CMSRU Champions for Primary Care show their work at national conference

Camden, NJ -- Six primary care providers currently enrolled as fellows in the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU) Champions for Health Advancement through Mentoring and Primary Care Partnerships (CHAMPP) program presented at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) annual conference, held virtually on August 19-20, 2021.

These fellows range from physician assistants to physicians who specialize in internal medicine, pediatrics or family medicine and they practice community-based medicine throughout New Jersey and Delaware. CMSRU has partnered with Cooper University Health Care (CUHC), the Wilmington VA Medical Center, CAMcare Health Corporation and Vanguard Medical Group to impact care throughout the region.

“This program focuses on developing primary care providers into leaders who can transform healthcare,” said Annette C. Reboli, MD, CHAMPP principal investigator and CMSRU dean.

The providers presented on diverse topics, which were reflective of their differing practice roles. Ashlesha Chaughule, MD, assistant chief of primary care at the VA Medical Center in Wilmington, DE, discussed Streamlining Medication Assisted Treatment for Opioid Use Syndrome. Her project optimized medication management in patients with chronic pain who use both opioids and benzodiazepines. Specifically, she worked to decrease concomitant use of both classes of medications for the treatment of pain by 20 percent. In practice, Chaughule and her team decreased the medication use by more than 36 percent, or close to double the original aim.

Christina Patten-Bottiglierie, MS PA-c, CPAAPA, a physician assistant who practices in North Haledon, NJ, summarized the results of her project, Saving Sight: Increasing Compliance with Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Among At-Risk Patients. The primary drivers were provider endorsement and patient acceptance. “By aggressively aiding patients with compliance, we are able to screen earlier and more consistently, which will reduce long-term complications, like loss of vision,” Patten-Bottiglierie noted.

Romina Thomas, MD, section chief Primary Care Resource Hub for VISN 4 VA, a regional network of nine VA campuses in the Mid Atlantic, presented on lessons learned during the pandemic. Thomas collaborated with partners at different agencies in a Delaware Division of Public Health-led project to improve COVID-19 testing in Sussex County, Delaware. This multi-pronged approach included logistics, collaboration, and education and resulted in more than double the testing per capita in Sussex County, compared to other counties, as well as lasting collaborations.

The three other presenters, Drs. Isha Marina Di Bartolo, Nicole Leopardi and Rachel Masel-Miller, all faculty physicians at CMSRU and just beginning their projects, delivered a “shark tank” pitch to seasoned primary care providers at the conference. This interactive session allowed for feedback and engagement, and was created so the fellows had an opportunity to consider external perspectives as they implement their healthcare transformation projects. Their topics included:

• Improving Knowledge, Confidence and Self-Efficacy in Spanish-speaking Patients with Diabetes
• What’s Next? The Aftermath of the ADHD Diagnosis: Improvements in Follow-up and Medication Management
• Increased Adherence with Completion of Annual Well Visits in the At-risk and Aging Medicare Patient Population

CHAMPP is an eighteen-month hybrid program intended to strengthen primary care delivery via didactic and experiential learning. The first twelve months of the program include educational modules which focus on Healthcare Transformation, Leadership and Education. Fellows block out dedicated time – about five hours per week – to participate in this program and CMSRU reimburses their practice for that time, so there is no loss of revenue. Participants must work at community-based primary care sites.

CHAMPP is currently recruiting for its fourth cohort. For more information, please email champp@rowan.edu, or reach out to one of the project co-directors:

Robin L. Perry, MD, MSEd: Perry-Robin@CooperHealth.edu  

Nirandra Mahamitra, MD: Mahamitra-Nirandra@CooperHealth.edu.

This program is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as part of a five-year award totaling $1,999,076 with 0 percent financed from non-governmental sources. The above contents do not necessarily represent the official views of and are not an endorsement by HRSA, HHS or the US Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov.