Einstein Senate

Council Meeting: Wednesday, April 22, 2020

ALBERT EINSTEIN COLLEGE OF MEDICINE 
MINUTES OF SENATE COUNCIL MEETING 

WED APR 22, 2020 

FINAL

PRESENT: Drs. Gordon Tomaselli, Ed Burns

VIA ZOOM: Drs., Julia Arnsten, Jonathan Lai, Jonathan Alpert, Myles Akabas, Anita Autry-Dixon, Anne Bresnick, Robbie Burk, Johanna Daily, Matthew Gamble, Chandan Guha, Tanya Johns, Susan Klugman, Allison Ludwig, Victor Schuster, Pamela Stanley; Mr. Ryan Graff, Ms. Shelly Motzkin

EXCUSED: Dr. Elizabeth Kitsis.

ABSENT: Drs. Jill Crandall, Courtney Niland, Nerys Benfield

  1. Meeting minutes from the Apr 1, 2020 Senate Council meeting were approved.
  2. Clinical aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed. COVID-19 inpatient levels went from approximately 1,000 to 2,000 from mid-March to end of April. Modifications at Moses, Wakefield, and CHAM to allow larger capacity of adult patient care. Online/virtual consultations between divisions. Specific effects on specialty areas were provided by Drs. Johns (dialysis), Alpert (psychiatry), Klugman (OBGYN). Strategies to maintain this level of patient care were discussed, including early graduation of medical students (below).
  3. Research efforts on COVID-19 were discussed. Dr. Daily provided an update on clinical trials at Montefiore, including Remdesivir and convalescent plasma. Dr. Lai provided an update on the antibody laboratory developed test (LDT).
  4. Dr. Ludwig provided an update on medical and clinical education. ~100 medical students opted to graduate early, 30 of whom joined Montefiore as medical workers. Other students will have official graduation in May; the virtual Ceremony will be May 26. The potential effects on residency application timeline were discussed.
  5. Planning and strategies for the eventual “reopening” of regular operations at Einstein were discussed. Testing will be available to all employees. There may be potential surveillance requirements such as temperature monitoring. Physical distancing and other measures (e.g., mask wearing) may continue.
  6. Dr. Tomaselli thanked everyone in the community for their hard work. Efforts to support this work through fundraising are underway.  

The meeting adjourned at 4:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted, 
Jonathan Lai, Ph.D. 
Vice Speaker, Einstein Senate