Department of Emergency Medicine

Tuning in to the season’s themes of thankfulness and family, a children’s picture book titled "The Family Squeeze," written by Christian Pulcini, M.D., M.P.H., M.Ed., assistant professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics, shows how the power of physical touch—to both celebrate good times and endure tough times—brings a family together and builds resilience.

(AUGUST 28, 2024) Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, president and COO of the UVM Medical Center, was quoted by the Valley News in an article on Vermont’s ever-escalating health insurance prices.

(AUGUST 27, 2024) Joseph Kennedy, M.D., director of toxicology education, spoke with the New York Times about people’s concerns about the effect of DEET bug spray on human health.

(AUGUST 1, 2024) Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, president and COO of the UVM Medical Center and professor of emergency medicine at the Larner College of Medicine, told NBC5 that UVMMC and its partners are proud to offer a new mental health urgent care center that is coming soon to the medical center’s campus in Burlington.

(JUNE 17, 2024) Ben Smith, M.D., clinical assistant professor of emergency medicine and medical director of the Central Vermont Medical Center Emergency Department, commented to WCAX-TV about new security procedures at the Berlin hospital.

(May 31, 2024) Stephen Leffler, M.D., president and COO of the UVM Medical Center, Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine, M.D., and other top state health leaders joined U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders for a roundtable discussion on why health care is becoming increasingly unaffordable, VTDigger reports.

(MAY 22, 2024) Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, president and chief operating officer of the UVM Medical Center, spoke with NBC5 about the benefits of a new outpatient surgery center proposed for South Burlington.

(May 15, 2024) Veterans for Responsible Leadership, a political action committee founded and led by Daniel Barkhuff, M.D., held an event called Constitutional Thresholds—billed as an “interactive and immersive tabletop exercise and war game”—in California and Washington, D.C., Seven Days reports.

(MAY 2, 2024) UVMMC President and COO Stephen Leffler, M.D., professor of emergency medicine, penned an opinion piece in VT Digger advocating for construction of a proposed outpatient surgery center in South Burlington as a solution to improve timely access to health care.

(APRIL 30, 2024) UVMMC researchers spoke with the Burlington Free Press for a story on a dramatic increase in bloodstream infections suspected to be fueled in part by the increasing presence of the horse tranquilizer xylazine in the illicit drug supply.

(APRIL 18, 2024) Kalev Freeman, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and pharmacology, was quoted in a WCAX-TV story about equine-assisted therapy for people who have sustained traumatic brain injuries, or TBI.

(APRIL 15, 2024) An article on women in wilderness medicine co-authored by Sarah Schlein, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and director of wilderness medicine education, was recently published in Wilderness Medicine Magazine.

(APRIL 10, 2024) Kalev Freeman, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of emergency medicine and pharmacology, discussed traumatic brain injury, or TBI, in a WCAX-TV interview.

(March 19, 2024) President and UVMMC Chief Operating Officer Stephen Leffler, M.D., professor of emergency medicine, was interviewed by WCAX-TV about the worsening long-term care bottleneck that continues to stress hospital capacity.

(FEBRUARY 22, 2024) In a VT Digger opinion piece, Christine Werneke, M.S., and Stephen Leffler, M.D., discussed the effects of Vermont’s severe lack of capacity for patients who need long-term care outside of the hospital.

(FEBRUARY 21, 2024) UVMMC President and COO Stephen Leffler, M.D., commented to Vermont Public for a story about health care officials’ statement to lawmakers that a shortage of nursing home beds has forced hospitals to become residential care providers for patients who have nowhere else to go.

(FEBRUARY 8, 2024) In an impassioned opinion piece in VT Digger, four Vermont emergency medicine physicians explain a crisis in our emergency departments known as “boarding” and plead for an increase in skilled nursing and long-term care beds, home health supports, and robust, reliable funding mechanisms to support both.

(FEBRUARY 1, 2024) UVM Medical Center President and Chief Operating Officer Stephen Leffler, M.D.’90, M.H.C.D.S., professor of emergency medicine, commented about a new UVMMC program announced on the first day of Black History Month that’s aimed at closing the patient inequity gap when it comes to patient hair care, NBC5 reported.

Medical students, faculty, physicians, and hospital staff stepped up to the microphone on January 18 to tell true stories about their most humbling moments at the sixth annual StorySlamRx: Voices in Medicine. Alpha Omega Alpha and Gold Humanism Honor Society members organized and hosted the event, held in the Hoehl Gallery. Inspired by The Moth live storytelling, story slam provides a safe space to share personal experiences and connect with others over shared emotions. For people in the medical community, telling and listening to each other’s stories facilitates wellness and quells burnout.

(JANUARY 10, 2024) The University of Vermont Medical Center is reviving its mask mandate for staff who work with patients. Stephen Leffler, M.D., president and chief operating officer of the hospital and professor of emergency medicine, says masking is a “simple step that we can take to keep our patients safe,” VT Digger reported.