Visit the DOM Annual Report 2012 for a Feature Story (PDF page 7)

Weill Cornell Internal Medicine Associates (WCIMA)The HSS Academy of Rheumatology Medical Educators, co-directed by its founder Dr. Stephen Pagetand Dr. Jessica Berman, completed selection and funding of three pilot education research grants todivision faculty. The projects included further development of the Rheumatology Objective StructuredExamination for Fellowship Trainees, directed by Dr. Berman; development of a curriculum for aRheumatology Epidemiology Journal Club, led by Drs. Berman and Mandl; and a project with the goalof fostering professionalism, led by Dr. C. Ronald MacKenzie in collaboration with WCMC faculty. TheHSS Academy has also sponsored two workshop meetings, bringing together participants fromNew York area medical schools, including NYU, Downstate, Stony Brook, as well as WCMC.The division assures optimal preparation and post-operative management of patients undergoingorthopedic surgery at HSS. Dr. Linda Russell, Director of Perioperative Medicine, has demonstratedstrong leadership in designing a comprehensive structure for efficient preoperative medical evaluationof patients scheduled for in-patient surgery and has developed new guidelines for laboratory, imaging,and consultative assessment of those patients based on current evidence-based literature. Sheoversees 11 internists and hospitalists who, along with 8 rheumatologists with active perioperativemedical practices, collaborate with HSS surgeons to optimize medical status prior to surgery andmonitor patients post-operatively. HSS is gaining nationwide recognition for its systematic approach andacademic programs aimed at achieving optimal medical care for patients undergoing musculoskeletalprocedures, with Dr. Russell presenting a featured state-of-the-art lecture on perioperative medicine atthe Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology in 2012.Members of the Division of Rheumatology faculty are highly visible among the administrativeleadership of HSS through their dedicated service to the institution. In additional to the essential role ofDr. Russell in Perioperative Medicine, Dr. Susan Goodman co-chairs the hospital’s Multispecialty PeerReview Committee, and Dr. Steven Magid co-chairs the hospital’s Quality Coordinating Committee. In2012, Dr. Magid was named the Chief Medical Information Officer for HSS, an influential role as newinformation technology systems are rolled out inthe hospital and office practices.Members of the division were honored basedon their significant academic and researchachievements. Dr. Vivian Bykerk was promotedto Associate Professor of Medicine andDr. Robert Spiera was promoted to Professor ofClinical Medicine. Dr. Crow was named a Masterof the American College of Rheumatology,Dr. Salmon received the Virginia Kneeland Frantz’22 Distinguished Women in Medicine Award fromthe Columbia P & S Alumni Association, andDr. Russell was the 2012 Women on the Movehonoree from the Arthritis Foundation, NewYork Chapter. Dr. Michael Lockshin received theNational Leadership Award for Lupus MedicalAdvancement from the Lupus Foundation ofAmerica, and Dr. Elana Bernstein, a rheumatologyfellow, received the Distinguished Fellow Awardfrom the American College of Rheumatology.Dr. MacKenzie was honored as the recipient ofthe C. Ronald MacKenzie, MD, Chair in Ethics andMedicine, and Dr. Steven Goldring was named theRichard L. Menschel Research Chair.Judy Tung, MDDirector, Weill CornellInternal Medicine AssociatesActing Chief, GeneralInternal MedicineAssociate Chair ofEducational AffairsAssociate Director, InternalMedicine Residency ProgramAssociate Professor ofClinical MedicineWeill Cornell Medical CollegeAssociate AttendingPhysicianNewYork-PresbyterianHospitalWCIMA achieved Level 3 recognition from the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a PatientCenter Medical Home in 2012. Additionally, the New York State Department of Health awarded NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital $16M, over the next three years, to transform WCIMA and the other primary carepractices into Hospital Medical Homes. The grant is awarded to New York State hospitals to expand thecontinuity training experience for primary care residents, including enhanced training for the residentphysicians in the patient-centered medical home model for healthcare delivery.The goal is to improve the coordination, continuity and quality of care for individuals receiving primarycare services in outpatient primary care settings used by teaching hospitals to train resident physicians.WCIMA’s recent innovations, including our 6+2 rotation schedule, our team-based model for continuityof care, and our structured end-of-year sign out process. The latter was described in a September2012 publication (by Drs. Christina Harris and EricaPhillips-Caesar) in the Journal of General Internal Medicine;“Development of a Structured Year-End Sign-Out Programin an Outpatient Continuity Practice.” These developmentshave positioned WCIMA for optimal growth as a hospitalhome.WCIMA faculty continue to hold leadership positions withinthe organization. Dr. Judy Tung is currently Acting Chief of theDivision of General Internal Medicine. Dr. Nicole Sirotin, whojoined our faculty in 2011, now serves as the Medical Directorfor the Weill Cornell Center for Human Rights (WCCHR).WCCHR, founded in 2010, is the first medical student-runhuman rights clinic dedicated to providing forensicevaluations to survivors of persecution seeking asylum inthe United States. Through a partnership with Physicians forDr. Ginger Watson with a resident in trainingat WCIMA.Human Rights, WCCHR has conducted 98 medical and psychological evaluations for 87 asylum seekersfrom 35 countries with a 100% asylum grant rate for those who have gone to court. WCCHR is a nationalleader in training medical students to evaluate clients for signs of past physical and psychologicaltrauma with over 166 students trained to date. The work of WCCHR furthers WCIMA’s mission of instillinga strong dedication to service learning and care for the underserved and augments Dr. Sirotin’s efforts increating a new Vulnerable Populations curriculum emphasizing Global Health at Home. Also, Dr. Sirotinand peers published an article entitled “Structural Determinants of Food Insecurity and Low DietaryDiversity in Rwandan HIV+ Women” in the Boston Medical Journal.Dr. Sanjai Sinha joined WCIMA in November 2012, recruited from the Department of Veteran Affairs.Dr. Sinha served as Director of the Residency Outpatient Primary Care Clinic at the James J. PetersVA Medical Center in the Bronx until 2010 when he was appointed Chief of Primary Care for the VAHudson Valley Healthcare System. His achievements at the VA included securing NCQA certification forits 9 clinical sites as Patient Centered Medical Homes; leading the Patient Aligned Care Team (PACT)into a systems redesign that improved access to care;and implementing panel management and utilizingteam-based care. Dr. Sinha will serve as the Directorof Care Management for the Weill Cornell Physician’sOrganization, in addition to serving as a clinician educatorat WCIMA at the Irving Wright Center on Aging. WCIMAat the Wright Center is an extension of WCIMA locatedon 1484 First Avenue (between 77 th & 78 th ). Other WCIMAmembers at the Wright Center are Dr. Fran Ganz-Lord,selected as a member of Cornell’s Health LeadershipFellows Program; Dr. Lauren Acinapura, director of theWCIMA curriculum; and Dr. Matthew Press, Department ofPublic Health.Dr. Alessandra B. Pernis58 59Dr. Tung (far left) received the 2012 Cornell ACN Physician of the YearAward. The Department of Nursing gives this award to recognizephysicians who consistently practice with nursing and support staff ina collaborative, collegial, and respectful manner. At the celebration:(L to R) Dr. Judy Tung, Stephen Toppin (Practice Supervisor), PatriciaDeely (Nurse Clinician), Diego Arias (Practice Administrator)