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Education and Engagement
The Immunization Coalition of Delaware
Mission: Bring together local, state, and community organizations and individuals to promote education about vaccine preventable diseases and new vaccines, with the goal of improving access and vaccination rates throughout the lifespan. https://immunizedelaware org/
The ICD works in partnership with its members and their organizations to advocate for policy issues related to childhood, adolescent, and adult immunizations; reduce disparities in adult access to immunizations; and to shape the healthcare process and outcomes for Delaware residents in relation to vaccine preventable disease The ICD’s goal for 2021 was to continue educating the public about COVID-19, as well as provide education about the different COVID-19 vaccines being created, tested, and ultimately approved It became a member of the Communications Subcommittee of the Delaware Division of Public Health’s Coronavirus Vaccine Taskforce Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all quarterly meetings of the ICD were held virtually this year Alongside the standing discussion items (influenza updates, school health, and global emerging infectious disease), the ICD received updates on vaccines, ongoing vaccine education programs, and the state of childhood vaccinations in Delaware The ICD’s website is https://www immunizedelaware org/, and has sections for both healthcare professionals and the public, with links to immunization stories in the news, a Delaware-specific Coronavirus page, a section on the flu season, and other immunization topics The ICD also publishes its Week in Review on Mondays On December 13, the ICD was pleased to collaborate with the Medical Society of Delaware (MSD) and the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) on the annual Communicable Disease Summit The theme of the 2021 Summit was “How 2020 Changed the World.” Over 100 people attended virtually, and the event was moderated by the ICD’s program manager, Dr Kate Smith Presentations included: • Update on Delaware Health, by Dr Karyl T Rattay, Director of the Delaware Division of Public Health; • Delaware Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, by Dr Rick Hong, Medical Director of the Delaware Division of Public Health;
• Vaccine Hesitancy, by Dr Jonathan Miller, Medical Director of Value-Based Care for Nemours Delaware
Valley Operations; • Vaccine Development, by Dr Michael J Smith, Professor of Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases at
Duke University Medical Center; • A Panel Discussion, featuring most of the speakers, regarding the state of the COVID-19 pandemic locally, nationally, and globally; • Travel Medicine and the Impact of COVID-19, by Dr Scott Olewiler, Infectious Disease and Travel Medicine
Specialist at Beebe Healthcare; and • Pandemics and the Global Response, by Dr David Weber, the Charles Addison and Elizabeth Ann Sanders
Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Epidemiology at the UNC School of Medicine and UNC
Gillings School of Global Public Health
The conference was accredited by MSD for 6.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ of continuing medical education All presentations were recorded, and they can be accessed on the ICD’s website at https://immunizedelaware org/2021communicable-disease-summit/
Delaware Chronic Disease Coalition
Mission: Provide a reliable resource of information about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic disease for all Delawareans; and provide ongoing support for those living with chronic disease. https://dechronicdiseasecoalition org/
The Academy/DPHA and the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), along with the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Section of the Delaware Division of Public Health, Quality Insights, and We Work for Health began planning a Delaware Public Health Institute Chronic Disease Conference The virtual conference will be held on March 7, 2022, at the Del-One Conference Center in Dover The focus of the conference is on health policy, and will include panel discussions on early detection, treatment, and management of chronic disease; as well as the social determinants of health A portion of the day will also be spent discussing advocacy priorities in Delaware
Back Office Support
Stroke Program
http://delawarestrokeresources org/ The Academy/DPHA continued to assist the Stroke Support Group with both planning speakers and the content of the website (www delawarestrokeresources org) All Support Group meetings in 2021 were held virtually, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
Delaware Health Sciences Alliance
The Academy/DPHA continued to assist the Delaware Health Sciences Alliance (DHSA) with website updates, planning and registration for the 2021 Delaware Day Event and the 2021 Research Competition, and their ongoing work with the Delaware Institute of Medical Education and Research (DIMER) to increase student awareness of the DIMER program and varying pathways to medical school for Delaware students
Conferences and Educational Events
John Scholz Stroke Education Conference
The 2021 John Scholz Stroke Education Conference was held virtually on Saturday, October 16, and over 100 people attended The keynote speaker was Dr Anna Cervantes, Director of the Comprehensive Stroke Center at Boston University, who discussed the Neurologic Complications of COVID-19 Other speakers included: • Aneurysms & Sub-Arachnoid Hemorrhage, by Dr Sudhakar Satti, Associate Medical Director of Neurointerventional Surgery at ChristianaCare; • The Psychological Effects of Stroke and Post-Stroke PTSD, by Dr Nancy Devereux, Psychotherapist at ChristianaCare;
• An Update on Tenecteplace, by Dr Sridhara Yaddanapudi, Neurology and Vascular Neurologist at
ChristianaCare;
• Safe Discharge Planning of Stroke Patients from Acute Care, by Jamir Dobson, Director of Care Management and Manager of Social Services at St Francis Hospital; and • Technology and Stroke Rehabilitation by Dr Louis N Awad, Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy at Boston University The conference was accredited for 3.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ of continuing medical education from the Medical Society of Delaware, and 3 75 hours of continuing education for physical therapists, occupational therapists, and speech pathologists
Mini Medical School
Mini Medical School, a program of the Academy/DPHA and ChristianaCare, was held on consecutive Thursdays from April 15 to May 20, 2021 Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, lectures were given via the Zoom platform Participants had three options: watch and/or listen to the presentation live via zoom or telephone, or watch the presentation afterwards online via a YouTube link posted on https://delawareminimed org Overall, 481 individuals registered for the 2021 program; of these, 276 attended at least one session Many attendees were high school students, and the majority were Delawareans The 2021 program included the following sessions: • Week 1. The Center for Hope and Healing: The Intersection of Behavioral Health, Social Determinants of Health, and Physical Health, by Dr Diane Bohner, Medical Director of Patient and Family-Centered Care and Resource Management at ChristianaCare; • Week 2. COVID-19 Update, by Tim Bowers, Vice President of Clinical Effectiveness at ChristianaCare; • Week 3. The Importance of Prostate Screening and the Latest in Treatment Options, by Dr Mihir Shah, Urologic Surgeon at ChristianaCare; • Week 4. CRISPR and Gene Editing, by Dr Brett Sansbury, Leader of Discovery Research at the Gene Editing Institute at ChristianaCare;
• Week 5. The Global Burden of Stroke, by Dr Kate Smith, Program Manager at the Academy/DPHA (note: this presentation was a last-minute change due to the unavailability of the scheduled presenter); • Week 6. Racism and Health by Dr. Marshala Lee, Harrington Trust Physician School and Family Medicine
Physician at ChristianaCare
Medical/Dental Lecture Series at Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
The Academy/DPHA led the Medical/Dental Lecture Series for both the Summer (4-week) and Fall (11-week) semesters These presentations were completely virtual, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the increased health risk to the participants of the program, who are adult learners over the age of 65 years The pandemic also meant that the traditional guest lecturers were unavailable to discuss proposed topics with students Thus, presentations were curated from vetted online sources, and question and answer sessions with Dr Kate Smith and Mr Tim Gibbs followed In the summer, the class met every Tuesday in July • July 6. Healthy Aging: Promoting Well-Being in Older Adults • July 13. The Surgeon General’s Report on Oral Health • July 20. The Top Ten Medical Advances in History, The Biggest Medical Breakthroughs of the Last Decade, and Medical Technologies of the Future • July 27. Student Choice
In the fall, the class met every Tuesday morning from September 8 – November 16 The syllabus for the fall was chosen and confirmed by the class during the second meeting • September 21. Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia • September 28. Diabetes • October 5. Heart Health • October 12. Kidney Health • October 19. Sleep Apnea/Snoring • October 26. Lymphedema • November 2. TMJ and Bone Health • November 9. MS and Other Movement Disorders • November 16. CRISPR and Gene Editing