Editorial

Jane Lochrie, MD

THIS is the last issue of Worcester Medicine for 2020, the year that

brought us the worst pandemic in 100 years, the worst unemployment in 80 years, and the worst protests over racial injustice in 60 years, not to mention, murder hornets, giant jellyfish, wild fires, hurricanes, and droughts. (I am purposely not mentioning the political climate.) I can’t imagine any one of us will be unhappy to say goodbye to 2020. In addition to the enormous toll that COVID-19 has had on hospitals, nursing homes, and clinical offices, the virus has an immense personal effect. In this issue of Worcester Medicine, you will learn how the Central Massachusetts medical community has stepped up to help those in need.

In the first article, Dr. Thoru Pederson explains the process of the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. He describes four different approaches that the companies developing the vaccine are using. Despite the many advances being made, there are also many challenges. We do not know the duration of immunity as these are not challenge trials; production and distribution loom large; feasibility of shipping both as sheer capacity and the sustained ultra- low temperatures requirement both for shipping and storage.

Steve Bird, MD, defines secondary traumatic stress as a stress reaction that results from exposure to someone else’s traumatic experience resulting in a PTSD-like disorder. He states now during the pandemic physicians need to make personal well-being a priority. He gives us five suggestions how to promote personal mental health.

Jennifer Reidy, MD, focuses on the importance of palliative care during this crisis and the difficultly for providers including PPE shortage limiting direct patient contact; the no visitor policy for hospitalized patients and the moral distress for physicians who have been redeployed without training in serious illness communication and symptom management.

Many of us are familiar with Eric Garcia’s, MD, legendary commitment to the homeless in the Worcester area and his article reinforces this. He describes the difficulty of socially distancing and voluntary self- quarantining for the homeless. Worcester only has one emergency shelter and can only house 23 people with no capacity for socially distancing and often lacking basic sanitation supplies. Even after opening three satellite shelters and a shelter for quarantining possible COVID-19 cases, there just was not enough capacity when 53 patients tested positive for COVID-19. Undiscouraged, Dr. Garcia opened a 60-bed shelter in the DCU center for COVID-19-positive homeless patients.

Another champion for the underserved in Central Massachusetts, Jean McMurray, tells us that the pandemic has triggered a public health crisis for food insecurity. Prior to the pandemic, 1 in 12 people and 1 in 10 children were food insecure. Those numbers are 1 in 8 people and 1 in 6 children. Food distribution has increased by 18%, and many of the people are seeking help for the first time. She is also advocating to increase the monthly benefit for the SNAP program.

Our resident article was written by Parul Sarwal, MD, a third-year resident at St. Vincent Hospital. She opines that our social inclinations are mimicked by her favorite bird, the Indian silverbill. She has given several resources for nature centers and bird sanctuaries in the Worcester area. In addition, she relates how birding is similar to diagnostic medicine.

Two third-year medical students write about their experience during the pandemic. Sheikh Moinul tells us how the students’ lives have been turned upside down with the cancellation of STEP 1 exams, quarantine modifications, and clerkship changes. Students have expressed apprehension, uncertainty and confusion with so many changes in the curriculum. Our second student, Hannah Swartz, relates that her first clinical experience made her much more appreciative of every moment that she can spend in person with a patient.

As always, I would encourage everyone to read the President’s Message, As I See It, Legal Consult, News from the Archives, and Society Snippets. +

“I can’t imagine any one of us will be unhappy to say goodbye to 2020. ”