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.
The LCOMCares Service Corps - COVID-19 Task Force meets via Zoom for a planning meeting
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.
A group comprising medical students, graduate students, faculty, and staff, the task force meets three times weekly to discuss ongoing efforts, vet new ones, and discuss the promotion of these efforts both externally and within the Larner community.
On April 3, Nina Shedd, task force member and web manager for the College, launched the Medical Student COVID-19 Information Portal. The page will serve as a clearinghouse for COVID-19 updates from the College, the University, the UVM Health Network, and Nuvance Health; frequently asked questions; student curriculum resources; and volunteer opportunities.
To complement the site, Alison Howe, M.S., director of evaluation and research for the Teaching Academy and medical student Hillary Danis ’21, developed and implemented a survey of all current medical students to assess interest, skill set, and prior professional healthcare experience, in an ongoing effort to support the UVM Medical Center and the College’s clinical affiliates should a patient care surge arise.
Stay tuned for a miniseries, highlighting the many ways in which students, faculty, and staff at the College are joining the COVID-19 fight.
To learn more about the LCOMCares Service Corps and the COVID-19 Task Force visit http://www.med.uvm.edu/com/mscovidinfo/covidcomcarestaskforce.
LCOMCares Service Corps - COVID019 Task Force
Nathalie Feldman, M.D.,
Task Force Chair & Director of the Learning Environment
Summer Griffin,
Student Services Administrative Assistant
Kiersten Hallquist,
Student Services Coordinator
Karen Vincent,
Human Resources, UVM Medical Center
Michelle Bookless,
Digital Content Manager
Nina Shedd,
Web Manager
Raj Chawla,
Technology Services
JJ Bivona,
Pre-Doctoral Fellow & Larner College of Medicine Graduate Student Council member
Hillary Danis,
Medical Student, Class of 2021
Naira Goukasian,
Medical Student, Class of 2021
Madeline Fritz,
Medical Student, Class of 2022
Matt Hill,
Medical Student, Class of 2022
Lud Habtu,
Medical Student, Class of 2023
Micaila Baroffio,
Medical Student, Class of 2023
Michael Lawler,
Medical Student, Class of 2023
Vinh Le,
Medical Student, Class of 2023