Responding to the Rising Rates of Congenital Syphilis in Indigenous Communities | April 12, 2022

Date of Presentation: April 12, 2022

Type: Past Presentation

Audience: Clinical Community

Keywords: #congenital syphilis #grand rounds #infectious disease #sexual health #std presentation #sti #syphilis

Indian Country ECHO in partnership with the IHS National STD Program hosted a Grand Rounds focused on congenital syphilis. In this series of presentations, moderated by Dr Jean Howe, IHS Chief Clinical Consultant for Ob/Gyn, Dr Aliza Machefsky highlighted best practices for responding to the rise of congenital syphilis rates in Indigenous communities. Then, Dr Sophina Calderon shared the story of how their facility recognizes, responds to and prevents congenital syphilis. This one-hour Grand Rounds session included an opportunity to engage in a didactic presentation, become part of a learning community, and join an Infectious Disease ECHO program.

Recording:

Presented by:

Aliza Machefsky | Melanie Taylor | Sophina Calderon

Dr. Aliza Machefsky is the Gilstrap fellow within the CDC’s Division of STD Prevention. In this role, she provides subject matter expertise on congenital syphilis screening, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Aliza completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at St. Louis University. She holds an MD from Drexel University College of Medicine and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Melanie Taylor is a Medical Epidemiologist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of STD Prevention. Dr. Taylor also holds the rank of Captain with the United States Public Health Service and is a medical officer with the WHO Department of Reproductive Health and Research, STI Programme, serving as the WHO Co-secretariat for the global elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV and syphilis. Dr. Taylor received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She completed her internal medicine residency, infectious disease fellowship, and Masters of Public Health at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. She maintains clinical board certifications in internal medicine and infectious disease and certification with the American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM). Her recent publications focus on STI surveillance and prevention of congenital syphilis.

Dr. Sophina Manheimer Calderon is Diné (Navajo) from Tuba City, Arizona and is a graduate of Dartmouth College. She obtained her medical degree at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. She completed her residency at the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, NY. She trained as a family physician with an emphasis in women’s health and global health. Dr. Sophina Calderon currently works in multiple clinical settings at Tuba City Regional Health Care Corporation (TCRHCC) on the Navajo Nation in Northern Arizona. She is the Chief of Staff and is the co-chair for the Medical Staff Credentialing Subcommittee. She is the HIV officer for TCRHCC providing subspecialized HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention for adults and adolescents on the Western Navajo Nation.

Resources Provided:

Date added: April 10, 2022

Resources

Past Presentation

Responding to the Rising Rates of Congenital Syphilis in Indigenous Communities | April 12, 2022

Recording:

Presented by:

Aliza Machefsky | Melanie Taylor | Sophina Calderon

Resources Provided:

Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
Native BOOST Project Manager

Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center

Tigua Indian from Ysleta del Sur Pueblo
Good Medicine Tribal Public Health Consulting
Lead Consultant

Crow Nation
Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council
Project Coordinator

CDC Foundation
Tribal Public Health Educator

Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Council
Epidemiology Center Director

Diné (Navajo)
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
TEC-IVAC Program Manager

Kauffman & Associates
Graphic Designer

Lummi
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
Maternal Child Health Programs Director
Native BOOST Project Director

Oglala Sioux
Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center
Epidemiology and Disease Prevention Program Manager

Diné (Navajo)
Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board
Native BOOST Provider Expert

Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians
Good Medicine Tribal Public Health Consulting
CEO and Founder

Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium
Communication Lead

Rosebud Sioux
Great Plains Epidemiology Center
Senior Director

Seminole/Muscogee
Southern Plains Tribal Health Board
Tribal Epidemiology Center Core Program Manager

Southern Plains Tribal Health Board
Epidemiologist

Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center
Communication Lead

Oglala Lakota
Great Plains Epidemiology Center
EDP Program Director

Cochita Pueblo
Albuquerque Area Tribal Epidemiology Center
Program Director for the Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country Program

Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona
Vaccine Epidemiologist

Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center
Epidemiologist

	Jason Arion Butler is an enrolled member of the Ute Tribe of Fort Duchesne, Utah and is also part Mojave and Cherokee. He resides in Gibson, Idaho with his wife of 22 years, children, and grandchild who are all enrolled members of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. He graduated from Idaho State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and earned his Master of Science in Family and Human Development from Arizona State University. He has spent the past 5+ years employed by the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Tribal Health and Human Services Department, where he spent time serving as the Recovery Service Coordinator for the Four Directions Treatment Center, the manager for the Community Health Representative program, and recently accepted the position of Behavioral Health Manager. He strives to incorporate Native culture, traditions, morals, and values into the healthcare services provided to Native communities, implementing these practices into his work with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and advocating for the reconstruction of healthcare practices nationally. Today he says, “I am loving life and am extremely thankful to have found a career path I love.

	Carrie Sampson-Samuels is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation located in Eastern Oregon. Carrie has an early background in nursing providing patient care in long term and clinical care settings. Carrie then furthered her education in community health and health studies at Portland State University, later advancing her education in healthcare management at Oregon Health and Sciences University while serving in leadership and executive management for a Tribal health organization as the Community Health Director. Carrie has served Tribes from Oregon to Montana and the Treaty 7 Blackfoot Confederacy in Southern Alberta. As the Community Health Aide Project Director for the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Carrie has provided leadership, advocacy and project management for expansion for the Behavioral Health Aide and Community Health Aide Program under the umbrella and direction of the Tribal Community Health Provider Project. This work has led to the expansion of Tribal Community Health Providers in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Carrie is responsible for leading partnerships with the education institutions, key Tribal partner sites, contract experts and advisory workgroups. This includes development of education infrastructure, education curriculum, recruitment strategies, tools for integration of providers into tribal health organizations, and working with state partners to develop policy and infrastructure for provider reimbursement. Carrie manages and writes multiple grants that support all aspects of this work and provides technical assistance support to the Portland Area CHAP Certification Board. Carrie is the proud mother of 4 daughters and resides on a small ranch on her Tribal homelands.

	Dr. Liu is a generalist OB/GYN at Gallup Indian Medical Center. In addition to her medical degree, she holds a PhD in Health Policy. Among other publications, she served as the chief editor for the 2019 Oxford University Press book: “50 Studies Every Obstetrician and Gynecologist Should Know.” She has formal training in Quality Improvement processes through the Partners Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program (CPIP), which she utilized to implement emergency contraception at Massachusetts General Hospital. During her six years at Gallup Indian Medical Center she has primary responsibility for preparing and reporting of metrics related to the delivery of obstetric care, and serves on the Continuing Medical Education committee.

	Dr. Hoover is from Chicago, where he grew up and went to medical school, at Rush University, on Chicago’s diverse West Side. He was trained in Urology at Boston Medical Center in Boston’s beautiful South End neighborhood. Dr. Hoover went on to pursue fellowship training in voiding dysfunction and laser prostate surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Dr. Hoover is a Board-Certified Urologist, by the American Board of Urology, having achieved this honor in 2018. Dr. Hoover has several peer-reviewed publications, including research studies and medical illustrations. His family is happy to call Gallup home since the end of 2017. In their free time they like to explore New Mexico’s wilderness and go camping. Now that their two girls are growing up, it’s also imperative that we catch Pokemon wherever we go.Dr. Hoover is the only Urologist in McKinley County, New Mexico, and in any of the surrounding counties– it’s just him between Albuquerque and Flagstaff. He’s happy to continue seeing established patients, and is accepting new patients from the entire region. Dr. Hoover believes in communication, candor, and compassion as essential tenets of patient care. Dr. Hoover is an expert in general Urology, male and female voiding dysfunction, kidney stones and kidney stone surgery, BPH and laser prostate surgery, erectile dysfunction, vasectomy, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, kidney cancer, testicular cancer. Many of the procedures he do as a Urologist are done in the office including: cystoscopy, vasectomy, urodynamics, treatment foroveractive bladder, and many others. Please call/text or email and let him and his staff know how they can help you.

	Eric Wortmann, MD is the former Director of Emergency Medicine at Chinle Comprehensive Health Care Facility. Besides patient care, Eric has a deep passion for mentoring aspiring physicians and health care providers. He was the Education Director of Emergency Medicine at Chinle as well as Adjunct Faculty for the US Army teaching Special Forces Medics. He has been a visiting professor of Emergency Medicine in Haiti and has worked in the Dominican Republic since 1989. Eric has a long-time passion as a mid and long-distance running coach. He has lived on Kauai for 30 years. Currently he divides his time between Northern Italy and Hawaii. Recently he was accepted into Doctors without Borders USA and is awaiting his first assignment.

	Corey Detlefs, MD, FACS, is the Trauma Outreach Director and an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix