ONGOING RESEARCH
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS, SYNDEMICS,
AND SUPER-UTILIZATION
2019 - Present
When designing this project, I created a team to investigate super-utilization in the emergency department as a function of the global receptivity tool and syndemics (that of disease concentration and interactions). I aim to apply the concept of mutual receptivity between patients and stakeholders to end health disparities often witnessed in emergency department super-utilizers.
HEALTH LITERACY
2021 - Present
At the start of this project, I was recruited by Emory University in partnership with public and private industry to consult and create campaigns addressing vaccine hesitancy and mistrust. The majority of these campaigns were formulated to target communities of color through small, in-person focus groups, corporate town halls, and video public service announcements. Partners include Delta Airlines, Georgia Public Broadcasting, HeatTrak, and WURD Radio (Philadelphia, PA).
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
TRUST ME, I’M A PATIENT. MUTUAL RESPECT IN THE TREATMENT OF MEDICAL MISTRUST.
Published in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Pulse
December 27, 2021
In 2021, I was recruited by Emory University in partnership with public and private industry to consult and create campaigns addressing vaccine hesitancy and mistrust. The majority of these campaigns were formulated to target communities of color. The formats varied from small, in-person focus groups, corporate town halls, and video public service announcements. Partners included Delta Airlines, Georgia Public
Broadcasting, HeatTrak, WURD Radio (Philadelphia, PA).
OPINION: NURSES ARE OVERWORKED, ESSENTIAL PART OF HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC)
October 16, 2021
description
SYNDEMICS AND SUPER-UTILIZATION: CAN WE BREAK THE CYCLE? [ABSTRACT]
Published in the Journal of The National Medical Association
August 2, 2021
In 2019, I served as the PI investigating super-utilization in the emergency department as a function of receptivity utilizing a global health tool and syndemic modeling. The aim is to apply concepts of mutual receptivity between patients and stakeholders to end health disparities often witnessed in emergency department super-utilizers. The secondary aim is to create a predictive model utilizing the concept of syndemics (that of disease concentration and interactions) to rapidly identify and treat potentially at-risk populations. The pilot study has been completed and presented at the National Medical Association Scientific Assembly.
PROGRAMS AND PROTOCOLS
ASYMPTOMATIC HYPERTENSION PATIENT SAFETY INITIATIVE AT EMORY HEALTHCARE (2018)
In my first year at Emory, I created a hospital-wide, evidence-based patient safety initiative to standardize the treatment of asymptomatic hypertension in the inpatient and outpatient setting. Before this campaign, asymptomatic hypertension in the Emory Healthcare system was treated in an inconsistent manner that did not utilize the standards established by decades of research and was broadly accepted by multiple major specialty policy consensus statements. This arduous task required a multidisciplinary team of varying specialties, physicians, nurses, and educators. I created the evidence-based diagnostic and treatment protocols, assessment tools, and educational models that have now been approved and implemented by the hospital medical practice committee. The current work is in place to make this program a system-wide protocol across the eight hospitals within the Emory Healthcare network. A test of change tool was also created to measure the impact of this program implementation. The findings will be submitted for publication to standardize this evidence-based educational tool for adoption by similar healthcare systems.
EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN WELLNESS PROGRAM AT PENINSULA EMERGENCY PHYSICIANS (2012)
As a member of the Peninsula Emergency Physicians Board of Directors, I individually created and implemented a wellness program for emergency physicians that allowed physicians age 50 years and above to continue to work sustainable, circadian-friendly schedules that excluded night shifts. The program was evidenced-based, sourcing data on physician burnout via the physiological and psychological tolls of shift work in an aging population. The program proved popular and was widely accepted by the board of directors. I have been asked to help create a similar program within the department of emergency medicine at Emory.
90/90 STEMI PROGRAM AT SENTARA CAREPLEX HOSPITAL (2006)
I helped implement and establish the 90/90 STEMI program at Sentara Careplex Hospital. The goal of this program was to ensure that 90% of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients received primary coronary intervention within the national standard of 90 minutes “door-to-balloon time.” The program exceeded its goal in its inaugural year and all subsequent years. It also resulted in our hospital becoming the best in the eight-hospital system for this metric. The program was a joint effort between two community-based cardiology practices and our community-based emergency medicine practice. I created educational modules and quality improvement initiatives for the physicians and nurses that often resulted in “door-to-balloon” times of 30 minutes or less.
POINT OF CARE (POC) EMERGENCY ULTRASOUND PROGRAM AT SENTARA CAREPLEX AND SENTARA POINT WARWICK (2005)
I created, implemented, and maintained a point of care (POC) emergency ultrasound program at Sentara Careplex and Sentara Point Warwick (combined annual ED census of 110,000 patients). This program provided rapid bedside ultrasounds for emergency department patients leading to improved department throughput, clinical outcomes, and revenue. The program required the education of nearly 30 physicians and advance practice providers. Due to the program's success, it was expanded to the nursing staff to implement ultrasound-guided IV catheter placement. I also maintained the mandatory quality assurance of the program, routinely reviewing uploaded scans for staff certification, credentialing, and continuous education. This application of translational science is most notable since previous efforts to establish such a program in the department had failed before my arrival. I was able to win over the approval of the medical staff leadership, hospital administration, and radiology department. All of which is no small feat, especially for a new member of the medical staff with no formal fellow training in emergency medicine ultrasonography (a burgeoning field at the time).