CU DHM Winter 2024 Newsletter

DHM WINTER 2024 NEWSLETTER

Accomplishments

Check out our top three Division of Hospital Medicine (DHM) accomplishments from the last quarter!

Faculty & DHM Highlights

#CUDHMWins

Stay up to date with the latest wins, recognition, and awards within the DHM.

DHM Daily

Check in on the daily happenings with the DHM that build into our efforts to improve lives through excellence in patient care, education, and cutting edge innovation.

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Stay Connected

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With snow in the air, check out this exciting highlight of hospitalist, Dr. Jason Persoff. He shares his passion for snowflake photography and the important on hobbies as a physician.

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Stay up to date with the latest DHM announcements, events, social posts and more!

of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Department of Medicine Hospital Medicine Division Head #CUDHM

“We are excited to share our Winter Newsletter with you. This edition focuses on the strong sense of community we strive to create. Whether it’s through the care of our patients, collaborative learning and sharing, or innovative approaches to improving the lives of members of our community, we consistently strive for excellence together!

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ACCOMPLISHMENTS

DHM Top 3 Quarterly Accomplishments

These are just three of the many accomplishments for this incredible team. Stay tuned for our next newsletter and follow us on X @CUDivHospMed to hear what we are up to next!

Creating lasting connections in CUDHM

1Over the holidays this year, we found multiple opportunities to connect with our colleagues. We find it extremely important to make those connections outside of the work setting to help individuals get to know each other. We believe strengthening connections outside of work will only cultivate better, thriving teams. We also want to make sure individuals know that we care about them and appreciate everything they do for the division.

Health Innovations Scholars Program 2024 Dates Set

We’re thrilled to announce that we will hold our 2024 Health Innovations Scholars Program (HISP) from July 8 to August 2 this year! We will host medical students who seek to lead innovative transformation of American healthcare. This program selects medical students in any year from any school who are interested in quality improvement, leadership training, and systems redesign. Selected students must be available for the entire 4-week program and will receive a stipend upon completion of the program. Please visit our website to learn more about the program and how to apply!

Two new Service Lines

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One of the best parts of hospital medicine are the diverse service lines and teaching services we can work on. Every week comes with it’s own unique set of care coordination for several different patient groups. We are excited to announce the launch of not one, but two new service lines we’re launching in 2024.

BMT Service Line

The Bone Marrow Transplant portion of our BMT/GIP service line went live January 30th. The BMT service line will be seeing patients with lymphoma receiving EPOCH chemotherapy and multiple myeloma patients getting autologous stem cell transplants. The admissions will be direct, daytime admissions from home or clinic done by the team.

GIP Inpatient Hospice Service Line

The GIP (Inpatient Hospice) portion of the service line went live February 13th. This service line will provide hospice care to patients at the end of life, with prognosis of less than 72 hours, who are unable to transfer out of the hospital to another care setting. Hospice care continues to support families for up to 13 months after a patient dies. The clinicians on this team will work closely with the hospice team to support patients and their families at end of life. The GIP team will admit patients to the team and the attending will be the hospice attending of record.

HIGHLIGHTS & WINS #CUDHM

Newest Team Additions

We want to give a warm welcome to our newest faculty and Advanced Practice Fellows starting from January to March this year!

University of Colorado Hospital 2024 Medical Staff Awards

It always warms our hearts when we see our hospitalists getting recognized for the amazing work they do. The team at UCHealth recently released their annual awards for individuals that have stood out in the sea of hardworking healthcare professionals. Please help us celebrate these hospitalists that won awards!

Pioneer Award

Susan Calcaterra, MD, MPH/MSPH, MS

Presidential Citation Award

Ethan Cumbler, MD

Bedside Manner Award

Matt Ferraro, PA-C

Partners in Care Award - Provider

Jon Pell, MD

Clinical Innovation Team Award Vulnerable Elder Services, Protection, and Advocacy (VESPA)

Jason Hayes, FNP-C, MPH,

Leadership Updates

Director of DHM Patient Safety

Michelle Fleshner, MD

Director of DHM Promotion

Kristin Furfari, MD

UCH Oncology Unit Medical Director

Sarah Scarpato, MD

Rachel Weiss, MD

Michael Crookshanks, PA-C | APF

Madison Dewhirst, PA-C | APF

Kenny Lam, MD

Chad Keller, PA-C | APF

Caroline Carly Martinez, PA-C | APF

Kathryn Mulvaney, NP | APF

Tanea Tanda, PA-C | APF

HIGHLIGHTS & WINS

Recent Publications and News

Check out our CUDHM faculty publications and blogs! Click here to see a list of the publications.

Publication Highlight

Prevalence of homelessness among hospitalized patients: A point-in-time survey

Abstract:

Although homelessness is associated with increased acute healthcare utilization and poorer health outcomes, the prevalence of homelessness and housing insecurity in hospitalized patients is poorly characterized. We conducted an in-person survey to determine the prevalence of housing insecurity and homelessness among hospitalized patients at two hospitals in metropolitan Denver in conjunction with the Housing and Urban Development point-in-time count on January 24, 2022. Of the 271 surveyed patients, 79 (29.2%) reported experiencing either housing insecurity (17.3%) or homelessness (11.8%). Of those experiencing housing insecurity or homelessness, 69.6% reported chronic health conditions, 55.7% reported multiple hospitalizations in the preceding year, 38% reported mental health concerns and 39.2% reported substance use. The prevalence of homelessness among a hospitalized patient population was over 20-fold higher than community prevalence estimates. Housing insecurity also impacted a substantial proportion of hospitalized patients and was associated with high rates of co-morbid conditions.

Click here to read the whole publication.

Neelam Mistry, MD; Julie Knoeckel, MD; Lauren McBeth, BA; Erin Bredenberg, MD; Katie Raffel, MD; John Cunningham, MD; Ellen Sarcone, MD; Greg Misky, MD; Sarah Stella, MD

APP Physician Collaboration

APP Annual Conference Sponsored by the Office of Advanced Practice

On January 24, Course Directors Kasey Bowden FNP, NP, MSN, RN and Katie Dickerman, ANP along with the leadership of the Office of Advanced Practice Tatiana Emanuel, Dr. Scott Laker, and Jennifer Rodgers, revived their annual CME conference for our SOM and CON APPs. There were 162 attendees that had the opportunity to hear from many amazing speakers including our own hospitalists, Marisha Burden, MD, MBA, Haley Briggs, PA-C, and Lizzie McWilliams, PA-C. In addition, Hospital Medicine had 11 research posters presented at the conference. We are so proud of the hard work these individuals put into their research. Check out the photos below!

Did you know?

Here within the Division of Hospital Medicine at UCH, we have a thriving APP and APF culture as demonstrated by high retention of APFs and APPs, APP engagement with academic pursuits, and subjectively high degrees of satisfaction with the job. We are constantly looking for ways to further connect the collaboration with our teams!

CUDHM Staff Feature: Human Resources

Meet our Division of Hospital Medicine HR Staff!

Our HR team helps recruit, onboard and promote faculty on the CUDHM team. This is no small lift as our division has hired just over 110 people (from staff to fellows to physicians) since January 2020. We are so grateful for the support that Anna and Katherine bring to the entire team. Learn a little bit more about their roles below!

Anna Samuel, BS

Human Relations Program Manager

Some things Anna focuses on include:

• Promotions

• CU’s Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program (FAMLI) and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) coordination

• VISA’s

Katherine Frank, BA, MA

Senior Human Relations & Operations Professional

Some things Katherine focuses on include:

• Interviews

• Offer letters

• Onboarding/Orientation

• Credentialing

Making Strides in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Justice

Awarded Grant for LGBTQ+ Provider Development Series

The Department of Medicine granted awards to support faculty, staff, and trainees in their efforts to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) on and around the University of Colorado Anschutz Campus. This pilot program was designed to support projects that further DEIJ efforts among our local community and have the potential to inspire change in academic medicine and patient care. Three of our hospitalists worked together to submit their grant that was awarded for the LGBTQ+ Provider Development Series (pictured below).

The goal of Dr.’s Saunders, Mesa and Meyer’s grant is to establish a localized LGBTQ+ community within the DOM to strengthen a sense of unity. This project will focus on networking and community building through monthly meetings. Fostering a sense of inclusion in the workplace can enhance contentment, fortitude and reduce the likelihood of experiencing burnout.

Hospitalist Dr. Dante Mesa shared a little about his perspective on the reasoning behind their grant submission and the passion he holds for building a supportive space for the LGBTQ+ community. He added that “the LGBTQ+ Provider Development Series has helped to fill a gap in the Department of Medicine by fostering community between queer colleagues. Our events have built connections between trainees and faculty alike, which we hope continue to grow through future meet-ups!”

In addition to this project, there were four other grants awarded for the University of Colorado Department of Medicine’s new Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) grant program. Areas of focus for the grants include:

• Addressing bias in training, hiring, support, and promotion in the DOM.

• Addressing disparities in health care delivery or outcomes.

• Community outreach with traditionally marginalized groups.

• Advocacy for health promotion or social justice at the community, city or state level.

While this round of applications have closed, you can expect to see applications for the next round of grants open in fall 2024.

Click here to learn more about the other DEIJ Grants listed below:

• Addressing language barriers

• Clinician Survey to Identify Variation in Provider Care Practices During the Mechanical Ventilation Care Pathway Based on Patient Intersectional Identity

• Cultural and Communication Barriers to End-of-Life Discussions for Spanish-Speaking Patients with Limited English Proficiency

• Expanding the Appetite for Faculty Professional Development through Bite-Sized Skill Sessions; A Pilot Program to Improve the Clinical Learning Environment for Al

Scott Saunders, MD Assistant Professor

Dante Mesa, MD Senior Instructor

Adam Meyer, MD Assistant Professor

WINTER SPOTLIGHT

Hospitalists Making a Difference in Our Community

In honor of the CUDHM Winter Newsletter addition, we wanted to share the amazing talents of hospitalist, Dr. Jason Persoff, who has a passion for photography. We also wanted to take it a step further and dive into the importance of work life balance and incorporating hobbies as a healthcare worker.

Jason Persoff, MD Associate Professor | Hospital Medicine

Q: Where did your passion for photography come from?

My passion for photography started in elementary school. I thought it was amazing that I could capture moments in time with my parent’s polaroid. I wanted something that offered

a better range, and so they bought me an Olympus point and shoot camera. I immediately took to trying to use the clouds to frame landscape photos. From there on I was enticed to pursue more and more photographic opportunities, including on vacations I took with my dad up to Canada on bicycle. The evolution to almost exclusive weather photography occurred during college when I started storm chasing. Once I moved back to Colorado in 2012, I immediately needed something to sate my interests during the winter which led to snowflake photography. I remember seeing the work by Don Komarechka, a Canadian photographer who developed a specific way to photograph snowflakes that he shared freely. Once I learned how to do what he did, and adding my own spin on things, I became smitten.

Q: What is your favorite part of snowflake photography?

I think what really happens to me while shooting snowflakes is a funny feeling of being surrounded by incredible sites and only being able to photograph a fraction of them. That leads to me being very picky about what snowflakes make the cut. But there are times where every single snowflake I capture makes the cut and those days are stressful because it becomes a feast of plenty. The more I learn about how snowflakes form the more I enjoy reading the “history” each flake tells about its journey through the atmosphere. It turns out there are some amazing stories to tell...some snowflakes will rip the limbs off of a nearby flake and fuse them to their limbs (trophies?). Other times, a snowflake spends a lot of time developing into a plate—plate formation is so cool. It all starts with a bubble at the center of the flake that collapses forming different refractive elements in the crystal. Those differences lead to thin film interference which shows up as color in snowflakes (think: gas on water). The shapes and stories make it feel as if I’m getting to partake in something very special which drives me on. That’s why I love to share my work—I want people to stop and pause and consider the beauty of snow (even though we usually think of it as a hindrance to get to and from work!).

Q: Do you have any advice for colleagues in healthcare on the benefits of hobbies outside of work?

One of the dangers in medicine is that it can become WHO you are. So many colleagues (less so in our division) define their lives by their careers in medicine. This leaves gaping holes in life that, if not addressed, likely lead to burnout and to career dissatisfaction. I am a physician by training, education, and trade, but it doesn’t represent who I am: for that you have to fold in my family (who I adore), my hobbies (see above), and my love of spirituality in all things. Hobbies lead to insatiable curiosity which for me is a driver of satisfaction in my life.

STAY CONNECTED

Announcements

Research Poster Season is Among Us

We love helping support our faculty in sharing their work! That’s why with conference season coming up, we put together a session on February 16th to prepare our faculty for creating successful, eye-catching research posters! Our DHM Director of Data Analytics Angela Keniston, PhD, MSPH, and our DHM Website & Digital Marketing Senior Specialist Kelsey Hussey, BA, crafted a crash course on how best to approach this poster season. We will be sharing insights on our social media platforms linked at the bottom of this page.

February is American Heart Association Month

Upcoming

March 7

National Hospitalist Day

March 10-16

Patient Safety Awareness Week

March 30

National Doctors’ Day

February is known as American Heart Association (AHA) Month. In honor of this month we connected with Dr. Mel Anderson and his perspective on heart heath as a provider interested in the subject.

“Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the most common cause of death among U.S. adults, despite remarkable advances in detection and treatment. As hospital medicine clinicians, we see first-hand the effects of CVD on our patients and have unique opportunities to positively impact their lives. We know there are important, modifiable, risk factors for CVD and, while we certainly attend to the acute CVD issues at hand, we should strive to identify and address those risk factors during the short time patients are hospitalized: obstructive sleep apnea, nutrition, physical activity, access to medications, and more. Let’s partner with our outpatient colleagues to better advance CVD care broadly.”

In addition to the insight above, if you’re looking to do something intentional outside of your professional life this month, take a look at these heart healthy recipes from MillionHearts.gov ! Check out this extensive list of snacks and meals you can prepare

The APF Winter Newsletter is Available

Our Advanced Practice Fellowship (APF) Winter Newsletter is now live! Read about the recent happenings in our education program, recent academic work/articles from our current fellows, and updates from past fellowship graduates. Read the issue here!

For social media, newsletter or digital marketing content, please send your submission to Kelsey Hussey, BA at kelsey.hussey@cuanschutz.edu for a chance to be featured! You can also use our hashtag #CUDHM or tag us in your post.