DEPARTMENT OF FAMILY AND SOCIAL MEDICINE
MONTEFIORE MEDICAL CENTER
ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
DFSM Monthly E- Newsletter - Vol 1.6, July 2005
We hope that you are enjoying our monthly newsletter. Please complete the reader survey sent along
with the newsletter and return to Tamil Rivera at tariver@montefiore.org.
Remember the deadline for submissions is the 20th of each month! We look forward to hearing from
you!
Editors-at-Large:
Mark Polisar, MD
Tami Rivera
Peter Selwyn, MD, MPH
Becky Williams, MD, MHPE
PUBLICATIONS
Bookbinder M, Blank AE, Arney E, Wollner D, Lesage P, McHugh M, Indelecato R, Harding S, Barenboim
A, Mirozyev T, Portenoy R. Improving end-of-life-care: Development and pilot-test of a clinical pathway. J
Pain and Symptom Mgmt 2005; 29(6):529-543.
O'Mahony S, Goulet J, Kornblith A, Abbatiello G, et.al. Desire for hastened death, cancer pain, and
depression: report of a longitudinal observational study. J Pain and Symptom Mgmt 2005; 29:446-457.
PRESENTATIONS
Rosenberg J. You hurt yourself doing what ?!, Sports Medicine Primer for School Based Clinicians.
National Assembly on School-Based Healthcare's Annual Convention, Providence RI, June, 2005.
Strelnick H. The Success of Community Health Centers in Reducing Health Disparities. Addressed to the
Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of the Bronx Community Health Network at Lehman College,
May, 2005.
Strelnick H. A Family & Social Medicine Perspective on Asthma. Plenary speaker at the New York City
Asthma Partnership's Semi-Annual Meeting at NYU sponsored & coordinated by the NYCDOHMH, June
2005.
Todd K, O’Mahony S, Quest T. Pain Research in the Emergency Room. Society of Academic Emergency
Medicine, New York, NY, May 2005.
WELCOMES & FAREWELLS
Welcome! To Rana Das (Ran), Grants Management Assistant for the Department of Family and Social
Medicine. Ran holds both an MBA and an MS in Accounting and comes to us highly qualified for his role
as our new Grants Management Assistant. He will primarily be handling the accounting for our grants
and contracts. Please join us in welcoming him to our team.
Farewell! To Dr. Jeff Rosenberg. Dr. Rosenberg will be moving on to a teaching position closer to home
as an Associate Residency Director and starting a primary care sports medicine fellowship with the
Mountainside Family Medicine Residency at Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, NJ. He will be at
Williamsbridge until July 30, 2005. Dr. Rosenberg would like to thank everyone for their support over the
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years that he has been with Montefiore. Working in this environment has been stimulating and rewarding
for him and he I will miss everyone in the department. Good Luck to Dr. Rosenberg on his endeavors!
SCHEDULE HIGHLIGHTS
2nd Annual AMSA/HuMed and AHMA Medical Student & Resident Retreat, August 5-7, 2005
Know your Nature, The Abode of the Message, New Lebanon, NY
The American Medical Student Association’s Humanistic Medicine group (AMSA/HuMed) and the American
Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) Medical Student & Resident Retreat organized by medical students
and residents from the Northeast.
This retreat will bring together a group of loving, creative, passionate and healing students and residents
from across the region. The goal is to reconnect with oneself, one another, and to create a humanistic
community of medicine. We welcome you to come with your significant other or solo. The weekend will
be relaxed with time for fun, music, swimming, dancing, heartfelt conversations, guided meditation,
healthy lifestyle practices, and powerful friendships. The particular themes of this retreat are our
connection with nature and with others, bringing the retreat spirit home, herbs, and food as medicine.
The retreat will take place at the summer camp at the Abode of the Message (www.theabode.net)
Participants will stay in single or double occupancy rustic rooms, or single retreat huts. Organic meals are
included in the cost of the retreat.
The deadline for this application is Friday, July 1st, 2005. Application available now at:
http://www.amsa.org/humed/region2app.cfm.Transportation to and from Albany airport/train/bus station
is included. The applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, so please submit your application as soon
as possible. All applicants will be notified by Monday, July 10th. The cost of the retreat per participant will
be approximately but no more than $150, which will be finalized and due following notification. Short on
money?? No need to panic. We can give you suggestions for how to find funding!!!
*Visit the HuMed website @ http://www.amsa.org/humed/ to learn more about other regional and
national retreats! For more information, please contact Misha Kogan at healermisha@yahoo.com
RPSM Alumni Reunion, November 11-12, 2005
To celebrate the 35th anniversary of the RPSM, we are planning a two day conference, "Overcoming
Health Disparities After 9/11," to be held in Manhattan with co-sponsors including Bronx CREED, the
Arthur Ashe Institute (Downstate), and the Project EXPORT Centers at Columbia, Mt. Sinai, and NYU. For
more information please contact Nicole Lewis at nlewis@montefiore.org.
PERSONAL HAPPENINGS
People in the News.....
New York’s Best Doctors for 2005 are here at DFSM. Congratulations! To Drs. Bob Morrow, Red Schiller,
Peter Selwyn, Bruce Soloway, and Hal Strelnick who are all listed in New York Magazine's annual Best
Doctors issue.
Dr. Hal Strelnick received the "Honorary Alumnus" Award on June 1st at AECOM's Commencement at
Avery Fisher Hall. The AECOM Alumni Association gives this award to one member of the faculty each
year that did not attend AECOM.
Dr. Hal Strelnick will also be serving as a Visiting Professor, sponsored by the Pfizer & AAFP Foundations,
at the University of Minnesota during the first week of September. Dr. Nancy Baker, who presented at a
recent Grand Rounds, successfully applied for the program that will focus on Community-Oriented
Primary Care, Geographic Information Systems, and Community Health.
Congratulations! To Dr. Hal Strelnick on being chosen as an Award Recipient of the Third Annual "Family
Medicine: The Power to Change our World" Award given by the Family Medicine Education Consortium.
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Dr. Strelnick will receive the award formally at the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine: Northeast
Region Meeting in October 2005.
Congratulations! To Bob Morrow who was appointed to the national Commission on Professional
Development [which was the Commission on CME] of the AAFP and to the three member physician
advisory group for the Annual Clinical Focus of the AAFP.
Congratulations! To resident Aisha Mays for successfully planning and coordinating a training session for
the “Centering Pregnancy” program. Aisha went looking for a class to take and as none was available
she planned one herself. Physicians and midwives from throughout the NYC area attended the class.
Great job, Aisha!
Congratulations! To Dr. Rebecca Williams, she was appointed Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at
AECOM on June 22, 2005.
Congratulations! To Dr. Diane McKee, she was promoted to Associate Professor of Family Medicine at
AECOM June 2005.
MISCELLANEOUS
The Bronx Faith & Medicine Project is sponsoring a clergy conference with health providers in the Bronx
called "Bring Ten," which is an official event during Bronx Week. The Bronx Borough President, Adolfo
Carrion, Jr., will be the Keynote Speaker. The all-day event is being held at the Eastwood Caterer's
facility. Over 200 people are expected.
NYC RING News.....
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation made NYC RING one of its nine grantees in the competitive
"Prescription for Health" program. Participation in Prescription for Health is an important, legitimizing
step reflecting the culmination of all our work in NYC RING and as external recognition for our nascent
research network.
The project, to be led by Diane McKee and Darwin Deen, will address the prevention of pediatric obesity
through a multi-faceted approach in risk assessment, behavioral counseling, and practice redesign. A
novel feature of the intervention will be to focus on the family unit, using every visit by a family member
to the health center as an opportunity to target lifestyle change. The project will be known as FLAIR
(Family Lifestyle Assessment of Initial Risk) after the assessment tool that we will be piloting.
The strength of the project team clearly contributed to the success of this grant application. The team
includes Alice Fornari, Judith Wylie-Rossett (Epidemiology), Bob Morrow, Arthur Blank, Paul Meissner,
Eduardo LaCalle, Jennifer Klein (MMG Health Education), and Judith Ockene (U Mass Preventive &
Behavioral Medicine).
Six NYC RING affiliated practices will be involved in the development of this intervention. Castle Hill
Family Practice, University Avenue Family Practice, and NBHN/Jacobi's Health Center at Tremont are on
board as intervention sites. Control sites will be Marble Hill, West Farms, and Fordham Family Practices.
Thank you to the project team and the NYC RING network for getting us to point where we can do this
kind of innovative work. We look forward to bringing FLAIR to the health centers!
IAHPC News.....
The June issue of the IAHPC newsletter is now on our website at URL:
http://www.hospicecare.com/newsletter2005/june05/index.html
This issue is about the exciting developments in palliative care/hospice taking place around the globe.
This issue is particularly large due to the many contributions from so many interesting and devoted
people who are trying to make a difference for many people in need of palliation. The goal is to 'Promote
Hospice and Palliative Care Worldwide.' If you are not a member, please consider becoming one! To join
go to URL: ttp://www.hospicecare.com/join.htm
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CME Credit for Departmental Meetings
We are very pleased to announce that as of 4/1/05, CME credit will be available for Departmental Grand
Rounds, Social Medicine Rounds and the projected Second Thursday Ambulatory Rounds. The committee
that brought this together included Matt Anderson, Janet Townsend, Margaret Coughlan, Dan O'Connell;
with much assistance from Taneka Banks and Nicole Lewis.
Below is a review of the (not very complicated) logistics of getting CME:
1. You must attend the conference and initial the attendance sheet.
2. Shortly after the conference you will receive an email asking you to log on to New Innovations and
complete an evaluation form.
3. Once your evaluation has been completed, you have the CME.
Most of the Department's Attendings are already registered on New Innovations. If you have problems,
please get in touch with Nicole Lewis at nlewis@montefiore.org.
MONTHLY SCHEDULE REMINDERS
All Faculty Administrative meetings for 2005
1:30 to 3:00 p.m., 3544 Jerome Ave, 3rd Floor Conference Room:
July 5
Presenter: Hal Strelnick, MD
Topic: Community
September 6
Presenter: Jonathan Swartz, MD
Topic: Clinical
November 1
Presenter: Jonathan Swartz, MD
Topic: Education
December 6
Presenter: Peter Selwyn, MD
Topic: Departmental Review and Strategic Planning
Social Medicine Rounds
Convener: Matt Anderson, MD
4:30 - 6:00 p.m., 3544 Jerome Ave, 3rd Floor Conference Room:
July 5
Presenter: Marji Gold,MD
Topic: Provision of Abortion Services
July 19
Presenter: Charlie Schwartz, MD
Topic: "WIT"
DFSM Grand Rounds
8:00 - 9:15 a.m., Moses II Conference Room:
July 22
Presenter: Barry Zingman, MD
Topic: Peer Review at Montefiore
Palliative Care Grand Rounds:
This event is open to the public.
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8:00 - 9:00 a.m., Tishman A Conference Room, North 2 MMC
July 6
Speaker: Dr. Sean O'Mahony
Topic: Palliative Care at Montefiore: A Status Report.
July 20
Speaker: Eleanor Canning, Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY)
Topic: COPD and Stroke Care in the Community
Educational Scholarship Group, July 12
This event is open to all faculty.
5:30pm - 7pm, 3544 Jerome Ave, 3rd Floor Conference Room
Light dinner will be provided.
***********************************************************************************
If you wish to receive a copy of a previously released electronic newsletter, please contact
Tami Rivera at (718) 920-8434 or at the e-mail listed below.
Please send email submissions for upcoming newsletters, by the 20th of each month, to:
Becky Williams
Mark Polisar
Tami Rivera
Peter Selwyn
rewillia@montefiore.org
mpolisar@montefiore.org
tariver@montefiore.org
pselwyn@montefiore.org
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