IMPACT4HC Newsletter #4
By The IMPACT Team
We are a coalition of physicians and health professionals working to identify and meet the needs of Illinois’ healthcare workers and communities. We engage grass-root networks, advocate for evidence-based solutions, advise influential stakeholders, and amplify solutions that protect the individuals and communities across the state and country.
Featured Infographic
Illinois is the first state in the Midwest to reach the White House goal of 70% adult vaccination rate. Don't stop now!
Vaccine Resources for Everyone
Click here to find COVID vaccine sites and resources, sign up to volunteer for a vaccine clinic or obtain volunteers for your vaccine clinic.
IMPACT Members in the Media
Illinois dropped many of its remaining pandemic restrictions Friday, but public health data shows two different realities lie ahead for people as that reopening begins. Dr. Shikha Jain warns, “Just because the numbers are low, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not going to contract COVID if you’re not vaccinated.” Chicago Tribune
Clinician Violence Moves Online
Just before the pandemic began, a group from Northwestern University and the University of Chicago wrapped up one of the first major studies to describe physician experiences with online harassment. In the offline world, hospital workers face four times the risk of violence as people in other industries. Dr. Vineet Arora discusses IMPACTand the wave of personal attacks facing physicians online with Massachusetts General Hospital’s Proto Magazine. Proto Magazine
Chicago’s Plan To Flood Areas With COVID-19 Vaccines Improved Racial Equity. Now It’s Ending.
A WBEZ analysis shows Protect Chicago Plus improved vaccination rates in some targeted communities, but the impact was uneven. Some worry even those gains will fade. “The system inherently reaggravates the historic problems we’ve always had and creates unequal distributions,” said Dr. Ali Khan, “Now, how do we apply that same logic for, not a sprint, but a marathon?” Khan asked. WBEZ Chicago
More than 265,000 in Will County fully vaccinated
As of Tuesday, 265,114 Will County residents have been fully vaccinated, according to the Will County Health Department, and 584,784 doses of the vaccine had been administered. That represents 38.29 percent of the population in Will County. The Times Weekly
IMPACT Members on Panels and Podcasts
COVID-19 Vaccines: Fact vs Fiction
IMPACT’s Dr. Zachary Rubin, an allergy and immunology specialist, has created a 6-part mini-series on the different types of COVID-19 vaccinations and debunking common misconceptions. Check out his YouTube channel and subscribe to be the first to know when he posts his next video! www.youtube.com
Leveraging Social Media and Community Partnership to Address Vaccine Inequity | Academy Health
IMPACT co-founder Dr. Amisha Wallia virtually presented on IMPACT’s strategy to amplify and address disparities in COVID-19 vaccine distribution at Academy Health’s Annual Research Meeting on June 17. She discussed how IMPACT actively engages with social media and our communities to fight vaccine hesitancy, misinformation, and inequity. twitter.com
Women In Medicine: Making IMPACT | Cincinnati Children's
Dr. Vineet Arora was invited to speak at Cincinnati Children’s on June 15 about #WomenInMedicine and her experience sustaining women in medicine and creating IMPACT4HC during the pandemic. twitter.com
IMPACT’s Medical and Digital Content Lead Serena Dhaon presented this week at Brown University’s Digital Health conference. She reported on top reasons for hesitancy in Illinois communities as well as the positive effect of IMPACT’s work to debunk myths and create vaccine clearing houses. Serena will begin medical school at the Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in August. Congrats, Serena! twitter.com
IMPACT Member Spotlight: Eve Bloomgarden, MD
Dr. Eve Bloomgarden, MD (Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of IMPACT) is a board-certified endocrinologist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and an assistant professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Bloomgarden received her medical degree from New York University and completed residency and fellowship training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Bloomgarden’s clinical expertise is in the diagnosis and management of thyroid disorders and thyroid cancer as well as general endocrinology. She is a clinician educator and contributes to the medical education of students, residents, and fellows. She loves spending time with her husband, also a physician, and their two young children. The COVID crisis has brought out her social media presence, her strength as an advocate for her fellow healthcare workers, and her talent as a singer/musician through #DocsWhoRock on Twitter.
IMPACT Partner Spotlight: Women in Medicine
Women in Medicine (“WIM”) is a state recognized non-profit organization dedicated to educating, informing and imparting skills to women in healthcare to combat, close and eliminate the inequitable gender gap pervasive throughout society including the professional American medical healthcare system. Founded by Dr. Shikha Jain, WIM offers lectures, webinars, breakout sessions, resources, evidence-based research and amplification of equity initiatives on a web platform and in group settings allowing women physicians to not only learn the various ways they can effectively address the inequitable treatment of women in medicine but also to connect, collaborate and support each other. Sign up now for the next WIM Summit, “An Evolution of Empowerment” September 24-25,2021!