National Foundation of Emergency Medicine Scholar, Zachary Dezman, MD, MS, MS, received a grant to analyze data from 55 hospitals stretched across 11 states to better understand how different public health interventions, like closing bars and schools or mandating masks while in public, impact the number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) cases treated in emergency departments and intensive care units. 

TUCSON, Ariz. — To encourage COVID-19 related research, the National Foundation of Emergency Medicine (NFEM) has awarded emergency medicine research across the country. Zachary Dezman, MD, MS, MS, an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Epidemiology and Public Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, received a $10,000 grant from the foundation to investigate the effect of non-pharmacological interventions on COVID-19 emergency department visits. Public health interventions (PHI) include school closures, banning large gatherings, mandating masks in public, and quarantining sick patients. In the United States, individual states implemented PHIs on their own with varying interventions and durations. Dr. Dezman will analyze the emergency department visits, admissions, and death rates due to COVID-19 across 11 states.  

Dr. Dezman plans to construct a retrospective cohort of all emergency department visits and admissions to 55 hospitals stretched across 11 states over the study period. The goal is to use encounter data at each hospital to show how the types and timing of the various PHI at the state level increase or decrease the COVID-19-related in-hospital mortality.  

Dr. Dezman says, “By examining the timing of cases, the types and timing of the public health interventions, and emergency department encounters across a range of states, we can gain critical insight as to how and when such interventions should be instituted during the next pandemic to decrease the strain on our hospital system.” 

About the NFEM Scholar/Mentor Program 

Dr. Dezman 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. Dezman is one of nine scholar-mentor pairs who will receive funding for their COVID-19 related research projects. Dr. Dezman is mentored by Stephen Thom, MD, Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Thom is also the Director of Research of Emergency Medicine at the University of Maryland.  

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).