From the President

Your fellow King County Medical Society members are providing a series of Covid-19 learning opportunities that we want to share.

The latest modeling data from the University of Washington Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) shows some flattening of the curve for predicted COVID-19 mortality for our state, likely reflecting decisive moves made by local healthcare organizations and the governor over the past few weeks. Large confidence intervals reflect the ongoing uncertainty associated with pandemic disease. We all continue to prepare and ready ourselves to maintain our highest ideals as healers once we are fully enveloped in crisis.

We thank all our physicians for their efforts in mitigation strategies, their overwhelming efforts to stay abreast of rapidly changing knowledge and to share vital information with colleagues. We recently held our first 100% virtual board of trustees meeting via Zoom conferencing and will evaluate this as a green and efficient way to conduct business once societal restrictions are removed.

At the Society, we are connecting with healthcare, community, and business partners to support local physicians. Thursday we had a big win for telemedicine payment parity and are kicking off efforts to supplement PPE supply chains. We are also collaborating with medical societies to share stories and advice from the frontlines of COVID-19 in King County. (See details below!)

Stay safe,

Rajneet Lamba, MD

Share the KCMS PPE Effort

King County Medical Society recognizes that one of the largest needs during the Covid-19 crisis is PPE. To help our medical professionals stay safe we have created a way to provide PPE throughout the region.

King County Medical Society Community Foundation has created Frontline PPE, a non-profit organization partnering with local garment manufacturers, and professional tailors, to quickly and effectively produce FDA compliant, much-needed, PPE for our frontline health care workers.

KCMS has secured seed funding ($50K from Expedia), tailors and machines to create PPE. Now we need to raise enough money for supplies, and to provide some compensation to the volunteer tailors from the opera, ballet and uniform manufacturers who are newly unemployed from their arts organizations or retailers.

While we would appreciate your generous donation, we are hopeful that you will share this information widely with your family, friends, and even companies that might sponsor the effort. Many members have shared that they have patients that are asking for a way to help. Here it is!

If your hospital or clinic needs PPE, let us know.
If you have unused Surgical Wrap please consider donating to KCMS, we can use it to make masks.

Fundraising details below, or contact Salem Adisu, sadisu@kcmsociety.org directly with your requests for PPE or your donation of Surgical Wrap.

Thank you for your consideration and for all of your dedicated work.

Sincerely,

Nancy L. Belcher, Ph.D., MPA., CEO, King County Medical Society

KCMS Community Foundation PPE Creation

KCMS Member Covid-19 Webinars & Media

Join Dr. Franco & Dr. Lamba

An excellent opportunity for practicing hospitalists and those considering cross credentialing to work in the inpatient setting! KCMS President and EvergreenHealth Hospitalist, Dr. Rajneet Lamba will discuss early clinical experiences with COVID-19.

KCMS Member, SHM Chapter President and Associate Regional Medical Director of the Franciscan Inpatient Team, Dr. Therese Franco hosts. Please click the link below for details.

When: Wednesday, April 1, 2020, at 5:00 PM PDT

Society of Hospital Medicine COVID-19 Frontlines Webinar

Join Dr. Poorman

Our new KCMS Physician Wellness Committee Chair, Dr. Elisabeth Poorman of the UW, will be discussing the need to address physician anxiety and concerns of exposure to the coronavirus while providing tips for physicians to support each other and themselves (link below).

When: Monday, March 30, 2020 12:00 PDT

Read Dr. Kuo in the New York Times

KCMS Member and EvergreenHealth Hospitalist Dr. James Kuo shares the emotional experience of a physician and his family living and working through the first COVID-19 outbreak in the nation.

A graduate of Weill Cornell Medicine, his heart is with NYC as well.

NYT Modern Love Essay - On the Front Lines of a Pandemic

Listen to Moving to the Frontlines

KCMS board member Dr. Ellen Pasloff recommends this PEDS RAP podcast for those considering frontline work. Topics include pearls and pitfalls regarding PPE, management of stable suspected COVID-19 patients, respiratory interventions, diagnostic and radiology patterns, and provider self-care tips.

Moving to the Frontlines Primary Care Podcast

Applaud Telemedicine Parity

Telemedicine payment parity for WA state was scheduled to occur in 2021 under SB 5385, but with the dramatic societal changes related to COVID-19, the time was now for this parity to be instituted.

KCMS recently partnered with member Dr. Drew Oliveira, Senior Executive Medical Director of Regence Insurance, and his team at Regence became the first private insurer to provide payment parity before the legislative mandate.

This week, Governor Inslee followed Regence Insurance's lead in an effort to support physicians and save lives. Inslee signed the proclamation for telemedicine parity.

Thank you, Governor Inslee!

Gov. Inslee Signs Proclamation for Telemedicine Payment Parity

KING COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY EBLAST 03.28.2020

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