Category: General Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology
Study Shows Unmet Social Needs and Worse Mental Health After Expiration of COVID-19 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation.
Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic saw historic increases in unemployment, which remained elevated throughout 2020. Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) provided unemployment insurance beneficiaries an extra $600 a week, a benefit that initially expired in July 2020. A new study, led by Seth A. Berkowitz, MD, MPH, published today in He … Read more
Register For the 45th Internal Medicine Conference, March 10-12
UPDATE: This year, as a result of lower programming costs associated with the virtual format, organizers invite UNC faculty and UNC PN clinicians to attend at a reduced rate of $200 for the entire conference, or half of the daily or two-day rate. (Note, reduced rates may not be possible next year with a return to in-person attendance, due to the much higher costs of providing an … Read more
Department of Medicine Grants & Funding: January 1 – January 31, 2021
Division of General Medicine Seth Berkowitz, MD, received a new, five-year R01 grant to broaden clinical studies of medically-tailored meal delivery. Division of Hematology Erica Sparkenbaugh, MD, was awarded a five-year, $2 million R01 grant from NIH-NHLBI to evaluate whether activation of beneficial PAR1 signaling can attenuate the chronic pro-coagulant state of sickle cell dis … Read more
NC Leads Nearby States With 10 Percent of COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Going to Black People
Crystal Cené, MD, MPH A CBS-17 reports black people in North Carolina have received the COVID-19 vaccine at a rate twice as high as several other nearby states that disclose their demographic information. The state Department of Health and Human Services says 10 percent of the more than 238,000 doses of vaccine administered over the past month have been given to Black people. The … Read more
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‘A Little Skeptical:’ Black People Make Up Shrinking Share of COVID-19 Cases in NC – But Is That Stat Deceptive?
Crystal Cené, MD, MPH A news report on a CBS17.com data analysis found that black people in North Carolina have accounted for a shrinking share of the total number of VOID-19 cases over the past few months. But while on the surface that seems like a positive development for a community hit disproportionately hard by the pandemic, experts say there are still plenty of reasons for … Read more
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Medically Tailored Meals Research Advances with Second NIH Grant
Seth A. Berkowitz, MD, is the principal investigator of a $3.25 million award grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) designed to broaden clinical studies of medically tailored meal delivery, and understand how best to address food insecurity in the context of diabetes management for people with HIV. Berkowitz leads the “food is medicine” research partnership that inc … Read more
Vital Signs: The Passing of Dr. Jim Bryan, Memorial Set
The UNC School of Medicine community and all who knew and appreciated Dr. Jim Bryan are welcome to attend a virtual memorial service in his honor, January 23 at 11 am. Details can be found in this post in the UNC Health and UNC School of Medicine Newsroom. Jim Bryan, MD, with Danielle File, MD, at the 2018 Internal Medicine Residency Awards. (Friday, January 8, 2021) – It is with … Read more
Miller Will Retire in January
Tom Miller, MD Tom Miller, MD, professor of medicine in the division of general medicine and clinical epidemiology, will retire after 29 years as a UNC faculty member. Miller will best be remembered for his devotion to teaching medical students and residents, which he says brought fulfillment and made him a better doctor. He will also be remembered for his dedication to caring fo … Read more
Carey Will Retire in 2021
Timothy Carey, MD, MPH (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill) Timothy Carey, MD, MPH, the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Social Medicine, will retire in January after 35 years as a UNC faculty member. As a health services leader and researcher, active in both inpatient and outpatient care, Carey says serving UNC and the state’s residents has been his life … Read more
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Group In East Informing Minority Groups About COVID-19 and Its Vaccine
Crystal Cené, MD, MPH WNCT (Greenville) reports vaccinations are starting across North Carolina, with CarolinaEast Health System in New Bern giving medical workers the first shots in the Greenville region. But the report also recognizes that there are many people who don’t feel comfortable getting the vaccine and introduces a group in the east using virtual connections to answer … Read more
Berkowitz Publishes Study on Unemployment Insurance in JAMA, Featured in NPR Report: “Losing Jobless Benefits Is Not Only Stressful, It Might Be Harmful to Health”
Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH Seth Berkowitz, MD, MPH, assistant professor in the division of general medicine and epidemiology, co-published a research study letter in JAMA Internal Medicine, focused on unemployment insurance, health-related social needs, health care access and mental health during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Results showed unemployment insurance benefits may help mitigate … Read more
Providers at Colon Cancer Hotspot Seek to Shrink the Screening Gap With At-Home Tests
Dan Reuland, MD, MPH An NC Health News report says a health center in Hertford County that is screening patients who can’t afford routine colonoscopies with mail-in kits could make a big difference in Hertford County, which is part of a swath of North Carolina and Virginia Counties with some of the highest rates of colorectal cancer deaths in the country. Dan Reuland, MD, MPH, pr … Read more