June 1, 2020 - Peds Faculty Meeting Recap

Dr. Kimberly Boland

  • Social Distancing: a reminder was given to continue social distancing practices
  • Work from Home: UofL extended the COVID-19 related “work from home” stance through the end of June; the chair has delegated to the chiefs how to phase staff back in their offices/divisions; all chair office staff will be expected to be in the office at least one day a week beginning next week
  • Recruitment: Recruitment continues in nearly every division and the process is being refined.  A reminder was given that because a potential recruit is listed on a ballot, that does not mean they have been given an offer, it is to simply speed up the lengthy process in the event that person is chosen for the position; faculty will be made aware when an offer has been made
  • Telehealth: telehealth has been working well and utilized to help protect patients and providers and will continue to be utilized.
  • In the MS Teams chat, there was a question asked if there was data on whether “our” vaccines rates have dropped like has been seen in other places; the response was yes, the vaccine rates have dropped and “we” are trying to get people back in; other groups are doing things like vaccine vans, etc. and the PID and Gen Peds divisions are brainstorming around this issue
  • In the MS Teams chat, there was a question whether make a patient “PUI” noting that many are tested but are not highly suspected to be infected; there was discussion around this and addressed within Dr. Korte student section of the meeting (see below)
  • Operational Matters; a reminder was given that any issues related to clinical operations should be brought first to the attention of the practice manager, the regional director or finally to the system director; organizational charts are being updated and will be distributed
  • Department of Pediatrics Vice Chairs:  Approval was sought and given by the Dean to name Dr. In Kim as Executive Vice Chair and Dr. Sara Multerer as Vice Chair of Medical Education; thank you and congratulations were offered, formal announcements will be forthcoming; Dr. Faye Jones will continue in her role as Vice Chair of Inclusive Excellence and Dr. Jan Sullivan will continue in her role as Vice Chair for Research.  With the integration, Dr. Jeff Grill’s role as Vice Chair for Community Outreach has been eliminated given the strength of NHC in this area.  Dr. Grill will continue his work with facilities

 

 

Dr. Jenn Evans | Clinical Operations Update

  • Ramping clinics back up, social distancing measures being continued, all are reminded to wear face masks
  • An updated organization chart will be forthcoming; a reminder was given to work with practice managers, regional managers and system director regarding clinical operations matters
  • The positive COVID-19 rate is less than 1% and the screening numbers are lower; continue to be safe
  • There are some challenges in the clinics being at full capacity; some are at 10%, some are at 100% (inclusive of both in person and telehealth visits); we have not hit 50% of budget due to COVID-19; need to be at full capacity and reach our numbers; the Women’s Services are at 95% of budget; there is a wait in some clinics to be seen and closing this gap will serve the patients and the system; she will be reaching out to find out what the gaps are; look at schedules well in advance and work to get the patients seen that need to be seen and who are waiting to be seen, whether via telehealth or in person if necessary; help leadership identify these patients who are waiting to be seen and get the clinic schedules filled and open
  • The Marketing team will be analyzing all areas of special interest; open to suggestions and questions

Dr. Sara Multerer  | Medical Education Update

  • The PGY 1st and 2nd Year Residents will ”Roast” the 3rd Years on Thursday, June 4th virtually; a meeting invitation will go out with the links
  • The Hail & Farewell for the graduating 3rd Year Residents will be held on Thursday, June 11th virtually; a meeting invitation will go out with the links; the NCH Certificates will be distributed at the Graduation Ceremony
  • The Poster Session for Resident & Fellow Scholarly Activity will be held in three virtual sessions, June 17 & June 18 at Noon and on June 19 in the Pediatric Grand Rounds time slot; each resident will give their 2 minute “elevator” speech; meeting invitations will be sent out with the links
  • Intern Orientation will be held June 24
  • Graduation will be held on the original date, June 26, virtually via MS Teams Live Event; meeting invitation will be sent out with the link; the division awards will be moved to the Graduation Ceremony and chiefs will be contacted regarding their submissions
  • All intern interviews this recruitment season will be held virtually per the AAMC; more to come on how that will work
  • Work has been done to development a “Faculty Development MS Teams Page”; stay tuned for more information

Dr. Jan Sullivan  | Peds Research Update

  • The EVPRI is allowing clinical research to resume in a phased approach with current studies beginning enrollment of new patients June 15th. All activities can resume June 30th except community based research and site visits by monitors. The EVPRI is still working on a plan for both of those issues.
  • Clinical KCPCRU staff are now coming into the office for studies where patients are already enrolled; not all staff are back in the office, some continue to work from home.
  • The clinical research finance and regulatory teams will work from home through June
  • If there are questions, please reach out to Dr. Sullivan
  • The research integration has progressed with an agreement close to execution, hopefully by the end of June;  working groups have formed and will be addressing the integration processes that need to be addressed for successful integration and research productivity
  • Basic Science labs have returned to work also and have safety plans in place for each lab

 Dr.  Sarah Korte

  • The medical students are back in a limited capacity effective today (June 1) for the first time since March; they are not allowed to see COVID-19 patients or PUI’s; flexibility is needed with any call-in illnesses from students; Dr. Korte and student coordinator Freda Ellington must be notified of any absences as well as student health
  • Makeups for 3rd year students are in process to round out the year
  • The next group starts in July
  • Regarding the question regarding “PUI’s”, due to the varying symptoms being seen in children, more are under “investigation” and will be tested for COVID-19, it will be up to the faculty member’s clinical judgement on how strongly they feel a patient has COVID-19 and whether the student can participate in care; the student will also be empowered as to their comfort level in participation in the care which could be subject to concerns around who they are exposed to at home
  • Social distance as much as possible; virtual meetings and rounds have been very effective and negates trying to find a room; in person contact is not being pushed nor it virtual contact; use judgement; one good thing with the virtual is that the access to the files is readily available
  • The chiefs coordinated a blackboard channel for the Infectious Diseases division which has been a tremendous help; others could work towards this; they will help

Dr. Jeff Grill  | Pediatrics Academic Facilities

  • Reminded all of the clean-up efforts to remove the old furniture, chairs, equipment, etc. mainly on the 1st and 2nd floors of the pediatric academic office building (Kosair Charities Pediatrics Center – KCPC); an email was sent out to all; if there are items that belong to you or that you would like to have, they must be identified and moved out of that current space into your own divisional space by the end of June or they will be disposed of; most is broken down and old and likely not wanted or needed but wanted to offer that opportunity before disposing of it
  • If there are any questions or concerns, direct to Dr. Grill
  • Working to clean up the building for future use/opportunities

Kay Howard |  Children’s Hospital Foundation

  • She is looking for faculty engagement related to the fundraising efforts by the Children’s Hospital Foundation (CHF)
  • The annual Snow Ball is a huge fundraiser for CHF/NCH; this year it will be virtual
  • The House and BMW raffle will happen as planned:
    • Faculty  engagement is needed to find a “champion” to help sell the raffle tickets; they are $100 a piece; the home is worth $750,000; the tickets sales raise $100,000 net for the CHF who supports many programs and units within NCH and the Dept of Pediatrics
    • She is looking for champions from either each floor of the Novak Center, or each practice, including all the inpatient practices not in the Novak Center; the goal is to sell 10,000  tickets, they have 12,000 to sell
    • The winning team/sellers have the opportunity to win a Ky Derby Box, Hot Air Balloon Ride
    • How to sell your Norton Children's Hospital Home and BMW raffle tickets
    • If you have questions, contact Kay Howard 502-457-3358

 

 

Dr. Faye Jones

  • With current events, Dr. Jones shared a video; what is happening today is not new, it is more prevalent for young black men; what the boy in the video is conveying is what youth of color are feeling right now, their sense of well-being; how often are we asking them, they won’t tell unless we ask; how are we addressing in the system; is it part of your conversations, are you fulfilling it
  • There was some discussion around this and additional comments in the MS Teams Chat for this meeting which included the following comments: we are changing our ACE screener at Gen Peds downtown to include screening for community violence, discrimination, and bullying; how do you suggest we approach this in a clinical setting, do we screen everyone; how do we support our community as a group right now; I’ve reached out to our residents of color – just as a check in, I wasn’t really sure what to say but they were just happy  to have a check in; trying to amplify the med student POC voices
  • Dr. Boland mentioned an interesting article "Your Black Colleagues May Look Like They're Okay - Chances Are They're Not"
  • An open forum via MS Teams was held on Weds, June 3, from 8:00 – 9:00 AM via MS Teams for Pediatrics only; faculty, staff, residents/fellows are welcome to join an invitation went out.  Over 50 people/locations participated in the forum.  A second forum has been scheduled for Weds. June 11, 8 - 9:00 am, via MS Teams, a calendar invitation was sent out last week.
  • A suggestion was made about chart reviews to see how we treat differently, CPS, treatment; it was said that EPIC can be used to do that
  • A comment was made that it would be helpful to have intelligence-based evidence, links are needed to educate on structural racism, historical trauma, how can we speak intelligently about this, request to help, provide that info
  • It was noted that Trauma Resilient Communities will be offering trauma-informed care education that focuses on racial trauma and is making change in West and South Louisville; email Dr. Amber Pendleton if interested in receiving the training
  • Dr. Ron Paul noted that Dean Ganzel will be announcing an open virtual forum for the School of Medicine
  • A comment was made that the AAP posted an article “The Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health” that was published in 2019; it discusses multiple action items we can take in our practices
  • A comment was made that the Grand Rounds that Dr. Jones, Principal Gunn and Dr. Henderson gave a few months ago was very eye opening, "Supporting our Youth of Color: The Importance of Racial Socialization."