The TCU and UNTHSC School of Medicine Physician Development Coaches (PDC) are offering TCMS physicians free coaching services. Many of you are on the front lines of the DFW warzone – facing resource challenges, complex decision-making, anxiety, fatigue, exhaustion and potential COVID-19 infection. Coaching can be a valuable, strengthening resource during many life phases, but especially in times of crisis, uncertainty, and complex decision-making. The PDCs are available during this pandemic and offer pro bono coaching services. Coaches who are available for you include: Debra Atkisson, Tom Deas, Candice Gamble, Raj Gandhi, Ken Hopper, Samir Nangia, Thuthuy Nguyen and Tony Zepeda. For more information or to schedule a coaching tele-appointment email your request to MDCOVIDCoaches@tcu.edu.
The Collin-Fannin, Dallas, Denton, Grayson, and Tarrant Medical Societies have partnered to form the North Texas Medical Society Coalition (NTMSC), one of the largest physician-led COVID-19 alliances in the southern United States. With over 11,500 members, the NTMSC will collectively advise and inform North Texas communities with scientifically based information.
Knowledge of COVID-19 and the optimal treatment approach is constantly evolving. The goal of this coalition is to provide a united voice for physicians in the North Texas region at this critical time. Doctors throughout North Texas are working on getting scientifically-based recommendations to the community on safe practices and managing healthcare. By banding together, NTMSC hopes to augment their reach to patients and to serve as a voice of clarity at a time when medical information is coming at an overwhelming pace, often leading to confusion.
North Texas infection rates have increased to more than 9,000 COVID-19 cases, while to date, Texas has 33,369 confirmed cases statewide.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult for the public to wade through a large amount of information coming rapidly from different sources and to determine what is accurate, what is important, and what is applicable to North Texas and individual families and businesses. Physicians are best positioned to use our knowledge and experience to provide recommendations that the public can trust,” states Dallas County Medical Society President-elect, Beth Kassanoff, MD.
As their first recommendation, NTMSC proposes a continuation of physical distancing practices. Texas leaders moved quickly to implement social distancing early on in the pandemic. Because of this, Texas avoided the catastrophic surge of COVID-19 as experienced in other states. NTMSC believes it is imperative that civic and business leaders, and the community as a whole, continue to practice physical distancing to avoid a resurgence of COVID-19. Failing to do so may result in COVID-19 infections at rates that require hospitalization, intensive care, and medical equipment that exceed our resources.
North Texas physicians understand that citizens live, work, and play throughout a large region and are working together with area healthcare partners, including hospitals, public health departments, and business leaders, advising on medical recommendations related to reopening business and social activities. Our physicians are following medical science, tracking public health data, and adhering to CDC guidelines for population testing, contact tracing, and treatment recommendations for COVID-19 and non-COVID patients.
About North Texas Medical Society Coalition:
The NTMSC represents more than 11,500 physicians in the communities of Collin-Fannin, Dallas, Tarrant, Denton, and Grayson counties. Founded in 2020, The NTMSC works with community healthcare partners including public health departments, hospitals, and business leaders, to advise on medical recommendations to serve the health care needs of the residents of North Texas.
Some North Texas physicians are about to receive desperately needed personal protective equipment (PPE) thanks to a partnership between the Texas Medical Association, the Tarrant County Medical Society, and the North Texas Regional Advisory Council (RAC).
The county medical society received a shipment of PPE from the RAC on Saturday that will be distributed to area physicians based on their practices’ needs, CEO Brian Swift said.
“This has been a team effort – everyone from the TMA, the RACs, and the doctors’ offices – to get these supplies where they need to go,” Mr. Swift said. “In North Texas, it’s been tough sledding for weeks, but it’s finally getting worked out.”
The collaboration, which began last week, is part of an effort to distribute PPE to the state’s community physicians, who have grown increasingly desperate for the protective equipment they need to care safely for patients.
Under the program, physicians indicate their PPE needs through an online portal created by TMA, which will forward that data regularly through eight designated Hospital Preparedness Programs (HPPs) and RACs. The RACS and HPPs will make the supplies available for county medical societies and other organizations to distribute.
That’s what happened Saturday, when Mr. Swift received word that the North Texas RAC in Arlington had PPE available for physicians in Tarrant County, as well as nearby Parker and Johnson counties.
“I rented a U-Haul van, drove to Arlington and pulled up to the RAC,” Mr. Swift said. “There were two National Guard guys there who helped me load the PPE. I drove it back to our headquarters and returned the truck. It took about three hours total.”
The supplies include K95 masks, surgical masks, and face shields, which will be added to several thousand N95 and surgical masks that MedStar Ambulance service donated to the society a few weeks ago, Mr. Swift said.
Society officials have been contacting area physicians with instructions on when and how to pick up the PPE, he said.
“They’re just grateful, the staffs, the nurses, they’re excited to have it,” he said. “It’s great because we get to meet a bunch of new people.”
The portal is not a PPE order form. The amount and type of PPE in state warehouses varies each week. Submitting a form does not guarantee practices will receive supplies. Physicians whose data indicates a need for PPE will be placed on a distribution list to receive supplies as they become available.
To ensure each practice submits only one set of data to the PPE Portal, not all Texas physicians have received personalized login credentials. If you did not receive the credentials via email, check with your practice manager or the lead physician in your practice. Practices with multiple locations are considered a single practice. If it appears that no physician at your practice received the credentials, please contact the TMA Knowledge Center at (800) 880-7955 or by email.
Remember, you can find the latest news, resources, and government guidance on the coronavirus outbreak by visiting TMA’s COVID-19 Resource Center regularly.
The Texas Medical Board (TMB) on Tuesday adopted emergency rules to follow Gov. Greg Abbott’s revised executive order that lifts restrictions on certain non-urgent, elective surgeries and procedures that had been in place since late March.
To help you understand the changes, and to further clarify a TMB frequently asked questions (FAQ) document on the changes, the Texas Medical Association Office of the General Counsel hasupdated its white paperon the new orders.
The TMA white paper includes background on Governor Abbott’s restrictions, provides details on each new executive order, and looks at TMB’s recommendations for physicians trying to decide whether to perform a surgery or procedure.
In addition, the TMA COVID-19 Task Force has created a document that provides links to COVID-19 resources, including state and federal guidance as well as specialty societies that have published resource pages.
You can find both documents on TMA’s COVID-19 resource page, which is regularly updated with new information, tools, and resources.
Statement by Texas Medical Association (TMA) President David C. Fleeger, MD, about Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s announcement on reopening Texas.
“Texas physicians are pleased that Governor Abbott is taking a gradual, science-based approach to reopen the Texas economy safely. We applaud the governor for placing four outstanding physicians on his recovery strike force and for stating in such a straight-forward manner, ‘We must be guided by the data and the doctors. We must put health and safety first.’
“We obviously look forward to the safe reopening of those portions of our health care system that have been shuttered as we took the steps necessary to slow the spread of this virus. The health of patients not affected by COVID-19 is an overwhelming concern. Telemedicine has been an important tool, but it does not substitute for hands-on examinations of growing children or diagnosing complex health problems. Many of our patients have put off desperately needed surgeries or procedures that can no longer be delayed.
“We cannot throw the switch overnight, however, or we risk a rapid return of a terribly contagious disease that has not yet reached its peak and is still killing dozens of Texans every day. Moving forward on safely reopening our state will require:
Ongoing and consistent compliance with the social distancing practices that have worked so well, so far, at containing the virus in Texas;
Reliable, affordable and widely available testing for our patients, physicians and other health care personnel, and those who have come in contact with COVID-19-positive patients, so we can identify and contain new cases as quickly as possible;
Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) for non-hospital based/community physicians, nearly two-thirds of whom say they have less than one week’s supply of the most critical supplies, according to a TMA survey conducted late last week;
A huge immediate expansion in our state and local public health infrastructure and workforce so we can track down, isolate, and monitor Texans newly infected with this virus – and anyone who may have contracted it from them; and
A way to cover the health care costs of the millions of Texans who don’t have or recently lost health insurance.
“We appreciate that Governor Abbott has solicited the experts and listened to their advice. We must follow the science. We need to have adequate PPE, and we’re not there yet. We need to have adequate testing, and that’s not available yet in physician offices or in the wider community. And we need to have the ability to track down positive cases based on those tests, something our overextended public health system won’t be able to do in the immediate future.
“Patience has been a critical factor behind our successes so far. We must remain patient, calm, and vigilant. Until we have a vaccine, social distancing remains the best way to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As the governor said, we must make sure we don’t reopen only to have to shut down again.”
Originally published in the Fort Worth Business Press. Reprinted with permission.
Susan R. Bailey, MD, an allergist/immunologist, has a long history of service in helping guide organized medicine at the local, state and national level. She has served as board chair and president of the Tarrant County Medical Society, and as vice speaker, speaker and president of the Texas Medical Association.
Bailey was elected president-elect of the American Medical Association in June 2019, and will officially take office in June 2020 as the third consecutive woman to hold the position.
Previously, she served as speaker of the AMA House of Delegates for four years and as vice speaker for four years. She has been active in the AMA since medical school when she served as chair of the AMA Medical Student Section.
Bailey has been in practice in Fort Worth for more than 30 years.
She completed her residency in general pediatrics and a fellowship in allergy/immunology at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, and is board certified in allergy and immunology, and pediatrics and has been awarded the title of Distinguished Fellow of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.
Bailey received her medical degree with honors from the Texas A&M University College of Medicine as a member of its charter class, and was later appointed to the Texas A&M System Board of Regents by then Gov. George W. Bush, the first female former student to become a regent.
She has been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M University and of Texas A&M University College of Medicine.
“With her leadership and tenacity, she has fought for patients and physicians at all levels to get the best care possible,” said nominator Kathryn Narumiya of the Tarrant County Medical Society. “In addition to running a practice, Dr. Bailey is passionate about creating policies that benefit our citizens and make our communities healthier. Bailey has received nationwide recognition for her efforts and is truly a Great Woman of Texas.”
Bailey is married to W. Douglas Bailey, has two sons and one grandson, and is an elder and longtime choir member of University Christian Church.
Tarrant County Physician Online 