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David Elvin, MD
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Being admitted to the hospital can be a frightening experience for patients and their families. Uncertainty seems to lurk around every corner, especially when the hospital has no records of their ongoing care. Collectively we know that patients get the best care at institutions that have strong communication and teams that partner closely.
This month's lead article focuses on the doctors behind the admissions at CHA. Our chief hospitalist Don Moran leads a talented group of hospitalists who, along with our nurses and other key team members, make CHA the best option for most local patients. Unlike other hospitals, our inpatient team has the ability to know our patients, understand their needs and coordinate their care with CHA and BIDMC primary care teams and specialists. I hope this article will familiarize you with our hospitalists and have trust in their skills as I do.
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CHA Specialty Spotlight:
Talking to Patients about Inpatient Care
 When patients have health issues that may lead to a hospital stay, what do we tell them about CHA? We recently spoke to Don Moran, MD, Chief of our Hospitalist Service, and asked about the most important things we can say to patients and family members about our inpatient service. Here is his feedback:
"First and foremost, I would encourage colleagues to reassure patients that CHA is a great choice for inpatient medical-surgical care. We have a highly capable team that cares for CHA patients in a unique way.
Three things that come to mind are:
- Good communication. As hospitalists, we see ourselves as members of the extended care team and we place a premium on communication - to patients and families, to other inpatient clinicians, in collaboration with our excellent nursing staff and to our primary care teams.
- Coordinated care. When CHA patients are admitted at Cambridge or Whidden, our team can access their medical information in real time using our electronic health record. In turn, our PCPs can see test results and images and receive discharge summaries in their in-baskets. This continuity leads to more effective care, better transitions and more effective outcomes.
- A strong team. We are fortunate to have an exceptional hospitalist team that is committed to our patients and our mission. We have good longevity, with five of us at CHA for 15+ years and six (soon to be eight) having completed residency at CHA. This gives us an unmatched understanding of our system and patient population.
Our team also has a diverse skill set that all our hospitalists draw upon to benefit patients. For example, Marilena Caldarusa is a fellowship trained Nephrologist, Eirini Iliaki is fellowship trained in ID and Nicole Holguin is fellowship trained in Vascular Disease. Paul Allen is CHA's Chief Quality Officer. Maren Batalden is Medical Director of Medical Management for CHA's Accountable Care and Population Health initiatives. Priyank Jain is the Associate Director of our IM residency. John Limouze is currently completing a Masters in Medical Ethics. The list goes on.
If you have questions about our capabilities or would like to discuss a specific case, please reach out to me. We are here to be your partners in caring for patients with acute health needs.
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Don't let your patients with headaches give you one -
CHA Neurology can help
 Rachel Nardin, MDChief, CHA Division of Neurology
Chronic daily headache refers to a group of headache disorders that occur on 15 or more days per month for at least 3 months. For patients, chronic daily headache impairs quality of life and can result in decreased productivity at work and home.
These disorders can be either primary or secondary. Primary long-duration chronic daily headache includes 4 disorders: chronic migraine, chronic tension-type headache, new daily persistent headache and hemicrania continua. The prevalence of chronic daily headache is around 3.6%, while chronic migraine has a prevalence of around 1%.
All CHA neurologists are well-trained in the evaluation and management of headache disorders. The evaluation of the patient with chronic daily headache begins with a careful history, examination and any necessary ancillary tests to arrive at a correct diagnosis. We assess for any contributing co-morbidities and also for lifestyle factors that may be worsening headaches. This lets us recommend appropriate lifestyle changes. Management usually involves daily preventive medication as well as abortive therapies for moderate to severe headaches. For appropriate patients who have failed usual medical therapies, injection therapies (such as Botox injections and occipital nerve blocks) are available.
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 ENT at Somerville - Reminder, Dr. Eric Berg has added ENT clinics at Somerville Hospital. He sees patients Thursday morning and Friday afternoon. Please call 617-591-4005 and ask for Sacia to make an appointment.
 Pedi Dermatology Clinic now available! Dr. Sunaina Likhari, a board-certified CHA dermatologist, is now holding a dermatology clinic at Cambridge Pediatrics. She sees patients under 18 on Thursday afternoons (one session/week). There are urgent slots set aside for same-week booking, since rashes need prompt diagnosis at times.
Please place a referral order in Epic to Pedi Derm Internal, and specify any urgency in the referral. Staff and patients can also call the front desk at Cambridge Pediatrics at 617-665-1264 for appointments.
Other pediatric specialties currently available at Cambridge Pediatrics include: Endocrinology, Pulmonary, Surgery, and Neurology.
Pediatric Rehab - now accepting pediatric PT referrals at Assembly Square. Just call 617-591-4600.
Laboratory Update - on January 19th the Whidden and Cambridge Laboratories upgraded their Transfusion Service analyzers. The new ECHO analyzers should provide faster throughput for Transfusion Service specimens.
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Newsletter Archives
Click here for the full list of CHA Specialty Update Newsletters.
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