April 2020
In this issue . . .
TCMS President, Dr. Abikhaled COVID-19 Update
Dell Med Update
TCMS President, Dr. Abikhaled COVID-19 Update
TCMS has dedicated a page of the website to COVID-19. With the most recent developments and links to key sources of information, it’s a one-stop resource.
Dear Colleagues,
A significant challenge for local Coronavirus test collection locations is the very limited supply of viral collection swab kits. Many offices and clinics stock these swabs (especially Ob/Gyns and Ophthalmologists).
Please check your clinic and if you have any please bring them to the Travis County Medical Society at 4300 N. Lamar M-F from. Call 512-206-1249 when you arrive and staff will meet you outside. Please note that they must be synthetic fiber (i.e. Dacron) swabs with plastic shafts. TCMS will pass them along to the collection sites.
Now for some updates:
Over 70,000 items of PPE (masks, gloves, goggles, etc.) have been donated thanks largely to your posts on social media. Most of this has been distributed and we are working on sourcing more itemsespecially N-95 masks. A revised version of our original social media post with wording on exemption to the Mayor’s stay at home order for medical supply deliveries is available for reposting here. If you would like to request PPE, please click here. Special thanks to Dr. Mark Glover for coordinating this effort.
The Group is up and has over 700 members. There is a wealth of information for all things related to the Coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having on our patients and our practices. Please join and participate. Special thanks to Dr. Alexander Alvarez and Dr. Pradeep Kumar for moderating.
At Austin Public Health’s request we distributed an online testing enrollment tool allowing physicians to enroll patients for coronavirus sample collection and testing.
We have created a database of over 200 volunteers. We have already put some of these volunteers to work and we will be in touch as further needs arise. Thanks to each one of you for stepping forward. If you would like to add your name to the list, please click here.
We are matching up physicians needing help getting started with telemedicine and physicians who already have expertise. If you need help or can provide help, please click here
We are in regular contact with Austin Public Health, local hospital officials, and others to provide support from the TCMS physician community, to pass on their suggestions and recommendations, and concerns. The Facebook group is a great way to have a voice, or if you prefer you can email me at president@tcms.com
I want to thank each one of you for everything you are doing. The outpouring of support has been inspiring.
Keep showing up, even if it’s on a screen!
John Abikhaled, MD
TCMS President
Dell Med Update
COVID-19 Resources
Read more about our students…
Medical Student Response to COVID-19
This spring, Dell Med and Texas Global were preparing to send a group of medical students, residents and faculty to Moi University, Dell Med’s partner school in Eldoret, Kenya, for a clinical rotation as part of a global health elective course.
With travel canceled, and to focus on the COVID-19 response here in Austin/Travis County, the team rapidly built a new elective called “The COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Health on the Front Lines.” Thirty students are participating in the elective which combines an online learning platform with pandemic response field placements where students are helping with screening, contact tracing and more at sites across Austin.
Good News: Dell Med’s First Grads Match
On Match Day, March 20, every fourth-year student at Dell Med who entered the residency match received a placement.Nearly 45% of students matched to programs in Texas — and 11 of them will stay right here in Austin. Twenty-eight students, more than half, chose a primary care specialty.
In addition, all the openings in our Dell Med residency and fellowship programs filled. We’ll be joined by new resident physicians from across the country this fall.