A Message from Our Chair

I am again delighted to share our latest newsletter highlighting areas of research, teaching, patient care, and culture in the Department of Medicine (DoM). In this issue, we share the innovative programs for “onboarding” advanced practice providers (APPs) that have been passionately designed, championed, and implemented by Cheryl A. Elinsky, MS, PA-C. This work, which began in the section of General Internal Medicine and spread throughout the Department of Medicine, has since been adopted by other departments and divisions at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC).

The development of additional training and mentoring opportunities for new APPs has resulted in enhanced preparation and more rapid assimilation into clinical practice, as well as better engagement and confidence. Recognizing the importance of her work, Dartmouth Hitchcock appointed Cheryl as the inaugural director of Continuing Professional Development and Education for APPs in the Office of Advanced Practice Providers, and she was presented with the Department of Medicine’s Chair’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Our department supports access to healthcare for everyone, and many clinicians volunteer at two community health centers that provide free care for people in challenging life circumstances. Kelly

Kieffer, MD, RES ’00, MS ’11, and Tim Gardner, MD, RES ’04, FEL ’07, MS ’13, describe engagement at the Good Neighbor Health Clinic and Mascoma Community Health Care, including the opportunity for volunteer clinicians to mentor Geisel medical students and model the altruistic calling at the core of medical practice.

Karen Huyck, MD, PhD, MPH, and Jon Lurie, MD, MS ’97, RES ’99, describe their work with Vermont RETAIN (Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network), a project with the Vermont Department of Labor. These DHMC investigators are developing and studying pathways to provide needed resources for early stay-at-work and return-to-work programs with a goal of increasing employment retention and decreasing work disability.

The Department of Medicine’s telehealth practice, implemented broadly across departmental sections, is highlighted in an article about its use in the areas of Rheumatology, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Infectious Disease, Obesity Medicine, and Critical Care. The department was an early leader in telehealth, practicing telemedicine before the pandemic accelerated its rapid and exponential adoption. For our rural healthcare system, telemedicine practice helps our clinicians meet patient needs in a patientcentric way. Our TeleICU service provides critical care expertise to support hospitalists caring for patients at smaller facilities, and guidance that contributes to safe and effective local care.

In the previous newsletter, I announced my decision to step down this summer from the position of chair of our Medicine department as part of my transition to a part-time schedule. I will be refocusing my clinical and academic energies on the exciting new Center for Digestive Health. A national search is underway for my replacement. We are also working to fill several sectional leadership positions, which can be found at dhproviders.org . Meanwhile, we have much to finish before the end of my tenure, and I am so proud of the robust scholarship and dedicated clinical care provided by our faculty and staff. Thank you for all you are doing!

Richard Rothstein, MD, FEL ’85 Chair, Department of Medicine

If you are interested in learning more about opportunities to engage with and support our departmental activities, please contact Megan Dodge in the Medical & Healthcare Advancement Office at Megan.Dodge@hitchcock.org