Columbia University Emergency Medicine Physician Receives Grant Funds for COVID-19 Research
National Foundation of Emergency Medicine Scholar, Dana Sacco, MD, received a grant to study the affect of the COVID-19 pandemic on patient visits for psychiatric and substance abuse-related complaints.
TUCSON, Ariz. — To encourage COVID-19 related research, the National Foundation of Emergency Medicine (NFEM) has awarded emergency medicine research across the country. Dana Sacco, MD, an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Columbia University, received a $10,000 grant from the foundation to examine patient visits for psychiatric and substance abuse-related complaints. Dr. Sacco will utilize ED data from the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center Emergency Department, which faced among the highest volumes of COVID-19 cases across the US from February to May 2020. Dr. Sacco plans to leverage her Emergency Department’s COVID-19 registry, among the largest in the country, that tracks patient outcomes and course.
The Emergency Department (ED) plays a key role in primary care and acute management of behavioral emergencies. Patients with mental health complaints, including substance abuse, may be particularly impacted by disasters, such as a pandemic. Dr. Sacco will compare the patient populations presenting with psychiatric complaints in the era of COVID-19 to the same population of patients at the same time the previous year. The research team will then analyze the total volume of patients with psychiatric and substance abuse-related complaints during the two timeframes. Dr. Sacco will measure any relationship between the pandemic and psychiatric and substance abuse related encounters in the emergency department. This project paves the way for future large-scale dataset analyses, furthering the understanding the impact of the pandemic on non-COVID-19 related complaints.
“The impact on care and management of non-COVID-19 acute problems during the pandemic remains unknown,” said Dana Sacco, MD. “Patients with mental health presentations, particularly psychiatric and substance abuse complaints maybe especially vulnerable.”
About the NFEM Scholar/Mentor Program
Dr. Sacco is part of NFEM’s Scholar/Mentor Program. The Scholar/Mentor Program is a 2-year program that matches junior faculty members in an academic track in Emergency Medicine with mentors at their institution. This program provides an opportunity for scholars from 10 partner institutions to work on translational medicine research and foster professional development. Dr. Sacco is one of nine scholar-mentor pairs who will receive funding for their COVID-19 related research projects. Dr. Sacco is mentored by Angela Mills, MD. Dr. Mills is the Chief of Emergency Medicine Services at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Read more about other COVID-19 related research other NFEM scholars are involved in here.
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About the National Foundation of Emergency Medicine
The National Foundation of Emergency Medicine was founded in 2010 in order to encourage and support the development of career academic emergency medicine scientists. The Scholar/Mentor Program has been running for 3 years, producing three cohorts of scholars and mentors from 10 partner institutions across the United States.
NFEM Board of Directors include Michael Rolnick, MD, David Taylor, MD, Harvey Meislin, MD, David Sheehan, Esquire, and Charles Cairns, MD, who reviewed and approved the eight grant proposals by nine Foundation Scholars interested in COVID-19 related research. Karen Lutrick, PhD is the NFEM Director of Programs and Operations. Dr. Lutrick coordinated the grant application process and will provide support and guidance to the scholars as they begin their research projects.
The National Foundation of Emergency Medicine’s mission is to:
- Serve as a national platform for the improvement and expansion of research in Emergency Medicine
- Advance best practices and clinical excellence in Emergency Medicine
- Identify and support emergency medicine academic physicians to engage in and fund multi-institutional testing and research
For more information, email: info@NFOEM.com (Follow us on Twitter).
