, children’s clothing, shoes, and books will also be donated to migrant families. Now in its 23rd year, the SGFHP has grown into an exemplar of interprofessional training and collaboration, providing free medical and dental care to over 1,500 migrant and seasonal farmworkers and their families. Want to help? Look for a collection box in the Dunwoody Conference Room, DFPM Wesley Woods office, OMESA office, or in the PA Program offices to donate packages of men’s cotton crew socks (size Medium), children’s books or travel-sized toiletry items.
Conferences
Emory was well-represented at the 2018 National Society of General Internal Medicine meeting, including a strong showing from General Internal Medicine faculty at Grady: Jennifer Lom MD, Marshall Fleurant MD, Stacie Schmidt MD, Stacy Higgins MD, Kimberly Manning MD, Lesley Miller MD, Dominique Cosco MD, Danielle Jones MD, Jada Bussey-Jones MD, Sara Turbow MD, Sara Koumtouzoua MD, and Tracy Vettese MD.
The 2018 American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting was held in Orlando FL . Eleven members of Emory's section of Geriatrics and Gerontology attended. Fellows Rabiah Ali MD, Elena Cabb MD, and Sandhya Narukonda MD presented posters as did Anna Mirk MD and Quratulain Syed MD. Hyung Seok Oh MD presented "Walking wth Modafinil: A Case Report on an Individual with Alzheimer's Disease" and Camille Vaughan MD, MS served as co-moderator for a session and presented a paper titled "Behavioral Therapy Improves Urinary Symptoms in Parkinson Disease."
Medical Education Day 2018 was held on March 26th. The theme was Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. David Acosta, MD, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges, delivered the keynote address: “Becoming Equity-Minded Academic Health Centers Through Inclusion Excellence: The Next Generation of Work for Academic Medicine.”
Emory University School of Medicine celebrated the research accomplishments of the class of 2018 during the Medical Student Research Day on Thursday, April 19, 2018 in the School of Medicine building. Keynote Speaker Dr. Eric WSorscher gave an engaging talk “A Perspective on Precision Therapeutics for Cystic Fibrosis and Other Orphan Diseases.” The Discovery Phase of Emory’s medical curriculum, directed by Dr. Maureen Powers, provides medical students with the opportunity to conduct research while working closely with a faculty mentor. The outstanding student speakers included Jill Morsberger, Melanie Frank, and Hope Caughron. The poster session winners were Max Goldman, Ariel Majidi, Ross Bittman, Melissa Oh, and Alexander Kiener. Congratulations to all our talented Emory medical students and their mentors!
The 11th Emory Quality Conference took place on April 2nd. The theme was "New Designs for a New Era" and the keynote speaker was Don Berwick, former administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and founded CEA of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
IM Resident Research Day 2018 was held on April 3rd and featured speaker Field F. Willingham, MD, MPH. The top resident-led research projects of the year were awarded to residents Nithin Gopalsamy MD, Demetria Smith MD, and Natalie Giles MD. You'll find more details and photographs here.
FEED conference 2018. Emory's annual Faculty Education, Enrichment, and Development (FEED) took place on April 27th. Organized by the Department of Medicine's faculty development office, the FEED conference aims to help provide career advancement advice and workshops for clinician educators, clinical researchers, and basic scientists. Read more about the presentations here.
The Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance and the Emory Department of Medicine hosted their 5th Annual Health Services Research Day at Emory School of Medicine on May 9th. Rachel Werner, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine from the Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania was the Keynote Speaker. This year's theme was "Improving Outcomes and Value of Healthcare." You'll find a list of presentations, award winners, and photographs here.
Hotspotting at Grady was a hot topic for Emory health professional students. Pictured below are Colin McNamera (MSN (FNP) candidate) and Madeleine Rutledge (SON NP student) presenting at Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing Student Scholars Day. This poster was also presented at the 11th Emory Quality Conference by Michael Arenson (M3, MSCR) at the 5th Annual Health Services Research Day by Jennifer Dyson (Georgia State University MSW candidate) and at the Medical Student Poster Competition by Sindhuja Surapaneri (M3). Funding sources for this project were the Emory School of Nursing, Emory Primary Care Consortium, Emory- GA Tech Healthcare Innovations Program, and Georgia CTSA.
In November 2017, the Physician Assistant Program joined the Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Emory Healthcare, Emory School of Medicine, and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing to co-host the 2nd Interprofessional Simulation Conference. Over 100 participants from multiple healthcare disciplines attended lectures and poster presentations and participated in hands-on group activities covering key aspects of interprofessional simulation. The next Interprofessional Simulation Conference will be held in 2019.
Save the date - the next Georgia Clinical and Translational Science Conference will be held February 28 - March 1, 2019 at Callaway Resort and Gardens.
Student Programs
In February, the Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) partnered with the Family Medicine Residency Program to host a Procedure Workshop focused on Blood Draws and IV insertions. 30 students signed up to participate. Afterwards, there was a networking session in which first and second year medical students spoke candidly with residents about the specialty of Family Medicine and applying to residency programs.
Emory Primary Care Progress has been busy this year, hosting a number of interdisciplinary events, including an intimate discussion on the opioid epidemic, a diverse panel of practitioners who talked about methods to facilitate patient empowerment, and a talk about “high-risk primary care.” Teams from the PCP also entered the Rollins School of Public Health’s Global Health Case Competition, and continue doing work in the Student Hotspotting team for high-utilizing patients.
The Adult Primary Care Clerkship’s 3rd Annual Spring Bash was held on Saturday, April 14th at Jumpstreet Trampoline Park in Lawrenceville. Each year, we show our appreciation to our preceptors and their families by hosting a day of family friendly fun. This event is funded by the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, but includes both Family Medicine and Internal Medicine physicians. Our preceptors are very important as our clerkship would not be a success without these wonderful teachers. At Jumpstreet, we held a faculty development on the topic of Good Formative Feedback and afterwards participated in a dodgeball tournament. Other fun activities included Segway Outback and riding the wild mechanical bull. Thank you to all who were able to join us and we hope to see more of you there next year!
The Physician Assistant Program and faculty from the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing EMed NP Program collaborated on the Emory Graduation Generation Program as part of the Center for Civic Community Engagement in Campus Life. This program exposes high school students to medical simulation (ie. suturing, endotracheal airway mannikin, etc.) taught by faculty and also by Emory allied health grad students and Emory Surgical residents.
Research
Rachel Patzer, PhD, has been named director of the newly inaugurated Health Services Research (HSR) Center, a cooperative initiative of the departments of medicine and surgery of the Emory University School of Medicine (SOM). Dr. Patzer joined the Division of Transplantation of the Emory Department of Surgery with a joint appointment in the Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) and an appointment in the Department of Medicine in 2011. As the director of the HSR Center, she will develop and enact a strategic plan for the advancement of health services research as well as nurture collaborative efforts in health services research across the SOM, RSPH, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Grady Memorial Hospital, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the Atlanta VA Medical Center, and other related Emory departments and school areas that do similar research. Dr. Patzer’s overarching mandate in this regard will be to lead the expansion, implementation, and promotion of health services research that is designed to deliver better patient outcomes and work toward making clinical care delivery perform at the highest quality and value, not only at Emory but as a paradigm for clinical/research institutions nationwide. She will also be charged with creating and managing an infrastructure that can support these endeavors. Read more about Dr. Patzer and her research here.
Grants
Susan Brasher, PhD, CPNP-PC, Assistant Clinical Professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing is heading a Patient-Centered Outcome Research Institute (PCORI) study that aims to form partnerships among key stakeholders such as clinicians, adults with autism, caregivers, and researchers to take on the issues related to helping those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as they become adults. This includes those living with mild, medium, and severe forms of ASD. There are serious health concerns for adults with ASD that don’t come from ASD itself, but are often related to it. These medical and psychiatric comorbidities include things like seizures, anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and gastrointestinal issues. Additionally, obsessive and compulsive behaviors in adults with ASD can cause significant challenges in everyday living. Read more about Dr. Brasher and her research here.
Stephanie Garrett, MD FACP CHPE (Geriatrics), has recently been awarded a National Institute on Aging Grant for Early Medical /Surgical Specialists’ Transition to Aging Research – GEMSSTAR Award (1R03AG056448-01) – to support research of an Ethno-culturally Appropriate Strategy for the Early identification of Cognitive Impairment in African Americans, --or EASE study. This project will incorporate its findings towards the development of innovative strategies and care models for identifying early cognitive impairment in African Americans. The National Institutes of Health, specifically the National Institute on Aging, awarded this grant in the amount of $117,000 and it is anticipated the project will receive continued funding for its second year through 2019.
Ihab Hajjar, MD (Geriatrics) and Antoine Trammell MD (General Medicine) received a $300K mentored award from the NIH to study the role of the renin-angiotensin-endothelial pathway in Alzheimer’s Disease.
Erica Heiman MD, Stacie Schmidt MD, Jada Bussey-Jones MD and others received one of the first Primary Care Consortium grants for colon cancer screening QI work. Ebonee Harris, Miranda Moore PhD, and Susy Alfonzo MD also received a PCC grant for holding focus group discussions with diabetes patients to explore their preferences over the content and format for communications from their healthcare team.
Ambar Kulshreshtha, MD PhD (Family Medicine) is the recipient of a new Alzheimer's Association International Research Grant. African Americans have a higher risk of developing Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease compared with Whites. The proposed study will assess the feasibility and acceptability of a Cognitive Behavior Therapy Intervention among African American patients with MCI using a 3-arm randomized controlled trial. Study collaborators include Ashley Owen, PhD (Family Medicine), Alvaro Alonso MD, PhD (Rollins School of Public Health) and Ted Johnson, MD, MPH (General Medicine & Geriatrics; Family Medicine) and will be piloted at Emory Family Medicine at Dunwoody.
As part of a grant awarded from the Georgia Healthy Family Alliance, Ambar Kulshreshtha, MD PhD (Family Medicine) led more than 10 community events in places such as local churches, and community centers. About the SIMPACT project: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death and disability in Georgia, accounting for more than 30% of all deaths. Georgia is also part of the “stroke belt” with stroke mortality 17% higher than the rest of the United States. Despite this, more than one third of adults in Georgia do not know the modifiable risk factors for CVD. The goal of the project was to improve knowledge of CVD risk factors and warning signs for heart attack and stroke.
Megha Shah, MD (Family Medicine) was awarded a KL2-Mentored Clinical Research Scholar award to provide research funding and protected time to develop a pilot community-driven diabetes self-management programs tailored for South Asians. The award period started March 1, 2018. (pictured, left to right: Dr. Gayle Wong (PGY3), Dr. Megha Shah, Dionne Williams (MA at Dunwoody), Amber Davis PA-C.)
General Medicine faculty Stacie Schmidt MD, Maura George MD, and Jada Bussey-Jones MD received a Collaborative to Advance Social Health Integration (CASHI) Award grant in collaboration with several Emory medical students for integrating a student-led health coaching curriculum.
Sara Turbow MD (General Medicine) has received funding from the HIP-ACTSI-GSU Grants in Healthcare Innovation for her work on Interprofessional Student Hotspotting at Grady Hospital.
Camille Vaughan, MD, MS (Geriatrics) has been awarded a $1.1M Merit Review Award by the Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research & Development. Dr. Vaughan's project "Behavioral or Solifenacin Therapy for Urinary Symptoms in Parkinson Disease" begins April 1, 2018.
Clinical Highlights
Emory's Integrated Memory Care Clinic - the first nurse-led clinic in the nation specializing in primary care for dementia patients and the first nurse-led medical home at Emory Healthcare - was featured in the Winter 2018 issue of Emory Nursing Magazine. Read the story of this innovative clinic here.
SOM Packet Classes for 2018-2019 Promotions
MEST - Monday, June 18, 8:00-9:00 am, SOM 190P
Scholarship/Research Track - Tuesday, July 17, 5:00-6:00 pm, room TBD
Education/Service/Scholarship/Clinical Track - Monday, August 13, 7:00-8:00 am, room TBD
Education/Service/Clinical Track - Tuesday, September 18, 5:00-6:00 pm, room TBD
