March 2022 – What's New?

It has been just over 1 month since my transition to Chief of the Citywide Department of Family Medicine (CWDFM). I want to extend a thank-you to Dr. Stephen Wetmore for his leadership of our hospital departments of Family Medicine over the past 10 years. He was a dedicated leader within the hospital, always promoting the value of Family Physicians within, and beyond, the hospital walls. He represented our interests extremely well at a plethora of various committees he participated on. I will endeavour to be the same committed leader for Family Medicine as he was. I bring a range of experience that will assist me in this role having served as the Family Medicine Site Chief at Victoria hospital for many years, the Associate Family Medicine Chief for LHSC more recently, and just finishing 2 and a half years as the Chair of the LHSC Medical Advisory Committee.

Of course, the work of the Citywide Department of Family Medicine cannot be done without a talented team!  As a reminder, here is a refresher on the physician and administrative leadership across our department:

Dr. Laura Lyons, Associate Chief of Family Medicine, London Health Sciences Centre

Dr. Lyons has been a full-time, comprehensive Family Physician working at the St. Joseph’s Family Medical Centre since 2006. Her hospital work includes intrapartum obstetrics, palliative care, and addiction medicine. She was appointed Associate Chief of Family Medicine at LHSC as of February 1st and brings a wealth of experience to the role having served as the Medical Director of the St. Joe’s FMC from 2010 – 2021. In addition, Dr. Lyons is the Medical Director of Family Medicine Obstetrics at LHSC. Feel free to reach out to her at Laura.Lyons@sjhc.london.on.ca.

Dr. Richard Pawliszyn, Associate Chief of Family Medicine, St. Joseph’s Health Care London

Dr. Pawliszyn has been working at Parkwood Hospital since 2016 and has supported Complex Care, Veteran’s Care, and the Parkwood Surge Unit. Since 2019, he has served in the position of Associate Chief of Family Medicine at SJHC. He currently combines his Parkwood Institute work with community-based family practice. Dr. Pawliszyn is your advocate for all things family medicine within the St. Joseph’s organization, please feel free to contact him at Richard.Pawliszyn@lhsc.on.ca.

Dr. Anita Singh, Citywide Medical Leader for the Palliative Care Program

Dr. Singh is a full-time palliative care physician working in London as a Consultant with the London Regional Cancer Program, Parkwood Palliative Care Unit, St Joseph’s Hospice as well as supporting a community palliative care team. She has been the citywide leader for palliative care since 2017. If you have questions about our palliative care program, she can be reached at anita.singh@lhsc.on.ca.

Sheena Blasing, Citywide Department of Family Medicine Administrative Partner

Sheena has been with the CWDFM as the administrative partner for 17 years. She is responsible for coordinating Annual Clinical Day in Family Medicine, FM And FM OB Grand Rounds, Connections meetings, Annual General Meeting, and social events including annual Holiday Celebration and baseball game/BBQ. Her administrative role includes working closely with Medical Affairs regarding the issuance and maintenance of hospital privileges and requirements for the continuation of your professional staff appointment. Sheena possesses an in-depth and historical knowledge of the department is always accessible to assist in navigating the hospital landscape. Feel free to contact her at Sheena.Blasing@sjhc.london.on.ca.

Jenn Verhoeven, Citywide Palliative Care Program Administrative Partner

Jenn has been the admin partner for the Citywide Palliative Care Program since 2017. In this role she supports palliative care grand rounds, the palliative care journal club, on-call schedules, resident rotation scheduling, as well as serving as the PGY3 Enhanced Skills Palliative Care Program Coordinator. Please contact Jenn at Jenn.Verhoeven@sjhc.london.on.ca if you have questions about Palliative Care in London or want to be included on her distribution lists.

I am grateful to this dedicated team of people who support the Citywide Department of Family Medicine. If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas for us, please do not hesitate to contact any of us – including myself at scott.mckay@lhsc.on.ca or @FMChairChief on Twitter.

Medical Imaging Survey for Referring Physicians

The Department of Medical Imaging is undergoing a transformation with city-wide fleet replacement of imaging and interventional equipment that will eventually provide our referring partners and our patients with access to state-of-the-art technology! Your feedback is extremely valuable, as it allows us to look at ways of improving our program and service provision. Although a main target of this survey is hospital-based physicians, many aspects apply to community providers as well.

Kindly consider taking a few moments to complete the survey (hospital login credentials needed to access)

Reminders to LHSC and SJHC Physicians:

Leaves of absence

If you will be going on a “Leave of Absence” from your practice (i.e., personal, health, paternity, maternity, etc.) please remember to email sheena.blasing@sjhc.london.on.ca so we can complete the paperwork for Medical Affairs. During your leave, you will be exempt from certain hospital policies and requirements.

Hospital Privilege Reappointment

2022 applications for reappointment and now open and must be completed by March 31st to avoid a $200 late fee. Please check your hospital email for details and/or login to https://hub.schulich.uwo.ca/login to complete the process.

Influenza Vaccination Status

It’s not too late to report your influenza vaccination status and you must either report you received the vaccine or complete the Influenza Vaccination Attestation form as a requirement for your 2022-23 hospital privileges.

Those who received their vaccination external to the hospital will need to notify Occupational Health AND Medical Affairs, including the approximate date the vaccine was received, proof of vaccination if available to: 

• LHSC – FluUpdate@lhsc.on.ca
• St. Joseph’s – ohss@sjhc.london.on.ca
• Medical Affairs – Medical.affairs@londonhospitals.ca

N95 Fit Testing

At the start of the pandemic, there was a shortage of several N95 masks, and most physicians completed new fit testing for mask type 8210. This mask type is no longer available, so N95 fit testing to one of the following is required (must be current in the past 2 years): 1860, 1860s, or 1870+. Please check your email to determine if you are overdue for testing and the steps to book a fit test.

Don’t Miss These Upcoming Events:

Citywide Department of Family Medicine Connections Meeting
April 6, 7:45 AM – 8:30 AM
Topic: Updates for Primary Care from LHSC
https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/94392724770

Grand Rounds in Family Medicine
April 6, 8:30 – 9:30 AM
Topic: TBA
https://westernuniversity.zoom.us/j/96309190239

Annual Clinical Day in Family Medicine
May 11 – All-day
Details and registration