CMS WORKING FOR YOU: CONNECTING PHYSICIAN MEMBERS WITH PPE The Colorado Medical Society worked with partners to meet a critical member need in May: Placing a bulk order of PPE and distributing the orders to members around the state. See photos from CMS PPE Day

CMS working for you: Ordering and distributing personal protective equipment when you needed it Kate Alfano CMS Communications Coordinator

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From the beginning of the COVID-19 public health crisis, the Colorado Medical Society heard repeatedly from physician members about the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) that was putting you and your patients in danger. CMS took this message to key state and federal stakeholders, hearing in the course of our regular advocacy work that rural hospitals and nursing homes were also facing severe shortages. The national stockpile was depleted and states had to act to obtain supplies. Though outside of our normal scope of work, it was clear there was an eminent threat and need and we as a medical society had to act to help our members secure PPE. In classic Colorado fashion, the community came together to get it done.

In early March, Gov. Jared Polis tapped Noel Ginsburg, a well-respected local manufacturing executive and founder of CareerWise Colorado, to oversee procurement of critical PPE needs in the state. Energize Colorado was soon born to meet these needs, as well as to support rural health care providers and the restart of business and industry. The organization is backed by Mile High United Way; the Colorado Health Foundation, who provided a refundable grant for use as working capital; Colorado State University who tested and vetted products; and two for-profit companies that provide procurement, warehouse space and distribution assistance. Powered by passionate volunteers from the public and private sectors, as well as universities, Energize

1 On-site signs provided by Center Copy Printing were stationed at each pick-up location, including this one in Pueblo.  2 David R. Scott, MD, of Allergy & Asthma Center of Western Colorado in Grand Junction, accepts his PPE delivery.  3 Boxes of masks were carefully labeled and portioned at the donated warehouse space of Tewell Warren.  4 Brian N. Bailey, MD, of Bailey Dermatology in Louisville, picks up his mask order from the Boulder distribution hub.  5 Boulder County Medical Society Executive Director Judy Ladd staffs the Boulder hub.  6 Foothills Medical Society CEO Stephen Boucher volunteers at the Denver distribution hub. 7 CMS staff spread out throughout the state to bring masks to the various regions; here, CMS Government Relations Program Manager Emily Bishop helps in Boulder.  8 Jean Depperschmidt picks up masks in Loveland on behalf of Medical Metabolic Specialists, the practice of James Hendrick, MD.

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Photo by Joel Holland on Unsplash

Helping Colorado Return To Work Safely.

Purchase PPE and other supplies for your healthcare institution.

Go To www.energizecolorado.com

Sanell Hand Sanitizer

Gloves Disinfectant

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Colorado turned out to be the key partner to CMS in meeting physician PPE needs. With the addition of Andi Rugg as the general manager of the PPE Marketplace and Jordan Monk, a former CareerWise Colorado apprentice, Energize Colorado kicked into high gear.

To deliver as quickly as possible, CMS joined Energize Colorado, the Colorado Hospital Association and the Colorado Healthcare Association to commit to placing a bulk order for PPE on behalf of physicians, rural hospitals and nursing homes at roughly half the cost of market value at the time. Given tight deadlines, CMS had to rapidly collect prospective PPE orders to determine how much product CMS members needed. The response from physicians across the state was tremendous. In four days, spanning the first weekend in May, hundreds of thousands of KN-95 masks, surgical masks, level 2 gowns and nitrile gloves were ordered totaling more than $200,000 with delivery

Masks

The goal is to ensure that Coloradans are able to return to work and are protected in their place of employment. This marketplace is limited to Colorado institutions and re-sellers may not purchase. The vendors to the marketplace go through a thorough vetting process to ensure that only quality product is available. We are committed to keeping prices as low as possible.

Energize Colorado is a nonprofit bringing our diverse professional community together to provide relief to local small businesses, supporting them in recovering from the economic impact of COVID-19

scheduled for three to five weeks later. The size of the bulk order helped to bolster the purchasing power of Energize Colorado amidst the global rush for PPE, which in turn benefited other providers and communities across the state.

As the delivery date approached, CMS staff coordinated the logistics of payment, storage and distribution of physician orders. We gratefully welcomed volunteers from CMS component societies and their local contacts, plus donations of warehouse space from Tewell Warren and on-location directional signs from Center Copy Printing. In what has become an all-too-common situation given globally disrupted PPE supply chains, the first shipment of KN-95 masks failed CSU’s quality testing. Safety and quality were priorities from the start of the initiative,

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so Energize Colorado quickly pivoted to secure a second order that ultimately passed inspection in late May.

With just days to prepare the final details of the first wave of PPE product delivery, CMS coordinated PPE pick-up sites around the state on May 28 to fulfill the mask orders. In addition, CMS staff personally delivered orders around the state, with CMS Chief Operating Officer Dean Holzkamp clocking more than 1,000 miles across the Western Slope and southwest Colorado. The delivery of level two gowns occurred on June 23 and the delivery of gloves is expected in mid July. Moving forward, physicians are encouraged to place PPE orders through the Energize Colorado PPE Marketplace: energizecolorado.com/ get-ppe-and-supplies.  ■

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9 The Denver distribution hub saw lots of traffic from metro-area physicians.  10 Mark Gaughan, MD, FAAD, of Durango Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery in Durango, accepts his mask delivery.  11-12 Bags of masks await their pickup in Pueblo.  13 Volunteers help at the Denver hub; from left: CMS CME Director Gene Richer, IT/Membership Manager Tim Yanetta and ADEMS Executive Director Andrea Chase.  14 Cheryl Law, MNM, MA, CEO of the Pueblo County Medical Society, prepares her distribution site.  15 Mike Ware, right, CEO of the El Paso County Medical Society, and Jodi Landfair, EPCMS Member Care Manager, lead the volunteers at the Colorado Springs distribution hub.  16 ADEMS Executive Director Andrea Chase helps get PPE to a Denver-area physician.

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MEDICAL NEWS

In memoriam: Stuart Gottesfeld, MD

RENOWNED DENVER OB/GYN PASSED AWAY JUNE 14

Obstetrician and gynecologist Stuart Gottesfeld, MD, 85, passed Gottesfeld retired from clinical practice after nearly four away on June 14, 2020. CMS members fondly remember him decades, by that time having delivered thousands of babies. and his gifts to medicine, calling him a “wonderful soul and a He was active on the Colorado Medical Society Council on ‘doctor’s doctor.’” Legislation. Until earlier this year, he continued to contribute to He was born in Denver and went to East High School, attended women’s health and meeting with the University of Colorado Amherst College, and graduated from the University of ColoOBGYN residents several mornings a week. His commitment rado School of Medicine. After his residency training at Mt. to education extended to volunteering as a science teacher Sinai Hospital in New York, he served as a physician in the and administrator at Keshet of the Rockies in support of special United States Army for two years before returning to Denver. needs children at Jewish schools in the Denver Metro region. He established a successful private practice associated with Rose Hospital that eventually included his two younger brothWhile known as an excellent surgeon, teacher and clinician, he ers and, later, his oldest son. He served on numerous boards, was also a committed husband and devoted father and grandfaincluding the Colorado State Board of Medical Examiners and ther. Gottesfeld is survived by his wife, Marilyn, of 58 years; sons the Colorado Health Foundation, and served as president of Marshall, Stephen and Jon, and their spouses; grandchildren the Medical Staff and Vice Chair of the Department of OBGYN, Julia, Max, Laura, Ben, Eli, Sam, Oliver, Sarah and Mae; sister both at Rose Hospital. Phyllis Gottesfeld Knight and brother Ray Gottesfeld. He was

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Spotlight: CMS program manager coordinates contact tracing effort

Emily Bishop, program manager of the CMS Government Relations Division, has spearheaded the effort to coordinate volunteers for COVID-19 contact tracing around the state. She has represented CMS and all member physicians on the Colorado Public Health Workforce Collaborative, a partnership of Colorado organizations working to provide structure and support for state and local contact tracing systems.

As Colorado heads into the “new normal” stage of living with the coronavirus pandemic, tracing the spread of the disease is vitally important to ensure new infection epicenters do not emerge and spread unchecked. The term contact tracing refers to the age-old public health practice of identifying persons exposed to a disease by contact with an infected individual, thereby tracing and controlling the spread of the disease.

Colorado’s contact tracing system is decentralized – local public health agencies (LPHAs) are responsible for conducting this work in their counties and communities. In many cases, these LPHAs are overburdened and do not have the resources to recruit and train the workers needed to operate an effective system. This is where the collaborative steps in – doing the work of recruiting and training paid and volunteer tracers so LPHAs 2020 CMS Annual Meeting canceled Due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colorado Medical Society Board of Directors has canceled the 2020 CMS Annual Meeting and Inaugural Gala that was originally planned his profession through his passion for teaching, advocating for preceded in death by his brother, Kenneth Gottesfeld.  ■ have a roster of trained individuals ready when need arises.

Bishop began recruiting volunteers from the ranks of physicians and medical students in April. As of early June, nearly 200 volunteers have signed up through CMS to be tracers or assist isolating individuals in navigating necessary resources.

CMS volunteer Gene Sherman, MD, who is working as a contact tracer with Tri County Health Department, wrote on the Basecamp discussion platform: “Emily and the Colorado Medical Society have done a great job finding opportunities for interested volunteers. I was fortunate to be picked to be part of the first group of volunteers at Tri-County Health Department. We are now actively engaged as case investigators. It is highly satisfying work and as they bring on more volunteers, they will branch out to contact investigations as well. Tri-County is keeping track of all volunteer hours and it will be important to show how much time volunteer physicians and other health care professionals have donated to these efforts.”

LPHAs all over the state are tapping into this pool of dedicated volunteers and the collaborative recently launched their first round of training, with CMS’s volunteers among the first to take part. If you are interested in volunteering as a contact tracer,

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MEDICAL NEWS

please contact membership@cms.org.  ■ for Sept. 26. We hope to once again hold a large event in 2021 when it is safe to gather.  ■