News And Alerts For FamilyCare Medical Group

COVID-19 Vaccine Updates

On Monday January 11, 2021, NYS entered Phase 1B meaning the largest group, 3.2 million people, will be eligible for the vaccine, including people 75 and older, first responders, public safety workers, public transit workers, and education workers (see NYS DOH website for specific eligibility).

We currently DO NOT have the vaccine. We recommend those who become eligible in Phase 1B group that live in Onondaga County go to the health department website – covid19.ongov.net/vaccine to schedule an appointment with the county or if you live in another county call the NYS Hotline (315)349-3330 to determine where you can access vaccine in your county.

The CDC, NYS Dept of Health, etc., is continuing to develop guidance on how the vaccine should be distributed amongst the population and we will look to them for distribution direction if and when we receive the vaccine to be given to our patient population.

We are in the process now of securing vaccine to provide to our patients and will let you know when it is your turn as we need to follow NYS guidelines. Our clinical teams are also trying to work out the details of how to administer the vaccine to our patients who are in an eligible group. Please check our website at www.fcmg.org for further updates.

We ask that you please refrain from calling your PCP office regarding the vaccine as we need to keep our phone lines open to care for ill patients.

For more information please visit: https://www.health.ny.gov/ and https://www.cdc.gov/

Happy Holidays

FCMG Letter to the Community

November 16, 2020

 

Dear FamilyCare Medical Group family,

This week we had the highest number of COVID infections in Onondaga county. Onondaga county has more people testing positive than New York City. We need to stop the spread of COVID or we threaten our ability to continue in-person learning.  We want to remind you how to keep your families safe and our community safe. We need you to be extra careful, especially now.

 We ask you to do the following:

 - Reduce your social circle: Limit your social interactions to the people who you live with and a small group of close friends who are also committed to preventing the spread of COVID.

 - Wear masks: Masks prevent the spread of COVID. If you go out in public wear a mask at all times.  IF you socialize with people outside of your inner circle and cannot be physically distant from them (more than 6 feet) wear a mask, all the time. Your children should follow the same advice.

 - Stay home if you are ill: Do not try to self-diagnose your runny nose, headache, or scratchy throat. In 2020, any of these symptoms could represent a COVID infection. If you or your children have any of these symptoms, stay home, see your medical provider, and get tested for COVID.

 - Holidays: This is a year to consider not traveling for the holidays and to limit the size of your gatherings. Recent holidays have resulted in clear spikes in COVID activity locally and we need to try and prevent this from happening again. New York state has strict rules regarding traveling and travelers. (https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-travel-advisory)

 If we can, as a community, consistently apply these simple interventions we can keep the spread of COVID low in our community and keep all of us healthy.

 Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Stronger together,

 

Mitchell V. Brodey, MD

President and CEO

ACO Community of the Year

Kansas City, MO – Caravan Health today announced the winners of the annual Population Health Pioneer Awards, presented to Caravan Health ACOs and partners who have best served their patients, community, and the health care industry through their leadership, dedication, and innovation over the past year. 

This year’s awards highlight the nominees who have incorporated innovative approaches to care during the COVID-19 pandemic and demonstrated a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion either in the workplace or the communities they serve. 

Recognized as the nation’s leader in accountable health care, Caravan Health recently released their 2019 results which demonstrated another year of exceptional performance. Caravan ACOs brought home $50 million in shared savings and earned 94% in quality scores which once again led the nation. 

“Caravan Health’s Pioneer Award winners have proven to be tireless advocates for population health during a challenging year. I am thrilled to be able to publicly recognize the impressive work of these individuals and health systems. As a group, they ramped up virtual care services, supported patients with complex medical needs, addressed social needs and implemented innovative ways to connect with their patients and their communities throughout the public health emergency” commented Nicole Banister, Vice President, Practice Transformation, Caravan Health. 

The award winners will be formally honored at the fifth annual Caravan Health Accountable Care Symposium which is being held virtually this year, from December 7-10. There is still time to register and participate in the Symposium which includes notable keynote speakers and a variety of educational sessions. 

 

ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATIONS AWARD WINNERS – GROUP 

The ACO group award winners recognize communities who have distinguished themselves in the area of care delivery. 


ACO Community of the Year - Crouse Health


For transforming care delivery, promoting primary care initiatives even during a pandemic, and supporting the team with training.  This organization is part of our consultative services branch, the Partnership ACO program.

FamilyCare Medical Group is part of the Crouse Health ACO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Congratulations Dr. Kuhn

In the fall of 2019, we initiated an “Exceptional Teacher Initiative” in an effort to acknowledge the dedicated teachers in our MD program.  At the end of every course and clerkship, the medical students are surveyed and asked to tell me stories about faculty members, residents, nurses, therapists, or anyone else, who have impacted or influenced them in a significant way. They are asked to tell us what those teachers did that resulted in an exceptional educational experience and how it changed them. Semi-annually, we compile the comments and share the feedback from our students.  We have adopted this practice based on the “Exceptional Teacher Initiative” at Penn State College of Medicine.

 

I’m delighted to share with you the comments that our students submitted about you regarding their educational experiences with you over the last year.

 

  • Dr. Kuhn is one of the best attendings I have ever worked with. He treated us all as full members of the team and took time to mentor us not just about clinical medicine but also about leading happy and productive lives in medicine as a whole. He is extremely compassionate at the bedside and taught us at every opportunity despite his work-load and also being a new attending which I am sure has its own stress.

  • Dr. Kuhn was extremely committed to teaching and treated me as a colleague first and a student second which was absolutely wonderful.

  • I was only with Dr. Kuhn a short time and he taught me so much. He actually took the time to bring us around the hospital, ask us questions, give us feedback on our presentations. I also got to witness his amazing patient care. While all of the attending I came into contact with were nice, he was the only one that truly went above and beyond to help me learn. This is the type of teacher I expected to have during clerkships.

  • Thank you so much for taking so much time to teach! I don't think I have ever learned so much from an attending ever! I really appreciated that you took time to teach us not just step 2 relevant information but also basic hospital policies and politics. I always felt very comfortable and while you posed many questions to us I never felt as though I was being 'pimped'. I also really liked your demeanor with patients as well as your systematic approach to medicine in general. You have a very logical and well researched approach to medicine which made learning from you that much more enjoyable. Internal medicine is not something I thought I would be interested in. I have always gravitated more toward ER, Family Med and PM&R and when you spoke about how well IM prepares you and how easy it is to shape your practice to suit your interests it made me consider IM as a possible specialty option as well. I also wanted to thank you for taking the time to teach us EKGs. The way you explained them made so much more sense than whatever I was doing before. I think I might actually remember the difference between and L and R bundle branch block now. I wish you and your family all the best! Thank you again for teaching us so much I REALLY appreciated it and had a lot of fun.

  • Dr. Kuhn cares about student education. From the first day we worked together, one of his primary concerns was teaching us students and finding educational cases. He set clear expectations of us. He was active in involving students in medical procedures, which is HUGELY appreciated. He conducted a 1-hour shelf review session, which was interactive, informative, and fun. He was also a great physician and would spend extra time with patients who needed it (e.g. one family was concerned about the frequent change in doctors and had many questions, so Dr. Kuhn spent 40+ minutes with them to help settle concerns and clarify treatment goals). Overall, great attending to work with. He was always kind and a positive role model. It will be a pleasure to work with him again.

  • He was very patient with us and with patients. I loved that he asked us intellectually stimulating questions and did not judge us if we did not know the answer. He was always willing to teach us new things and I appreciated that.

  • Dr. Kuhn is the best teacher I have had so far in all of third year. He went out of his way to review materials and go over practice questions with us. Additionally, he made sure we felt like active members of the team as well as ensuring that we were getting the best possible learning experience. I have learned the most during the week that I had the privilege of being on service with him.

  • Great didactics sessions, thank you for doing question reviews for students as well!

  • I really appreciated Dr. Kuhn's emphasis on education. He set a great example as a physician.

  • In the short time that I had with Dr. Kuhn, he taught me a lot about diabetes treatment and provided feedback on my presentation. I wish I got to work with him longer.

  • He is an excellent educator and mentor. He took the time to go through his decision making and made rounds into a very educational and inclusive setting. He also mentored us about our career paths (business, inpatient vs. outpatient, finances, etc.). Thank you, Dr. Kuhn! I hope to work with you again in the future.

Each month we highlight one teacher from the Exceptional Teacher Initiative.  I am very pleased to tell you that we would like to highlight you in the month of November for your contribution.  This will include the attached poster in the Weiskotten Hall display cabinet and on the website www.upstate.edu/ume/exceptionalteacher.php.

Thank you for your dedication to our educational program and for the real impact you have on individual students. What your students have described make you part of the heart and soul of effective teaching in the College of Medicine, and I am very appreciative of your contributions.

 

Sincerely,

 

Lawrence Chin, MD

Dean, College of Medicine

 


Medicare Open Enrollment 2020

Medicare Open Enrollment begins on October 15, 2020, and ends on December 7, 2020. During this time, Medicare beneficiaries can compare coverage options like Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage and choose health and drug plans for 2021. Medicare health and drug plan costs and covered benefits can change from year to year, so people with Medicare should look at their coverage choices and decide on the options that best meet their health needs. They can visit Medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE, or contact their State Health Insurance Assistance Program. People who want to keep their current Medicare coverage do not need to re-enroll.

FCMG Welcomes New Physician

FamilyCare Medical Group would like to welcome Dr. Kristine Faulknham to the Fairmount office.

OSHA Tip of the Day

Cloth face coverings are not a substitute for social distancing measures.

Worried About COVID 19? Quit Tobacco

While smoking cessation has long been important for improving health, it is perhaps even more timely now, given our current public health crisis. Experts suggest that smokers – with their compromised respiratory systems – may face increased risk of developing a serious infection from COVID 19. Quitting now decreases your vulnerability to the disease.

We care about your health and well-being. That is why we are offering the program free of charge. The seven-week group program, led by a trained facilitator, will meet one hour a week. There are two groups to choose from: participants can join either a lunchtime or evening group.