Appointments & Promotions – Spring ’20

Congratulations to all faculty recently promoted and welcome to all recent appointments!

Promotions

Fuzhong Qin, Professor
Cardiovascular Medicine

Nahid Bhadelia, Associate Professor
Infectious Disease

Karen Jacobson, Associate Professor
Infectious Disease

Hans Meier Ewert, Clinical Associate Professor
Cardiovascular Medicine

Liu Gang, Research Associate Professor
Computational Biomedicine

Kei Yasuda, Assistant Professor
Nephrology

Appointments

Avik Chatterjee, Assistant Professor
General Internal Medicine

Simeon Kimmel, Assistant Professor
General Internal Medicine

Thomas Ku, Assistant Professor
General Internal Medicine

Charmaine Lastimoso, Assistant Professor
General Internal Medicine

Eric Marks, Assistant Professor
Hematology & Oncology

Stephanie Robinson, Assistant Professor
General Internal Medicine

Hossein Sadrzadeh, Assistant Professor
Hematology & Oncology

Derin Tugal, Assistant Professor
Cardiovascular Medicine

Xiao Yang, Assistant Professor
General Internal Medicine

Archana Asundi, Research Assistant Professor
Infectious Disease

Courtney Faiella, Instructor
Cardiovascular Medicine

Sean Feng, Instructor
Geriatrics

Emily Johnson, Instructor
Cardiovascular Medicine

Vanny (Trieu) McLean, Instructor
Geriatrics

Luke Pak, Instructor
General Internal Medicine

Emily Scarbo, Instructor
Geriatrics

Nebulla Stephen, Instructor
Hematology & Oncology

Intern Match 2020

Despite the current clinical challenges posed by COVID-19, medical students and faculty alike recently celebrated the results of the 2020 NRMP Match! Boston Medical Center Internal Medicine Residency program is thrilled to welcome a competitive and diverse class of incoming interns, some of whom will be receiving their Medical Degrees early to join hospital staffs during this epidemic. Congratulations to all of our fourth year medical students and to all of the incoming interns who we will be seeing in June!

With an impressive 37% of all internal medicine applicants applying to BMC, 46 categorical and 9 preliminary interns were matched into the 2020 intern class. As a medical center committed to inclusion and equity, we are proud to welcome interns that are diverse in a number of different measures, from where they graduated medical school to life experiences, interests and passions.

This exceptional group of interns matched to our institution is a reflection of the dedicated group of faculty interviewers that devoted their time to meeting with all 403 candidates. Thank you for demonstrating the mission of this department, the School of Medicine and the hospital and your tireless commitment to our trainees.

Emelia Benjamin, MD Receives AAIM Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award

Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, FACC, FAHA, Vice Chair for Faculty Development and Diversity in the Department of Medicine at BUSM and BMC and BUMC Assistant Provost for Faculty Development, will receive the 2020 Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award.


“Through her world-class research program in cardiovascular epidemiology, remarkable success in program development, and prodigious mentoring activities, she has very positively influenced the careers of faculty from very diverse backgrounds including individuals working to identify and mitigate health disparities,” said Dr. David Coleman, Wade Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine, and Physician-in-Chief at BMC.

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Seeking Volunteers for Committee to Establish Principles for Expense Reduction in the DOM

In view of the anticipated substantial reductions in clinical revenue during the COVID 19 pandemic, we are establishing a Committee to Establish Principles for Expense Reduction in the Department of Medicine.

 I am writing to seek volunteers to serve on this committee. We are particularly interested in adding one MD clinician and one PhD researcher to the committee, with some preference to individuals at the Assistant or Associate Professor ranks. The work of the committee will require up to 8-10 hrs of video conference calls and analytical time per week for the next two or three weeks.

 Please let me know if you are willing to serve on this critically important committee by Thursday, March 26, 2020.

 Thank you very much for your consideration!

David Coleman, M.D.

Dept COVID-19 Update

Colleagues,

I wanted to update you on a few departmental and institutional activities, and to also express my gratitude for your generous and diligent support of one another and the needs of our patients.

PPE: A number of you have expressed legitimate concern about the restricted availability of PPE, particularly masks, beyond those healthcare workers with direct care responsibilities of COVID 19 confirmed or suspected cases. N95 masks for the ED personnel have recently been made available since they are at high risk. The rationale for making the difficult choice of not distributing masks to everyone include the following: this practice is not currently recommended by CDC and our ID advisors did not believe it was likely to be helpful; since our PPE supply, including masks is limited, conserving available supplies to avoid situations where we don't have sufficient PPE for high risk exposures is a priority. Partners decided to take that chance, we (and other health systems in Boston) did not; I was on a call yesterday with about 25 chairs of medicine-none of their institutions had gone to the full mask policy that Partners implemented. The rationale was the same as ours. The current policy is subject to ongoing revision as the PPE supply becomes clearer. I also wish we had enough masks for everyone but believe that BMC leadership made the correct decision under the circumstances. As to the approach for individuals wearing masks against policy, we decided against requiring staff to remove them despite the unintended message that selective wearing of masks may send. Major efforts are underway to address the PPE supply problem for the institution.

Staffing: Thanks to the hard work of our inpatient COVID teams, led by James Hudspeth, a contingency plan for the anticipated surge in COVID-infected patients is being developed. Our residents and faculty have been remarkably generous in providing coverage, volunteering for service, and supporting one another. The ICU and hospitalist attendings have been particularly effective and supportive in insuring the quality of care and in supervising our hard-working residents! BMC leadership has also been working diligently to expand our potential Med Surg and ICU capacity should the need arise. I anticipate that we will need to extend staffing beyond the usual inpatient medicine and intensive care attending and resident pools if the more extreme surge scenarios occur.

Financial Impact: The financial consequences of the COVID 19 epidemic are obviously being felt across all sectors of the economy, but particularly in the health care industry. The scale of impact across the country is so large that it seems highly likely that there will be some form of government support for the industry. BMC and our department are beginning to experience what is anticipated to be a sharp decline in clinical revenue. In addition, the distribution of clinical work across our department is highly variable-we have some clinicians who are working beyond their usual schedule under very stressful conditions and others who are under-utilized, particularly in the outpatient and procedural areas. It is critically important that we have a thoughtful, responsible, and fair approach to meeting the inevitable financial challenges before us. Therefore, we are forming a committee to develop a set of principles to maximize our ability to support our faculty and staff, and to secure the long-term future of the department. We hope to formulate a plan in the next few weeks. Meanwhile, BMC is seeking permission from the Board of Trustees to implement a furlough plan for BMC employees that seeks to offer some protection for the impacted employees while meeting the financial constraints of the institution.

Communication: The social isolation that we are experiencing is quite daunting. I have been reminded of how meaningful the social interactions are in my own professional life. I do hope to join with you in finding new ways to stay connected. I will hold a departmental faculty meeting via Zoom in the next few days. I encourage each of your sections to continue as many educational activities as possible during this period as well. Please offer any suggestions for how we can improve our communications in the department!

As we endure this unprecedented period of disruption in our personal and professional lives, I am inspired by your kindness and commitment to the noblest values of our profession. Thank you for your forbearance and for working so hard on behalf of our patients and one another. Our department will emerge from this experience wiser, appreciative, and fully prepared to soar into the future!

David Coleman, M.D.

DOM Experts Weigh-In on COVID-19

Medicine faculty from the sections of Infectious Diseases and Geriatrics provide expert advice regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nahid Bhadelia, MD, MA, Infectious Diseases
ABC News
Best practices to take action against COVID-19

Natasha S. Hochberg, MD, MPH, Infectious Diseases
WBUR
Your Questions About U.S. Travel And The Coronavirus, Answered

Caring for the Transgender Patient

Caring for the Transgender Patient: Grand Rounds Discussion From Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

In a recent Medical Grand Rounds at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston area leaders in care for transgender patients, including Jenny Siegel, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, and Medical Director of the Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery at Boston Medical Center, discuss critical components of the clinical guidelines for gender affirming hormones and surgery. 

Clinical Guidelines

In the article, the following questions are posed to the panel of experts to discuss care guidelines in general and as they relate to the story of a particular patient considering gender-affirming care.

1. What type of psychological evaluation is warranted for a patient requesting gender-affirming hormones or surgery, and who should perform it?
2. What are the potential risks and benefits of estrogen therapy in a transgender woman with comorbid conditions that predispose to cardiovascular or thromboembolic disease?
3. What is the role of the primary care practitioner in the care of this patient, and when should transgender patients be referred to a specialist?

Conclusions

Panelists agree that knowledgable primary care physicians and mental health professionals play vital roles in the care for transgender adults. In addition to supporting patient's mental health, clinical guidelines should ensure that practitioners are trained to "be knowledgeable about diagnostic criteria for gender dysphoria and gender incongruence, [in] the use of medical and surgical gender-affirming interventions, and appropriate monitoring for reproductive organ cancer risk".

DOM Faculty Named 2020 Boston “Top Docs”

44 faculty members of the Department of Medicine have been named to Boston Magazine's annual Top Docs List.

 

Cardiac Electrophysiology
Robert Helm
Kevin Monahan

Cardiovascular Disease
Eric Awtry
Gary Balady
Sheilah Bernard
Robert Eberhardt
Alice Jacobs

Endocrinology, Diabetes
& Metabolism
Sonia Ananthakrishnan
Alan Farwell
Michael Holick
Stephanie Lee
Elizabeth Pearce

Gastroenterology
Charles Bliss
David Lichtenstein
Robert Lowe
David Nunes

Geriatric Medicine
Heidi Auerbach
Lisa Caruso
Hollis Day

Hematology
Vaishali Sanchorawala

Internal Medicine
Thomas Barber
Melissa DiPetrillo
Warren Hershman
Angela Jackson
Susan Phillips
Jeffrey Samet
Charles Tifft

Medical Oncology
Gretchen Gignac
Kevan Hartshorn
Matthew Kulke
Adam Lerner

Nephrology
Laurence Beck
Jasvinder Bhatia
Lauren Stern

Pulmonary Disease
John Berk
Jeffrey Berman
John Bernardo
Elizabeth Klings
Frederic Little
George O’Connor
Arthur Theodore

Rheumatology
David Felson
Eugene Kissin
Robert Simms

Will Massachusetts Ban Flavored Tobacco?

Dr. Hasmeena Kathuria, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Section of Pulmonary, Allergy and Sleep Medicine and director of the Tobacco Treatment Center at Boston Medical Center, joins State Sen. John Keenan on Radio Boston to discuss the future of a flavored tobacco ban now before the Massachusetts Senate. The proposal passed in the state's House of Representatives last week.

Listen to the Full Segment Here