New and Emerging Issues in Occupational Health

All times listed in Pacific Time (US & Canada).
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Friday, June 5, 2020

• 9:00am - 10:00am

  The novel coronavirus of 2019: epidemiology, prevention and the way forward

  George W. Rutherford, MD

  Objectives:
  1. To understand the epidemiology of COVID-19
  2. To discuss the basic pathophysiology of SARS CoV-2 infection and risk factors for disease progression and mortality
  3. To define elements of a comprehensive public health approach to a respiratory infection for which no vaccine or drug is available
  4. To evaluate the effectiveness of shelter-in-place and the return-to-work interventions in California

  George W. Rutherford, M.D., is the Salvatore Pablo Lucia Professor of Epidemiology, Preventive Medicine, Pediatrics and History and Head of the Division of Infectious Disease and Global Epidemiology in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco. Educated at Stanford University and Duke University School of Medicine, he is board certified in pediatrics and general preventive medicine and public health. His expertise is in the epidemiology and control of communicable diseases of public health significance with a focus on HIV, Ebola virus and Zika virus infection in low- and middle-income countries. Dr. Rutherford serves as an advisor to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. He has been involved in the public health response to SARS-CoV-2 since the earliest days of the pandemic.

• 10:00am - 11:00am

  Perioperative Nursing & Surgical Plume: Presence, Power & Policy

  Merideth Lewis MSN, RN, CNOR

  Objectives:
  1. Colleagues will be informed about the presence, composition and hazards of surgical plume in the operating room.

  2. Colleagues will be inspired to take action around awareness and advocacy to eradicate surgical plume in the operating room.

  Merideth Lewis, MSN, RN, CNOR, a recent graduate of the Health Policy Master’s program in the School of Nursing at UCSF, has served as an intern in the Department of Prevention of Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) in the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland from July-September of 2018. During her 8-week experience, she expanded her role in a collaborative way with not only the NCD department, but also with the WHO Nursing & Midwifery team (https://www.who.int/hrh/nursing_midwifery/en/) and the Emergency & Essential Surgical Care (EESC) Program – (https://www.who.int/surgery/en/). She is a Perioperative Clinical Nurse III at Davies Hospital in San Francisco and was previously at the Pacific Campus since 2003. Her early career was working in Public Health with the City and County of San Francisco. She will begin the PhD program at UCSF in Health Policy this Fall. Passion for a healthy ecology of personal and professional life guides and informs her priorities and practice as a nurse.

• 11:00am - 11:15am

  Physical Functional in Veterans Prescribed Opioids for Chronic Pain

  Ariel Baria, RN, PhD(c), ANP

  Objectives:
  1. Identify the important biopsychosocial factors that contribute to chronic pain in veterans
  2. Describe the effectiveness of long-term opioid therapy for improving physical function in veterans with chronic pain

  Mr. Baria completed his BSN (1996) at San Francisco State University and MSN (Nurse Practitioner) at the University of California Los Angeles in 2000. For over 20 years, he has worked as a nurse practitioner/program coordinator in the Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Service (PM&RS)/Pain Program at the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System.

  Mr. Baria is pursuing his PhD degree in nursing at the University of California San Francisco. His most recent publication in the Journal of Pain Medicine is titled “Adaption of the Biopsychosocial Model of Chronic Non-Cancer Pain in Veterans. His research dissertation is focused on this vulnerable population, their long-term use of opioid therapy, and the key factors/variables that may improve treatment outcomes. His current projects include a retrospective cohort study that investigate this very timely and important topic.

  Mr. Baria’s accomplishments include both local and global impact. He holds an Assistant Clinical Professorship at the University of California Los Angeles School of Nursing. He has remain committed to global health outreach and has attended six medical relief missions serving vulnerable population in both the rural and urban regions of the Philippines. He is a recipient of Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship, UCSF Nursing Alumni Association Scholarship, Leroy and Eva Hallburg and Endowed Scholarship, UCSF Graduate Fellowship, Earle C. Anthony Scholarship, Jonas VA Scholarship, and Gortner Endowment Scholarship, Century Club Dissertation Scholarship. He is funded by Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Society.

• 11:15am - 11:30am

  Determining Work-relatedness for Positive COVID-19 Workers

  Ericka Ledesma, RN, MSc

  Objectives:
  1. Understand current laws and recommendations for determining work-relatedness for positive COVID-19 workers.
  2. A construct for determining likelihood of work-related exposure versus community exposure.
  3. Ability to obtain a timeline of exposures to help determine work-relatedness for positive COVID-19 workers.

  Ericka Ledesma, RN, MSc is a 2nd year Master's Student at UCSF studying Adult/Gerontology Primary Care and Occupational/Environmental Health Nursing. She graduates in June with interests in working with under-served communities and in rural health.

• 11:30am - 11:45am

  Community Project: Medical Health Surveillance in Laboratory Animal Handlers

  Mark Carlos, RN, MSc

  Objectives:
  1. To provide a brief overview of laboratory animal allergies and medical health surveillance.
  2.Discuss the current community project I'm involved in with UCSF OEM Clinic.

  Mark Anthony Carlos RN, MSc is a 2nd year nurse practitioner student at UCSF in the adult-gerontology primary care program and also an occupational and environmental health NIOSH T42 Trainee. He graduated with his BSN from San Diego State University in 2018 and was inducted into the The Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. He has been working as a graduate student researcher for Dr. Heather Leutwyler in her study of a smoking cessation program tailored for adults with serious mental illness. He graduates in June.