UCSF Division of Geriatrics Weekly Updates (6/5/2020) from Chief Dr. Louise Walter

June 5

This is the twelfth Geriatrics Division Weekly Update and I want to acknowledge this is an incredibly difficult time.  Like you, I’m outraged and disheartened by the tragic senseless killing of George Floyd and the many Black lives lost before him, and I’m outraged and disheartened by the ageism and health disparities laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic.   The Geriatrics Division will not tolerate any form of racism or discrimination and we must continue to call out racism and injustice in our work and take actions to create systems that are equitable and just.  Many elders that we care for are vulnerable and disadvantaged and after reflecting on what actions to take, I’ve decided that our next Grand Rounds on June 24th will focus on Social Justice and Equity for Vulnerable Elders.  This is one small way to encourage dialog and discuss next steps that we can take towards health equity. 

While the rate of COVID-19 infections continues to increase in California, this is due primarily to outbreaks in Southern California: (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/05/graphic-tracking-coronavirus-infections-us/).  Below is a summary of the updates that have been shared with me this past week. 

UPDATES ACROSS THE DIVISION

UCSF outpatient programs:  Care at Home continues to slowly ramp up in-person visits and discuss ways to improve the care of home-limited minority elders.  We also continue to staff the San Francisco Campus for Jewish Living (SFCJL) COVID Respiratory Unit. 

UCSF inpatient Programs: The ACE Unit on 15L reopened last week to non-COVID-19 patients and everyone is moving back to their office spaces on 15L.  

San Francisco VA:  Over the past 3 months, there have been 31 SFVA veterans treated for COVID-19 and 6 deaths.  Currently, the SFVA Hospital remains limited to 65 beds as SFVA awaits approval to re-open.  The Palo Alto VA Hospital re-opened this week so we expect SFVA will be next.  Our Home-Based Primary Care Program continues to enroll new veterans and Geriatrics Clinic will start seeing a small number of veterans in face-to-face visits starting next week.  Our Community Living Center (CLC) (now rated a 5-Star facility) will remain closed to new admissions for at least a couple more months and will likely be the last SFVA clinical program to re-open.   

ZSFG:  Anna Chodos, Edgar Pierliussi, Louise Aronson and Meredith Greene continue to be deployed as part of DPH COVID-19 response, with a focus on SNF response and RCFE and Board & Care response. 

EDUCATION:  The Geriatrics and Geri-Pal Fellows’ virtual graduation celebration will be on Thursday June 18th from 6-7pm.  Please join the celebration!  Also, we are learning more about how to be part of the Department of Medicine’s “welcome to UCSF” video for fellow applicants next year.  We will be interviewing and recruiting fellows in the fall over Zoom. 

POLICY:  Brie Williams’ team wrote an article, "Medical isolation and solitary confinement: Balancing health and humanity in U.S. jails and prisons during COVID-19" that has been accepted for publication in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. 

STAFF:  Despite the hiring freeze, we received exceptional approval to hire new research staff.  Karen and Paula have been busy assisting faculty with staff recruitment.  Karen onboarded new research analyst, Qiao Kuang, who now has her new UCSF email and laptop.  She will be working with Stephanie Rogers, Louise Aronson and Pei Chen on three projects.  We are in the final stages of selecting a final candidate for another research analyst position.

Elaine is training Paula on fellowship responsibilities so that she can serve as Elaine’s backup while Elaine is out on maternity leave starting next month.  More details to come on the assignment of Elaine’s job duties.

Caroline continues to be an important part of Carla and Ashwin’s COVID survey project and she is working on a Grand Pad project with Carla.  Also, Caroline and Paula have been working with Irina and Maxine to test out different physician clinical scheduling software.

Paula is assisting Josette on Life Stages and Anna Chang with the Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Geriatrics 3rd edition textbook which is at the proof review stage.

Thomas continues to successfully manage a majority of our faculty’s grant portfolios in stride.

SOM Staff Recognition Awards

Geriatrics Division Staff are the best!  Here are recent awardees:

SPOT Award (recognizes significant employee achievements and contributions):  Cyrus Ahalt, Brookelle Li, Sarah Ngo, Paula Sison, Caroline Sou, Thomas Yu, and Karen Yuan

Achievement Award (recognizes exemplary contributions and demonstrated commitment to the Chancellor’s priorities and UCSF's PRIDE values): Brookelle Li, Gabriela Vanegas, Caroline Sou, and Karen Yuan

Staff Social Hour Tues. June 9, 1-2pm:  Baby Picture Show & Tell – staff are invited to share their own baby pictures or pictures of their kids or just drop in to join the fun.  Sarah Ngo sent an invite.  Contact her if you did not receive it.

UCSF DIVISION OF GERIATRICS MAY GRAND ROUNDS

Last week we held our first virtual UCSF Division of Geriatrics Grand Rounds, “COVID-19 and Older Adults: What have we learned?  How can we do better?”  Over 250 people watched our Grand Rounds live and there have been over 1,000 additional views since we posted it on YouTube last Friday:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnXPGZ4Ic9k

NEXT UCSF DIVISION OF GERIATRICS HALF-DAY

DIVISION-WIDE MEETING on June 24th 3-4pm.  **Everyone is encouraged to attend.

Topic: Faculty Diversity Champion presentations.

UCSF Division of Geriatrics Grand Rounds on June 24th 4-5pm, “Social Justice and Equity for Vulnerable Elders.”  I will be reaching out to speakers and announce them next week.

The rest of our Geriatrics Half-Day schedule will be determined closer to the date.

MAXINE’S WEEKLY TIP

Telecommuting / Continue Remote Work
UCSF announced last week that employees who can effectively perform their duties remotely should continue to do so through January 18, 2021. This supports public health efforts to limit the spread of COVID-19 and helps facilitate physical distancing for those who must work on-site.  Starting next week, if you are having difficulties being productive at home and need to come to Laurel Heights for essential business, please follow the steps listed in the attached document to request approval for working at our Laurel Heights campus. 

Karen Yuan will be going into the Laurel Heights campus, Suite 380 every Friday afternoon to distribute mail that was delivered during the week.  You can reach out to Karen if you have any special requests, such as looking for a specific piece of mail, watering plants, etc.

If you have any questions please contact Maxine.

MORE GUIDANCE TO COME
Unfortunately, we continue to receive more difficult financial news.  Bob Wachter has informed division chiefs that every unit will need to cut their FY21 budget by 10% as a worst-case-scenario.  I will let you know more as we review our budget with DOM.  There has not been any suggestion of salary cuts or furloughs at this point.  The following UC-wide cost-cutting measures will be in place through June 30 2021: essential hiring only; salary freeze for faculty and policy-covered (non-represented) staff; and elimination of non-essential University-sponsored domestic and international travel and events. 

Also, no large gatherings/events (involving 10 or more people) through June 30, 2021.  This means no in-person summer Division welcome event, no holiday event, no in person staff appreciation event, etc., unless of course things change at some point and the policy is updated.

UCSF TOWNHALL SUMMARY
Over 1,600 fellow members of the UCSF community joined Tuesday's Town HallUCSF United for Justice and Equality.  It was a deeply moving Town Hall to reach out, dig deep and do better through actions and structural changes, not just words.  The link above takes you to the recording of the Town Hall.   Also, UCSF has started a social media campaign #UCSFUnitedAgainstRacism on Twitter. 

I acknowledge this is a very stressful time for many and for many different reasons.  Please reach out to me if you need help or have concerns.

Thanks!
Louise

PS:  Dan Lowenstein shared this beautiful rendition of Amen/We Shall Overcome