ACPM Conference Recap
The big news this Spring involves residents and faculty presenting at the annual meeting of the American College of Preventive Medicine meeting, in Washington DC, in April, where they reconnected with alumni Lia Kostiuk (UW PMR ‘19), Odi Ezenwanne (UW PMR ‘19), Maggie Nolan (UW PMR ‘20), and Sabrina Murphy (UW PMR ‘21).
Our two senior residents presented the following posters at the conference. This was funded in part by the “Henry Anderson Travel Scholarship,” made possible by a generous gift from Dr. Henry Anderson.
- Stu Berry (PGY3): “Indicators of adaptive capacity to climate change in Wisconsin’s rural communities”
- Isha Jain (PGY3): “Evaluating a new referral pathway for tobacco treatment clinic at the Madison VA”
And two of our faculty gave oral presentations:
- Elizabeth Salisbury-Afshar presented “Harm Reduction: What’s the Evidence?” where she explained the origins of the harm reduction movement, and the emerging evidence base for some emerging harm reduction practices including drug checking programs and overdose prevention sites. A copy of her slides is available here.
- Patrick Remington presented “PH&GPM: Is It Time for a Name Change?” where it was proposed that an obstacle in promoting this specialty is that the name, “Public Health and General Preventive Medicine,” does not adequately reflect how the specialty has evolved with modern medical practice nor its unique training and characteristics. A copy of his slides is available here.
Resident and Fellow Update
- Dr. Ayanna Vasquez (PGY2) was interviewed on the WCUB’s Breakfast Club based in the Two Rivers, WI (Manitowoc County) in her role as a Vaccine Ambassador, where she discussed vaccine hesitancy, and the recent surge in measles cases. Listen here
- Dr. Ayanna Vasquez (PGY2) and Dr. Josh Hoffner (UW PMR Fellow) attended the Wisconsin Medical Society’s 2024 Annual Event, Health & Harmony, at the Monona Terrace in Madison (below right)
- Dr. Josh Hoffner presented his poster, entitled “Trends in teenage pregnancy rates in Wisconsin, 2011-2022,” at the annual meeting of the Wisconsin Public Health Association in Wisconsin Dells. (below left)
Alumni Update
Dr. Bobby Redwood (UW PMR ’16) is the chair and founder of the Montana Naloxone Project, a 501(c).
The Montana Naloxone Project was founded in 2024 in partnership with the Montana chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians. The chapter exists so that they can distribute life-saving naloxone directly to those Montanans who are in a position to administer naloxone to someone who is suffering from an opioid overdose. They are working to forge additional partnerships and recruit hospitals and emergency departments throughout the state. They aim to recruit ten participating hospital facilities by 2025 (or roughly 200,000 ED visits). They are particularly interested in serving rural or critical access facilities in Montana, emphasizing their focus on equitable access to naloxone for even the most remote communities.