Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to winter in New England! Last week’s snowstorm was yet another reminder why we (or at least some of us) love living in New England. We had 16 inches of snow fall in our yard and it has taken us more than a couple of days to dig out – in fact, we still are doing so. In the meantime, the opportunity to snowshoe and cross-country ski around New Haven has been a great joy.
As expected, our faculty and trainees performed in their usual spectacular manner in addressing the complexities that the storm brought to our hospitals. For example, in coordination with YNHH leadership, the YNHH-based Firm Chiefs and faculty assured adequate staffing to care for our patients and support our trainees. Of course, all of this occurred at a time during which we have been in peak respiratory virus season, further complicating an already very challenging situation. Despite these challenges, Yale GIM faculty rose to the occasion and successfully navigated the storm and its complications. Thank you all for your hard work on behalf of our New Haven community and our trainees!
Speaking of our community, in a wonderful Medical Grand Rounds this week, Sathvik Namburar, our wonderful ambulatory chief resident based at the NHPCC presented an informative and thought-provoking talk on “The History and Future of Health in New Haven.” He reviewed the development of New Haven as a city and the impact of “redlining” on the development of health disparities within and between New Haven’s neighborhoods. His call for each and every one of us to do our best to address these disparities was truly inspiring.
This week’s Yale GIM News provides great examples of the outstanding work our faculty and staff are doing to address health disparities in New Haven that are indeed inspiring. For example, Jeffrey Lin and Benjamin Howell, have launched and exciting new initiative titled the “Yale Street Medicine Training Program.” The program, which is incorporated into our Yale Internal Medicine Primary Care Residency Program, will include the opportunity to participate in innovative dedicated street medicine training.
A very exciting aspect of this program is the wide range of collaborative arrangements that are at its core. Clinical collaborations include our partners at the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center’s Street Medicine team along with our VA’s Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team, and the Department of Psychiatry’s “Street Psychiatry” program. The program also collaborates with the Yale Law School Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy along with community organizations such as the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen and Community Health Care Van – both of which have collaborated with our training programs previously. Congratulations to our YPC team for launching this program! We look forward to seeing the program blossom and flourish!
Another program described in this month’s Yale GIM News, “Maternal Health Equity: A Blueprint for Connecticut”, promises to reduce the burden of maternal morbidity and improve access to care in our state with a goal of reducing severe maternal morbidity among black women by 50% over the next three years. Our very own Marcella Nunez-Smith serves as chair of the advisory committee for this program which is supported by the Connecticut Health Foundation. As Marcella notes, this is indeed a pivotal moment for maternal health in our state!
This month’s Yale GIM News highlights a number of other exciting initiatives and accomplishments of our faculty – read on!
As we approach mid-winter, be sure to take advantage of the winter wonderland that New England has to offer. For those who are not so enamored with winter, not to worry, spring is less than two months away!
Patrick
Patrick G. O'Connor, MD, MPH
Dan Adams and Amanda Adams Professor of General Medicine
Chief, Yale General Internal Medicine
Head of Advisory House, Yan House
Yale School of Medicine