| Volume 33 Number 6 | Stony Brook, NY | < June 2020 > |
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| Covid-19 Essay | Innovation During the Pandemic | Kudos | Chief Residents 2020-21 |
| Anne Stowell Retires | Newborns | Graduations | SARAS Cancelled |
| New Publications | Photography Corner | Where is That? |
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Reflections of an Ambulatory Anesthesiologist from the COVID Front Lines
Tazeen Beg, MD They are calling us the Front Liners. I never thought of us–anesthesiologists–as frontline workers until the onslaught of COVID-19. Placing an endotracheal tube in someone who is in respiratory distress is part of our job and we are doing it with commitment and passion because that is what we are trained to do. To say that it is overwhelming to be on the front lines would be an understatement. Our 600 bed, level 1 trauma center has been basically turned into a COVID-19 hospital with regular floors being converted into intensive care units. The Ambulatory Surgery Center next door is a COVID-19 ICU now that all elective surgery is cancelled. The ICUs are manned not only by Intensivists, but also physicians who never thought they would ever be required to see such patients when they were deciding on their future specialty! To be in an unfamiliar realm, out of your comfort zone, is very unnerving but a call for duty is just that. A doctor will never refuse to take care of a patient. The residents and fellows have been redeployed similarly. Even medical schools graduated their students early so that they could be put to use. This is unprecedented. Being on the COVID-19 Airway Team from the outset of this pandemic has been both a learning and reflective experience. Anesthesiology is a very high-risk specialty and brings along responsibility. We are literally supporting life every day. We put patients to sleep, but more Outpatient • Office Based • Non-Operating Room importantly, we wake them up. During this pandemic we are putting patients to sleep in order to intubate and help them breathe and rest their tired lungs. But the difference today is the uncertainty. We are not positive we can wake them up. Approximately 70-80% of patients being intubated do not make it.1 It’s brutal. 
We try not to think about it too much.
We are kind of privy to the patient’s last conversations. But it doesn’t work all the time. On one of my 12-hour shifts (we do 12-hour shifts for seven days or nights straight), we were called to intubate an otherwise healthy 28-year-old on the 16th floor of the hospital. We arrived to find a young male short of breath, with a non-rebreather mask on his face texting someone on his phone. He was hot and flushed. Just before he went off to sleep, he looked at me with fear in his eyes and asked if he was going to wake up from this. Will he survive? He was tachycardic, desaturating and his labs looked dismal. I still wonder if I did the right thing with my usual reassuring nod and answer, 'of course, you will'. As we were doffing our PPE we got another call for intubation. We rushed to the ER down on the 4th floor to intubate an 80-year-old male presumed to be COVID-19 positive. We entered the room to find him talking to his wife on the phone. In between coughs and gasps of air, he was advising her to keep checking her oxygenation through pulse oximetry. She was at home, also COVID-19 positive and he was concerned. Their kids were in the city and hadn’t been able to come visit due to social distancing, he told me. This is a sad and lonely disease. It was not yet noon and we had already intubated five patients. Another 77-year-old man tried calling his wife when he found out he was going to be intubated and would not be able to talk. Yes, he actually asked me this question. His wife was somewhere outside the hospital, he said. The ‘no visitors allowed’ policy was in effect at the hospital. When he couldn’t reach her, he called his son. With trembling hands, voice fraught with anxiety, and short of breath he said, ‘I love you kiddo’. The son couldn’t comprehend the gravity of the situation, it seemed, and kept asking him questions. We waited patiently inside the negative pressure room with him. We didn’t want to rush him. This might be his last conversation with his son. A respiratory therapist walked in just as we were preparing to intubate. He introduced himself to the patient and said that his mother had just called him. She wanted our patient to know that she knew him from church and that she and her friends were all praying for him. This message was like a breath of oxygen for him, such that it brought a relaxed hint of a smile on his face. He seemed to be content with his life and stopped shaking as much. Maybe it was reassuring to know that someone up there was looking out for him. 
There is a lot of uncertainty and fear. I have seriously thought about the implications of my absence on my family, for one. Fear of death has definitely crossed the minds of all healthcare workers like me. We have had serious questions from colleagues about setting up a Living Will. Single moms in healthcare are worried about their kids' future. Elderly who live alone have no one to care for them. Life is precious. I have developed a fresh appreciation of life and can better understand its significance. Family, staying connected and taking care of your loved ones, is very important. You don't want to die alone. No one does. But people are dying alone. There is no one by their bedside for fear of contracting the illness or because hospitals are limiting the visitors. No funerals can be planned or held. The funeral homes are overcrowded and cemeteries are overwhelmed. There is a backlog of at least two weeks for provision of funeral services. Life is unpredictable. If you love someone, never forget to say it. Call your family and friends more often. Check on them. You don’t want your family member to become a statistic. The pandemic has made me and my convictions stronger. Today, I have more appreciation for my profession both as a physician and as an anesthesiologist. I have a deep satisfaction to be working during these difficult times. There is an enormous outpouring of support and kindness from the community and our families which has kept us going. It feels good to be appreciated. I may be doing something right. 
I want to think positive. I believe that with the collective efforts of doctors, scientists and policy makers along with public understanding and support, we will overcome it eventually. We need to have patience until a complete cure is found and a vaccine created. I am proud to be a part of this team as we find our way forward through today’s uncertainty, pain and fear with intelligence, resilience and perseverance. Cooperation is critical. I do hope as a society we do not go back to the so-called 'normal life' but hopefully have had time to reflect and learn valuable lessons. We need to come together not only in the region but all over the world. Maybe COVID has acted as a catalyst for a better world. Or at least I would like to think so. We will know more in the coming months. 1 Yang X, Yu Y, et al. Clinical course and outcomes of critically ill patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a single-centered, retrospective, observational study. Lancet Respir Med. 2020 May;8(5):475-481. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30079-5. Epub 2020 Feb 24 Editor's note: Dr. Beg wrote this essay for SAMBA, the Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia. She has since received requests for interviews from several news media organizations including Britain's Daily Mail. 
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Innovation During the Pandemic
Dr. Jonathon Schwartz and colleagues from Computer Science and Biomedical Engineering created an applet, Vent, to assist in optimizing ventilator settings and anesthesia machine gas flows to target a specific oxygen concentration. It was designed during the COVID surge and was used briefly before the surge subsided. But it is ready in case there is a resurgence in the Fall. The team hopes to adapt and revise it further. Jonathon will be glad to answer any further questions about this project.
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Kudos
Dr. Srinivas Pentyala was appointed Adjunct Professor of Mechanical Engineering. This brings his total number of adjunct positions at Stony Brook University to five! The others are Orthopedics, Urology, Health Sciences, and Physiology & Biophysics. He was also invited to become a member of the National Academy of Inventors. Congratulations, Srini!
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Chief Residents 2020-2021
The Chief Anesthesiology Residents for the coming year are Drs. Ravi Shah, Adam Taft and Josiah Miles . Congratulations!
The Chief Dental Anesthesiology Residents will be Drs. David Guthrie, and Whitney Saarem . Congratulations! 
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Anne Stowell Retires
Josephine Pace and Melissa A. Day
On May 29, 2020 Anne Stowell marked the fulfillment of one era and the exciting beginning of another; that is retirement. Congratulations Anne!!! Anne joined Stony Brook Medicine in December of 1991, where she initially worked at the Long Island State Veteran’s Home as a Clinical Assistant. Later on went on to work in the Main Operating Room as a Clinical Assistant. On October 2004, Anne took on the position as a Cardiac Anesthesia Technician. Here in the Cardiac service for more than 14 years, Anne mentioned Dr. Scott as being influential in setting her standards as an Anesthesia Technician. Standards she passed along to training new employees and Interns along the way. Anne has been an integral part of the anesthesia team. Her contributions to the department, particularly the cardiac service will always be valued and remembered. Her hard work, commitment, dedication, and influence are worthy of admiration. 
Anne Livingstone Stowell, hearing that you will retire this Friday made my heart burst with joy and my eyes fill with tears of happiness. How well-deserved after so many years of loyal service to SBUH and the Cardiac Anesthesia Department! Think, how many residents have you seen come and go? How many snow storms did you wake up at 3AM to shovel your way out so you'd be at work in time? How many pumps did you set up?
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the one I've included here describes what you meant to me during those years in OR 1 & 2. Lacking all self-confidence, terrified, and hating myself each morning, you always gave me the words of encouragement I needed to bloom in that chaotic atmosphere. I can thankfully say that during this pandemic running the ICU, I put lines in like a champ in no time flat, so I got my reprieve! And I'm proud of how you yourself have blossomed in your role as a Cardiac Anesthesia Tech and have loyally remained deep rooted in the Stony Brook Hospital system. Take care of yourself Old Friend and enjoy every minute of retirement! And always remember the influence you have had on residents along the way. 🥰🥰 Love you!“ Anne's colleague, Christina Catania, wrote about their years of working together: I want to wish my dear friend Anne well on her new journey to retirement!! I've worked with you for over 20 years. You always gave 💯. Often missing your lunch hour or staying past your shift making sure everything was completed before you went home. The endless cardiac cases you had everyday dealing with the stress level of these sick patients and coping with the magnitude of preparing and assisting to make sure everything went smoothly. You had to deal with a lot of personalities, I don’t know how you kept your sanity. Having 6 cardiac cases a day, to a bring back case, to a trauma, you never stopped!! You are amazing person. Thanking for always being there for me. I’m sad but happy for you. I’m gonna miss our stories we shared over the years. I don’t think anyone will fill your shoes. I know we will still be in touch with each other but work won’t be the same. Thank you for all your years of service!!! Well deserved!!! ❤️❤️
On behalf of all who have worked side-by-side with and were taught by Anne, we say, thank you Anne for your years of service to Stony Brook Medicine and to the Anesthesia Department. Your almost 30 years of service to the Institution will be sorely missed. Everybody that you have influenced respect you, admired you and wish you the best of retirement years. We hope that you achieve much more in the life that lies ahead of you and continue inspiring us all with the passion that you live life with.
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Newborns!
Joseph Gnolfo III, DNP, MS, ACNP, CRNA
Please join me in welcoming Alanna and Craig's new baby Emeric Li Bhoorasingh to the world!! Emeric was born a healthy 7lbs 14oz. Mom and baby are doing great. Welcome Emeric and congrats Alanna and Craig! Please join me in congratulating Tanya Ambrose Cruz and her husband on the arrival of their beautiful healthy baby boy, Carlos Armando Cruz. Mom and baby are doing great. Welcome to the world baby Carlos!!!
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Graduations!
Sahana Pentyala, (Daughter of Srini) graduated with a Master's degree in Social Welfare from Stony Brook University, specializing in Integrated Health with focus on mental health and substance abuse counseling. During internships, Sahana worked with Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients, as well as elderly war veterans and their families. She provided support in terms of designing care plans, identifying health and financial resources, and above all providing mental health counseling. Sahana is also trained and certified in (1) Substance use and traumatic brain injury (2) Screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) (3) Cognitive and behavioral consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in adults and children (4) Cognitive processing therapy (5) Psychological first aid (6) Counseling on Access to Lethal Means and Preventing Suicide (7) Crisis De-Escalation & Management for First Responders (8) Mental Health First Aid (9) Understanding & Treating Caregiver Stress Syndrome (10) Cognitive Behavior Therapy and (11) Alzheimer’s Association Certification to care for Alzheimer’s and dementia population. Sahana has been working in our department research labs since she was in high school, and she is a first author and coauthor of several publications. Sahana is also a co-inventor on a patent on trace biomarker detection device filed by Stony Brook University. Sahana gave talks and won several awards and prizes in research conferences. Above all, she is Srini’s go-to-person for the past several years, helping him to organize the annual SARAS program. Sahana will be taking her LMSW board exam soon. Her passion is to help others cope with stressful life situations and her plan is to become a LCSW and start her own practice. 
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SARAS 2020 Cancelled
Srinivas Pentyala, PhD
The annual SARAS event that is organized by our department will be taking a break after 16 years of continuous programing. SARAS hosts more than 130 high school students every year exposing them to different aspects of biomedical science. More than 80 faculty and staff are involved with SARAS every year providing lectures and workshops in different areas of medicine and biology. Despite roadblocks and logistics issues SARAS was organized successfully for the past 16 years, until COVID-19 created a hard stop this year. The SARAS organizing team is hoping to come back strong to organize the 2021 event in a much bigger and brighter fashion. 
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New Publications
Figure from Abola et al 2020
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Photography Corner
James P. Dilger, PhD 
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Where on Campus is That?
James P. Dilger, PhD 
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SleepTalker, the Stony Brook Anesthesiology Newsletter is published by the Department of Anesthesiology
Stony Brook Medicine, Stony Brook, NY Tong Joo Gan, M.D., MHS, FRCA, MBA, Chairman Editorial Board: James P. Dilger, Ph.D.; Stephen A. Vitkun, M.D., M.B.A., Ph.D.; Marisa Barone-Citrano, M.A.; Ramanjot S. Kang, M.D. |
