Social Emergency Medicine Program

“The good physician treats the disease; the great physician treats the patient who has the disease.”
~Sir William Osler (1849-1919)

Rising to the challenge

We, as emergency medicine physicians, are action-oriented by nature. When faced with a problem, we rise to the challenge, roll up our sleeves, and get to work – no matter how grueling or humbling the task. At first glance, the problem in front of us may seem insurmountable – our efforts futile. Yet, we tackle it head-on, working side-by-side to create something beautiful amidst the chaos. Emergency medicine is an “in the trenches” specialty. Whether we are rushing a patient to the cardiac catheterization lab or CT scanner, running a medical resuscitation, or evaluating a patient in a crowded hospital hallway, we constantly find ourselves knee-deep in the complex issues that have plagued our society from the very beginning: trauma, social injustice, poverty, homelessness, mental health disorders…the list seems endless and daunting. Yet we, as action-driven emergency medicine physicians, recognize our unique ability to address these issues because we grapple with them daily. Therefore, we rise to the challenge, roll up our sleeves, and work side-by-side to enact meaningful change – in our emergency rooms and community.

What we do

The Social Emergency Medicine Program is a resident-run program committed to incorporating a patient’s social context into their care to better address their needs, both in and outside the emergency room. This program is a collaboration between the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Jackson Health System emergency medicine residents, faculty, and medical students. While this is an emergency medicine-driven initiative, we are also excited to collaborate with other specialties within the Miami Health District.

How we do it

We use a four-pronged approach to tackle some of the core issues that we, in emergency medicine, are best equipped to address:

1. Community outreach: Create a more meaningful and lasting presence in the Miami community by organizing tangible, long-term service opportunities for residents, faculty, and students, forming partnerships with existing service and outreach programs in our city.
2. Access to care: Link chronically ill patients, high emergency room users, and those without the financial means for basic health resources to outpatient social programs and primary care. Centralize the existing resources within our health system, and educate residents, faculty, and students about incorporating them into their daily practice.
3. Social justice: Tackle issues of health inequity and injustice, such as women’s health, adolescent health, trauma, domestic violence, and human trafficking, through awareness and education initiatives. Form partnerships with other subspecialties to provide resources and regular health care to victims of injustice and health inequity.
4. Curriculum integration: Incorporate social emergency medicine issues into the 18-month residency didactic curriculum in a way that fosters a deeper understanding of the social determinants of health and their impact on health care.

Support Groups

Rising to the challenge

We, as emergency medicine physicians, are action-oriented by nature. When faced with a problem, we rise to the challenge, roll up our sleeves, and get to work – no matter how grueling or humbling the task. At first glance, the problem in front of us may seem insurmountable – our efforts futile. Yet, we tackle it head-on, working side-by-side to create something beautiful amidst the chaos. Emergency medicine is an “in the trenches” specialty. Whether we are rushing a patient to the cardiac catheterization lab or CT scanner, running a medical resuscitation, or evaluating a patient in a crowded hospital hallway, we constantly find ourselves knee-deep in the complex issues that have plagued our society from the very beginning: trauma, social injustice, poverty, homelessness, mental health disorders…the list seems endless and daunting. Yet we, as action-driven emergency medicine physicians, recognize our unique ability to address these issues because we grapple with them daily. Therefore, we rise to the challenge, roll up our sleeves, and work side-by-side to enact meaningful change – in our emergency rooms and community.

What we do

The Social Emergency Medicine Program is a resident-run program committed to incorporating a patient’s social context into their care to better address their needs, both in and outside the emergency room. This program is a collaboration between the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Jackson Health System emergency medicine residents, faculty, and medical students. While this is an emergency medicine-driven initiative, we are also excited to collaborate with other specialties within the Miami Health District.

How we do it

We use a four-pronged approach to tackle some of the core issues that we, in emergency medicine, are best equipped to address:

1. Community outreach: Create a more meaningful and lasting presence in the Miami community by organizing tangible, long-term service opportunities for residents, faculty, and students, forming partnerships with existing service and outreach programs in our city.
2. Access to care: Link chronically ill patients, high emergency room users, and those without the financial means for basic health resources to outpatient social programs and primary care. Centralize the existing resources within our health system, and educate residents, faculty, and students about incorporating them into their daily practice.
3. Social justice: Tackle issues of health inequity and injustice, such as women’s health, adolescent health, trauma, domestic violence, and human trafficking, through awareness and education initiatives. Form partnerships with other subspecialties to provide resources and regular health care to victims of injustice and health inequity.
4. Curriculum integration: Incorporate social emergency medicine issues into the 18-month residency didactic curriculum in a way that fosters a deeper understanding of the social determinants of health and their impact on health care.

Past and Current Projects (spearheaded by the emergency medicine resident leaders)

  • Stop the Bleed Campaign (in collaboration with Ryder Trauma Center)
  • Emergency department-driven medication-assisted treatment and addiction medicine initiatives.
  • Emergency department pilot program (in partnership with UM DOCS): Linking patients chronic medical conditions who lack insurance to affordable primary care resources during their emergency department visit.
  • High utilizers initiative: Identifying patients who frequently use the emergency department for medical care and enrolling them in a program that can better address their barriers to healthcare.
  • Jackson Health System Community Resource Guide: Summary of outpatient resources for emergency department patients to be used by providers during their shift.
  • Social emergency medicine-centered simulation, lectures, and journal club sessions.
  • Resident and faculty preceptor positions in the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine medical student-run, free clinics and health fairs (in partnerships with UM DOCS and UM Street Medicine).
  • HIV screening quality improvement initiatives in the Holtz Children’s Hospital pediatric emergency department.
  • Access to genitourinary and gynecologic resources and outpatient follow-up for adolescents (partnership with the adolescent health clinic).
  • Emergency department-driven quality improvement initiatives: Addressing the care of incarcerated patients, unhoused patients, and victims of human trafficking, and domestic and sexual violence.
  • Volunteer opportunities at the Roxy Bolton Rape Treatment Center and Thrive Clinic to gain knowledge and exposure to a survivor-centered approach to healthcare services for survivors of abuse and human trafficking.
  • Emergency-department universal HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis screening programs.
  • Food insecurity initiative: Partner with local community organizations to manage quarterly food distributions to neighborhoods affected by food insecurity.

Our Team

Associate program director and social emergency medicine faculty leader: Patricia Panakos, MD

Are you interested in joining these efforts? Please reach out to Dr. Patricia Panakos at [email protected] for more information.

Past and Current Projects (spearheaded by the emergency medicine resident leaders)

  • Stop the Bleed Campaign (in collaboration with Ryder Trauma Center)
  • Emergency department-driven medication-assisted treatment and addiction medicine initiatives.
  • Emergency department pilot program (in partnership with UM DOCS): Linking patients chronic medical conditions who lack insurance to affordable primary care resources during their emergency department visit.
  • High utilizers initiative: Identifying patients who frequently use the emergency department for medical care and enrolling them in a program that can better address their barriers to healthcare.
  • Jackson Health System Community Resource Guide: Summary of outpatient resources for emergency department patients to be used by providers during their shift.
  • Social emergency medicine-centered simulation, lectures, and journal club sessions.
  • Resident and faculty preceptor positions in the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine medical student-run, free clinics and health fairs (in partnerships with UM DOCS and UM Street Medicine).
  • HIV screening quality improvement initiatives in the Holtz Children’s Hospital pediatric emergency department.
  • Access to genitourinary and gynecologic resources and outpatient follow-up for adolescents (partnership with the adolescent health clinic).
  • Emergency department-driven quality improvement initiatives: Addressing the care of incarcerated patients, unhoused patients, and victims of human trafficking, and domestic and sexual violence.
  • Volunteer opportunities at the Roxy Bolton Rape Treatment Center and Thrive Clinic to gain knowledge and exposure to a survivor-centered approach to healthcare services for survivors of abuse and human trafficking.
  • Emergency-department universal HIV, hepatitis C, and syphilis screening programs.
  • Food insecurity initiative: Partner with local community organizations to manage quarterly food distributions to neighborhoods affected by food insecurity.

Our Team

Associate program director and social emergency medicine faculty leader: Patricia Panakos, MD

Are you interested in joining these efforts? Please reach out to Dr. Patricia Panakos at [email protected] for more information.