Department of Family and Preventive Medicine News
2024: Volume 7, issue 6
55 Words from the Chair
Our department has so much to celebrate this month, including 25 years of Emory service for a certain staff member who keeps our department running smoothly. Read also about welcome events for residents plus faculty research and service achievements. In this issue, we have several collaborative publications– it’s a great testament to our research progress!
Got news?
Send your good news and photos to leigh.partington@emory.edu with #FPMnewsletter in the subject line.
Congratulations on 25 Years at Emory to Ms. Pat Woodard!
Patricia Woodard, MBA
Describe your path to Emory and your current role? During my 12 years in the U.S. Army, I was a personnel and administrative specialist. When I retired from the military, I moved to Atlanta from Ft. Meade, Maryland and I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. A one-week temp assignment at Emory turned into 25 years. I started in medical records when they still had physical paper records. I worked for Dr. Joseph Miller, a thoracic surgeon, and it was my responsibility to make sure we had all the charts in the clinic. Then I became his transcriptionist. After 2 years, one of the admins asked me if I would be interested in working for Wilma Scales in Family and Preventive Medicine as an administrative assistant.
When Emory Healthcare moved the Family Medicine clinic from midtown to Dunwoody, Wilma left Emory and I briefly went with her, but I came back for an opening in the PA Program and I stayed there for 15 years. In 2015, I moved to the Office of our Chair, Dr. Ted Johnson, as a project coordinator. I was then promoted to Business Manager, Programs, and now my title is Senior Business Manager, Programs.
What do you love most about your job? The people I work with. I absolutely love working with the people!
What is the most interesting project you’ve worked on in your role? Managing Dr. Johnson’s calendar and watching him juggle his many hats. For me, seeing the end result is fascinating!
What are you proudest of over the course of your years at Emory? The road. My journey at Emory hasn’t been easy, but I’m proud of myself because I stayed the course.
What is one thing you wish others knew about your job? I would love for people to have a better understanding of what it takes to envision a project from start to finish and not just see the final product. If they knew how much time and effort went into things, they might have more appreciation of what their colleagues do.
If you know Ms. Pat, you know that her family is her heart. She shared some photos below of her beloved family.
Congratulations from your Emory team!
Don't Miss Opportunities!
18th Annual Women and Heart Disease Conference August 24
You're invited to join Emory Women's Heart Center for their 18th Annual Emory Women and Heart Disease Conference on Saturday, August 24!
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death among women. Caring for female patients with CVD requires a collaborative, multi-specialty team. Using clinical-based cases, attendees will learn the benefits of comprehensive and coordinated care provided by an expert team of cardiovascular providers.
Target Audience includes Family Practice, General Practice, Internists, Physician Assistants.
Cost:
- Physician: $130.00
- Allied Healthcare Professional: $100.00
- Residents/Fellows/Medical Students: $50.00
Credits Offered:
- AMA PRA Category 1 Credit - 4.75
PA Program Art & Medicine Festival
The Emory PA Program is having an Art and Medicine Festival Fundraiser FUNDRAISER on Friday, September 13 to raise money for the Emory Farmworker Project!
There will be a DJ, a FREE salsa class (6:30 - 7 pm), a jewelry vendor, many local artists selling crochet goods, jewelry, glassware, prints, and more, and food vendors.
**All ticket sales and a portion of the proceeds from our artists will go to the Farmworker project **
Who: Family, friends, spouses, and all are welcome to attend
Date, Time & Place: Sept. 13, 6 pm-8 pm, SOM lawn
Cost: $15 in advance, $20 at the door
Includes: entry, a drink, the salsa class, and… FREE King of Pops!!!
- Venmo: @ARTMEDICINEFESTIVAL2024
- Cashapp: ARTMEDICINEFESTIVAL
FPM DEI Grand Rounds
Dr. Christopher Ervin, Morehouse School of Medicine, will be speaking via Zoom on HIV Care of Vulnerable Populations.
Dr. Christopher Ervin is active in community-driven work and is an advocate for health, wellness, and social justice. He earned his medical degree from Duke University School of Medicine. He completed his General Surgery internship at the University of Illinois at Chicago and his Emergency Medicine residency at Cook County Hospital. He works at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) in the Department of Family Medicine as the Director for Community-based Initiatives. As an Emergency Medicine physician, he has served on multiple committees and has held assistant and interim medical director positions at numerous hospitals. He served as Chair of the Emergency Medicine Section, Secretary of the House of Delegates, and the Bioterrorism Task Force for the National Medical Association. As a representative for the American College of Emergency Physicians on the Commission to End Health Disparities, he served on the Steering Committee, Co-Chair of the Subcommittee on Workforce Diversity, and Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Business and Health Disparities. He also served as a Commissioner on the Sullivan Alliance.
Leaving medicine to pursue community-driven work, Dr. Ervin has served in numerous capacities with community-based nonprofits, served in multiple leadership positions, including Chair of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Region 3 Advisory Board, and President of the South Fulton Human Services Coalition. In 2019, Dr. Ervin was honored by the state of Georgia with a Proclamation for his commitment to community service, selected by Georgia House District Representative, Rep. Park Cannon. Presently, at Morehouse School of Medicine, Dr. Ervin is adjunct faculty with the Department of Physician Assistant Studies and in the Department of Family Medicine, the Director of Operations for Morehouse School of Medicine Student-run Free Clinic, the MSM H.E.A.L Clinic (Health Equity for All Lives), and the HRSA-funded CHAMPS program (Community Advanced by Medical Practice Superstars). And until recently, he was program manager for the MSM High School and Young Adult Community Health Worker Program.
Dr. Ervin has served as a consultant for local nonprofits and as an advisor to the Black Women’s Health Imperative. Dr. Ervin also sits on the Georgia HIV Prevention and Care Council, serving as chair from 2016 - 2018. And has recently been appointed to the Georgia Department of Public Health Community Health Worker Advisory Board and the Dekalb CURDSE (Center for Urban Research, Development, Sustainability, and Evaluation) Community Action Board.
27th Annual Cardiology Update for the Non-Cardiologist Nov. 8-9
Target Audience includes Family Practice, General Practice, Internists, Physician Assistants,
- Emory Physician: $480.00
- Emory Allied Healthcare: $280.00
- Residents/Fellows/Medical Students: $200.00
Credits Offered:
- ABIM MOC Points - 13.50
- AMA PRA Category 1 Credit - 13.50
Transformative Research
Kavalieratos gives Grand Rounds
Dr. Dio Kavalieratos gave Department of Medicine Grand Rounds at Ohio State University, titled "(Re)defining the role of palliative care in serious chronic illness"
Thirunavukkarasu has new roles with journals
Dr. Sathish Thirunavukkarasu will serve as an Editorial Board Member for Chronic Metabolic Diseases and Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism for the next two years. Dr. Thirunavukkarasu was also just named a ‘Senior Collaborator’ of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Network, given his contributions to the GBD so far
Emily Chuba moves to new role at Rollins
Ms. Emily Chuba (pictured above, left) will be the new Sr. Director, Business & Administration for the Department of Behavioral, Social, Health Education Sciences (equivalent to Jason’s role as Department of Family and Preventive Medicine Administrator, but for Rollins School of Public Health side). Ms. Chuba will be overseeing financial, operational, and administrative functions; ensuring the effective management of resources, strategic planning, and support for the department’s academic and research missions; and collaborating with faculty, staff, and university leadership to drive operational efficiency and contribute to the overall success of the department.
Collaborative Publications
Dr. Leslie Johnson and Dr. Mo Ali published Understanding barriers and facilitators to integrated HIV and hypertension care in South Africa and Factors influencing diabetes treatment satisfaction in the INtegrating DEPrEssioN and Diabetes treatmENT randomized clinical trial: A multilevel model analysis.
Dr. Deanna Kaplan and Dr. Ali John Zarrabi published A framework for assessment of adverse events occurring in psychedelic-assisted therapies.
Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha and Dr. Mo Ali published Association between low cognitive performance and diabetes-related health indicators across racial and ethnic groups in adults with diabetes.
Dr. Jane Lowers and Dr. Dio Kavalieratos published "How do You Take that Much Time for One Person's Life?" Experiences of Dementia Caregivers Who are Not Immediate Family.
Dr. Miranda Moore and Dr. Jenny Mascaro published Hospital Chaplain Burnout, Depression, and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Individual Publications
Dr. Mo Ali
Dr. Deanna Kaplan
Predicting psychosocial intervention response from baseline gene expression
Dr. Dio Kavalieratos
Dr. Ali John Zarrabi
Educational Investments for our future
Family Medicine Residency Represents at AAFP
The Family Medicine Residency Program was represented by Chief Residents Dr. Alanna Meadows (above, left) and Dr. Karla Garcia Ortiz (above, right), along with Family Medicine faculty member Dr. Amir Antonios, at the National Conference for the American Academy for Family Physicians, where Emory Family Medicine had their booth and connected with almost 200 medical students! It was a great experience to spread the word about all the good things the Family Medicine Residency program has to provide.
Family Medicine Interns Take Atlanta History Tour
Dr. Kim Thompson organized an Atlanta History Tour for the PGY-1 Family Medicine residents. The ten residents, plus Dr. Ted Johnson, were exposed to some of the communities that many of our patients call home and gained some historical perspective on the social, cultural, and economic forces that continue to change and impact the city we share. (Photos below)
Family Medicine Residency Intern Welcome Party!
The Family Medicine Residency also hosted their traditional welcome party for the PGY-1s. (Pictured below: Family Medicine Residency Program trainees, staff, and faculty)
Family Medicine bids farewell to Dr. Villalon-Gomez!
Learners and colleagues gathered at the Family Medicine Clinic at Dunwoody (photo below) to bid farewell to Dr. Jose Villalon-Gomez who left Emory at the end of July to pursue a new opportunity in the private sector focused on quality improvement, population health, and utilization management initiatives. He continues to consult for Dr. Kim Thompson as she takes over as Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program.
In the News
Dr. Jodie Guest was interviewed for the AARP Magazine article "Are COVID Treatments Still Free?"
Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha and his team's work was featured in Dementia: A Diagnosis Too Often Delayed – Silver Century Foundation as well as in Nature Blood biomarker tests set to transform Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
Dr. Jane Lowers co-authored Assisted dying: first-hand accounts of what it’s like to help a loved one die for The Conversation.
Service for our future
Congratulations Dr. Lal, Distinguished Physician!
Dr. Ashima Lal, Associate Professor in the Division of Palliative Medicine, has been designated as a Distinguished Physician in the Emory Clinical Distinctions program. Clinical Distinctions are designed to recognize faculty who have devoted the majority of their time and careers to providing excellence in clinical care. Appointment to Distinguished Physician recognizes the demonstration of outstanding clinical care and leadership in clinical mission-critical areas.
