August 2, 2022

NEED TO KNOW


Registration is Now Open for the Vermont Medical Society Annual and Collaborative Meeting on November 4th and 5th, 2022

The 209th VMS Annual Meeting will be held on November 4th and 5th in person at Topnotch Resort, Stowe, VT, with virtual options. The weekend will be filled with educational content, time to spend with colleagues, policy-setting meetings, and the opportunity to honor physicians and other health care leaders across the state.

VMS’ Annual Meeting, hosted in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter, the Vermont Academy of Family Physicians and the Vermont Psychiatric Association, is a celebration of the unwavering commitment Vermont clinicians have to their practice and to the deep connection VMS members have with each other.

To view more information or to submit nominees for 2022 leadership awards, please click here.

Register here.

Mildred Reardon Medical Student Scholarship Open for Applications

Do you dream of becoming a Vermont doctor?  See below to apply for a $10,000 scholarship for a rising 3rd year student committed to practicing medicine in Vermont.

The Vermont Medical Society’s Education and Research Foundation (VMSERF) is now accepting applications for the Mildred Reardon scholarship, which awards $10,000 to a University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine third year student committed to practicing medicine in Vermont. The scholarship is made to a student interested in any specialty, with a preference for specialties in high need in Vermont.  The scholarship is tuition-linked and is paid directly to the College of Medicine towards tuition. This year the award will be made at the VMS Annual Meeting, being held at Topnotch in Stowe and virtually on November 4th, 2022.

Click here for more information and details on applying for the scholarship by August 26, 2022.

VMS Leadership Award Nominations Extended – Submit by August 17th

Who do you know that should receive an award for their outstanding leadership throughout the last year? We extended our deadline and are still accepting nominations for our Annual Leadership Awards until August 17thth. To view the award categories and criteria click here

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Birdie Pauley at BPauley@vtmd.org

 

Monkeypox Updates

Today at 12 pm and rebroadcast at 7 pm, infectious disease physician Tim Leahy, MD, will be on Vermont Edition discussing Monkeypox in Vermont. See more here.

As of July 29, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local public health partners are reporting 5,189 cases of Monkeypox virus infections in the United States across 47 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. CDC is also reporting multiple outbreaks of monkeypox have also been reported globally in 72 countries that do not normally report monkeypox activity. On Friday, July 22, CDC reported the first two cases of monkeypox in children in the United States during the current outbreak.

Read more about the update for clinicians on Monkeypox in people with HIV, children, adolescents, and people who are pregnant or breastfeeding here.

Read more about the Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Update to alert clinicians on commercial testing capability, collecting clinical specimens for testing, and using TPOXX® (tecovirimat) for treating monkeypox here.

MISC.

VMS Welcomes UVMMC's Incoming Residents

Please help us in welcoming all incoming residents who came to Vermont this year.

To view all new residents under each programs' "Our Residents" tab, click here.

Melioidosis Locally Endemic in Areas of the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Burkholderia pseudomallei Isolated in Soil and Water and Linked to Two Cases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei (B. pseudomallei) for the first time in the environment in the continental United States. This bacterium causes a rare and serious disease called melioidosis. B. pseudomallei was identified through environmental sampling of soil and water in the Gulf Coast region of southern Mississippi during an investigation of two human melioidosis cases.

It is unclear how long the bacterium has been in the environment prior to 2020 or how widespread the bacterium is in the continental United States; modeling suggests that the environmental conditions found in the Gulf Coast states are conducive to the growth of B. pseudomallei [1]. Extensive environmental sampling is needed to answer these questions.

This Health Alert Network (HAN) Health Advisory serves to alert clinicians and public health officials throughout the country to consider melioidosis in patients whose clinical presentation is compatible with signs and symptoms of the disease, regardless of travel history to international disease-endemic regions, as melioidosis is now considered to be locally endemic in areas of the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi. Read more here.

New CMS Rule Increases Payments for Acute Care Hospitals

On August 1, CMS issued a final rule for inpatient and long-term care hospital payments, the fiscal year (FY) 2023 Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) and Long-Term Care Hospital (LTCH) Prospective Payment System (PPS) rule.  For acute care hospitals paid under the IPPS that successfully participate in the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and are meaningful electronic health record users, the final rule will result in an increase in operating payment rates of 4.3%. This is the highest market basket update in the last 25 years and is primarily due to higher expected growth in compensation prices for hospital workers.

More Information:

EVENTS

Join us for the next conversation with the Commissioner - Thursday, August 4th @ 12:30!

Join us the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month from 12:30pm to 1pm as Commissioner of Health, Mark Levine provides us with the most pressing information affecting the state and nation. You will have the opportunity to submit questions to Dr. Levine who will answer them, time-permitting.

You can join the zoom meetings here or add to your calendar by following this link and clicking download (you will then need to open the downloaded file and click save to add to your calendar).

No Cost Well-Being Workshops

VMS is continuing our partnership with Doug Wysockey-Johnson of LumunosWellBeing to offer no-cost clinician wellbeing workshops at up to 10 Vermont medical staffs/practices over 2022. There are 3 remaining slots available this summer.  New topics for 2022 include A Clinician’s Guide to Recovering from the COVID Marathon and A Realistic Look at ‘Work-Home Balance’ for Clinicians. See the full list and additional details here.  Members can contact jbarnard@vtmd.org or doug@lumunos.org for more information or to schedule a workshop. 

Providing Healthcare to Refugees: Lead

August 11, 2022, 12:15pm to 1pm EST

More details on this talk will be shared soon

This webinar is a part of a series of webinars on Health Care for Refugees hosted by the Vermont Medical Society. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend. Registration is required here.

To learn more about what other topics will be included in this series, click here.

Addressing Adult Suicidal Ideation in Primary Care Setting

September 1, 2022, 12:00 pm CT

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Building off the Practical Strategies for Managing Suicidal Ideation & Reducing Risk, this pre-recorded webinar focuses on how primary care practices can address suicidal ideation within their adult patient population.

Register here.

Dismantling Stigma for All: Addressing Physician and Patient Mental Health and Suicide Risk

September 8, 2022, 12:00 pm CT

As part of National Suicide Prevention Week, this live, interactive forum will connect attendees with industry experts on suicidal ideation and physicians with lived experience to discuss solutions for dismantling the stigma around seeking mental health treatment.

Register here.

Vermont ACP Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting

October 14, 2022

Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe, VT

The Vermont ACP Chapter's Annual Scientific Meeting will occur on Friday, October 14, 2022. The ACP is optimistically planning for an in-person meeting. The ACP will host a virtual poster competition for resident and student members.

Update your medical knowledge, engage with colleagues, and receive CME credits and MOC points.

Meeting details and agenda forthcoming.

Vermont Medical Society Annual and Collaborative Meeting

November 4th and 5th, 2022

The 209th VMS Annual Meeting will be held on November 4th and 5th in person at Topnotch Resort, Stowe, VT, with virtual options. The weekend will be filled with educational content, time to spend with colleagues, policy-setting meetings, and the opportunity to honor physicians and other health care leaders across the state. VMS’ Annual Meeting, hosted in collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics Vermont Chapter, the Vermont Academy of Family Physicians and the Vermont Psychiatric Association, is a celebration of the unwavering commitment Vermont clinicians have to their practice and to the deep connection VMS members have with each other.

To view more information or submit nominees for 2022 leadership awards, please click here.

Register here.

UVM will have more primary care conferences in Fall 2022. Sign-up to get updates via email for topics that are of interest here.

VTMD.ORG

Vermont Medical Society

134 Main Street

Montpelier, VT 05602

-- Unsubscribe --