Sara and Samuel J. Lessans Healthcare Symposium: Session 3 – Our Journey Through The Pandemic

The third session of the Sara and Samuel J. Lessans Healthcare Symposium: COVID-19 Pandemic: COVID-19 Pandemic: Mental Health Effects on Older Adults and their Health Care Providers focuses on Our Journey Through the Pandemic.

Presentation Summary:
In this presentation, we will learn how COVID-19 uniquely affected patient care in an acute care setting, at Suburban Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine and resident care in skilled nursing and assisted living facilities at Charles E. Smith Life Communities. The session will focus on the mental health of older adults as we worked to keep them physically healthy and safe and will discuss the various governmental regulations that help inform decisions at both facilities. Finally, we will address where we are today and how we are moving forward.

Speakers:

Dr. Elisa Gil-Pires, MD
Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs, Chief Medical Officer,
Medical Director, Charles E. Smith Life Communities

S. Sonia Qasba, MD, MPH, Hospital Epidemiologist,
Medical Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship,
Hospitalist Physician, JHCP, Suburban Hospitalist Group, Pediatric ER Physician,
Bethesda Emergency Associates, Suburban Hospital

Isha Misra, MD, Hospitalist,
Johns Hopkins Community Physicians at Suburban Hospital

HFAM is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in Maryland to sponsor social work continuing education learning activities and maintains full responsibility for this program. This training qualifies for 1.5 Category 1 continuing education units.

This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the Maryland Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the AMERICAN NURSES CREDENTIALING CENTER’S COMMISSION ON ACCREDITATION. Participants will receive 1.5 hours of continuing education.

Speaker Bios:

Elisa Gil-Pires, MD
Senior Vice President, Medical Affairs/Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director

As Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs/Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director, Dr. Gil-Pires is responsible for the oversight and direction of the clinical and administrative aspects of managing the CESLC medical team to ensure regulatory compliance and achieve organizational key results. She joined CESLC in 2013. Dr. Gil-Pires also serves as site director for the NIH Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship program at CESLC.

Prior to CESLC, Dr. Gil-Pires served as the Chief of Geriatrics and Palliative Care at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Conn. And prior to that she worked as a Staff Physician at Hebrew Healthcare in West Hartford, Conn.

Dr. Gil-Pires earned an undergraduate degree from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn. and an M.D. from St. George’s University School of Medicine. She completed her residency at University of Maryland Medical System in Baltimore, Md. She then completed a fellowship in Geriatrics and Palliative Care at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, Conn. She is board-certified in internal medicine, geriatric medicine and hospice and palliative care.

Sonia Qasba, MD, MPH
Hospital Epidemiologist, Medical Director of Antimicrobial Stewardship, Hospitalist Physician, JHCP, Suburban Hospitalist Group, Pediatric ER Physician, Bethesda Emergency Associates, Suburban Hospital

As an internist at Suburban Hospital, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Qasba specializes in Internal Medicine and Infectious Disease. Qasba graduated from the Howard University College of Medicine and completed her residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center. She then completed a fellowship in Infectious Diseases at MedStar Georgetown University medical Center. She is board-certified in internal medicine, infectious disease and pediatrics.

Isha Misra, MD
Hospitalist, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians at Suburban Hospital

Isha Misra is a Hospitalist at Suburban Hospital, Johns Hopkins Community Physicians. She earned her M.D. from Howard University College of Medicine and completed her residency in internal medicine at Christiana Care Health System.