Finally Friday! Here’s your NCMS Morning Rounds.April 23, 2021Don’t forget today’s Power Hour! Join us at noon for a stimulating discussion on health behaviors and what health care professionals can do to ensure clear communication with patients as well as underlying assumptions vs. patient understanding and the importance of building trust. Participants will also touch on the current pandemic and its impact on health behaviors. Register here for what is sure to be a lively conversation. Efforts to Get Everyone Vaccinated Against COVID-19At both at state and national levels officials are pushing to get everyone vaccinated to help stop the devastation wrought by COVID-19. One group that may be challenging to vaccinate is seniors who are homebound. This article made me think about the members of my church who are homebound. This article details some of those challenges. To help ensure this group has access to the vaccine, the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has a list of who will provide in-home vaccination to housebound people listed by county. Access this useful resource here. Also, be sure to get the latest on vaccinating your patients in an upcoming webinar, Tuesday, April 27 at 6 p.m. ‘Navigating Ahead- Vaccinating Your Patients for COVID-19’ is co-sponsored by NCAFP, the NC Pediatric Society, the NC Psychiatric Association, the NC AHEC Program and Community Care of North Carolina. Now that the vaccine-eligible population has grown to all adults and a childhood vaccine is on the horizon, more and more medical practices are or will be administering vaccines, either in partnership with others or in their own offices. Hear from your colleagues who are thinking through the “nuts and bolts” of patient vaccinations. You can join the Zoom meeting by clicking here or dial in at 646-558-8656 using webinar ID 131 899 801. Progress is being made in vaccinating our population in North Carolina. More than 100,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered through the federally supported vaccination center that opened March 10, 2021 in Greensboro. The Greensboro clinic will be extended through May 27 and will continue to provide the Pfizer vaccine. While appointments are encouraged and available online at GSOmassvax.org or by phone at 888-675-4567, walk-in and drive-up vaccines are also available without appointment. Guilford County was selected for a vaccination site by FEMA and the CDC as an area with significant underserved or marginalized populations. The site is organized and operated by the state and staffed through the U.S. Department of Defense. It is supported with resources from Guilford County, the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, including the Division of Emergency Management and the North Carolina National Guard, and NCDHHS. NCMS President Has New PositionNovant Health recently announced several leadership updates as its integration with New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC) continues. Effective May 1, current NCMS President Philip Brown, Jr., MD, will be the system’s chief community impact officer. In this role, as part of the Novant Health diversity, inclusion and equity team, Dr. Brown will be charged with engaging the community in advancing health equity. He was previously the executive vice president and chief physician executive at NHRMC. Congratulations, Dr. Brown! Get a Start on Your Summer Reading with the NCMS Book ClubBelieve it or not, summer–and therefore, summer reading–is just around the corner! We would love to have you join our NC Medical Society Book Club and connect with your colleagues via stimulating discussions on exciting books. From late May through the end of July, we will be reading The New York Times bestselling memoir The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by emergency department physician Michele Harper. Harper tells the poignant true story of her journey toward self-healing. Each of the patients Harper writes about taught her something important about recuperation and recovery; how to let go of fear even when the future is murky and how to tell the truth when it’s simpler to overlook it. Our book club connects through a private online forum for participants to discuss books and learn from one another. We spend about 10 weeks on each book, so there is always plenty of time to read each book! Sign up and learn more about our next book here! In the NewsFDA: Make Medical Apps Reliable, Not Risky, STAT News, 4-21-21 Learning OpportunityThe Road to Equity: Examining Structural Racism in Health Care, Tuesday, April 27, 1 – 4:30 p.m. and Wednesday, April 28, 1 – 4:45 p.m. Learn more and register for Day 1 here. If you have policies you’d like your NCMS Board of Directors to consider, please complete the Board input form here. Thanks for reading!
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