Community Engagement

A new study from researchers at the Vermont Center on Behavior and Health suggests that, for some, knowledge of COVID-19 is associated with a reduction in cigarette and e-cigarette use, as well as an increase in motivation to quit.

In this era of COVID-19, celebrating the world’s newest physicians is more important than ever. On Sunday, May 17, members of the Class of 2020 at the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont will mark this major milestone by participating in a live online commencement ceremony.

Class of 2002 UVM alumnus Ben Katz is a detective in the Vermont State Police’s major crimes unit whose work to investigate homicides, process crime scenes and interview witnesses has changed in the world of COVID-19. His wife, Megan Malgeri, a Class of 2012 alumna of the Larner College of Medicine and family medicine specialist, now sees most of her patients via telehealth visits. They are working to safely balance their roles as professionals and parents of two young children during the pandemic.

Over the past few weeks, Larner College of Medicine students have sought out and initiated impactful volunteer projects to help address a growing variety of needs presented by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Seeing the need for a centralized model to coordinate these various efforts, Christa Zehle, M.D., senior associate dean for medical education, and Nathalie Feldman, M.D., director of the learning environment, convened the LCOMCares Service Corps – COVID-19 Task Force.

When commercial flight cancellations jeopardized the transport of COVID-19 specimens - and same-day test results for patients - from Burlington to Mayo Clinic Laboratories, a group of fast-acting health care administrators and business leaders sprang into action to find a solution.

The Wellness Committee, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, and Gold Humanism Honor Society at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine hosted the second annual “StorySlamRX – Voices in Medicine” event on January 23 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. in the Hoehl Gallery in the Health Science Research Facility.

Once a week, second-year medical students Noorin Damji and Kristina Valentine drive north to rural communities in Franklin County, Vt., in a well-stocked mobile outreach van to deliver free packs of sterile hypodermic syringes, fentanyl testing strips, and Narcan to people who inject drugs. This effort is known in public health as harm reduction.

Steve Firestone, M.D.’69, has been an annual donor to the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine since the 1970s, and in the early 2000s, donated artwork to help enhance the students’ learning environment. When plans began to take shape for a new biomedical research facility at the College, Firestone was inspired to step forward with his first major gift to the University. And, as over two hundred attendees learned in a ceremony held at the Larner College of Medicine earlier this month, that gift is an important one.

The Larner College of Medicine Global Health Program hosted three events during the week of September 23 that focused on the topic of migrant healthcare. Presenters included Jonathan Melk, M.D., CEO and chief medical officer for the Chiricauhua Community Health Centers in Douglas, Ariz., Darlene Melk, M.D., medical director of the Southern Arizona Children's Health Project and director of community pediatrics, and Naomi Wolcott-Maccausland, migrant health coordinator of Bridges to Health in UVM Extension.

The University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center kicked off the fall 2019 series of Community Medical School with a presentation on September 10 by Assistant Professor of Psychiatry Pamela Swift, Ph.D., on "Solving the Mystery of Sleep: Patterns, Habits, & Tools."