Social EM

Academic Practice Track

The mission of our Social EM Track is to incorporate social context into the structure and practice of emergency care. The track is structured to help build an understanding of all aspects of Social Emergency Medicine and gain hands on experience in community health improvement from individual interactions through population level actions. The track recognizes that crucial to this is understanding the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health risks and outcomes (Social Determinants of Health).

The goals of the Social EM Group are to help residents:

1. Gain an academic expertise with concepts in Social Emergency Medicine and the integration of Social Determinants of Health (SDH) assessment and interventions in real Emergency Medicine practice settings;

2. Participate in various hands on community projects each year;

3. Establish mentoring relationships and built a personal network for project development within the NYP system and beyond;

4. Take ownership of a project or scholarly activity that develops an important aspect of Social Emergency Medicine;

5. Develop relationships and skills to become leaders in Social Emergency Medicine at the residency, state and national levels.

Track Director

Dr. Jordan Foster

I am very appreciative of the community served by CUIMC. I am fortunate to have been given opportunities beyond administration as Site Director for the Adult ED from 2004-2015 and the Interim Director of the UrgiCare center from 2011-2012 to have roles in projects that effect community health.

I have been the ED Director of Government and Community Affairs since 2015. While this started as the ED Medical Liaison for the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment Program (DSRIP) which allowed for significant expansion of our Navigator Program, it has also included a variety of projects designed expand the reach of emergency department care outside of traditional roles.

1. ED Champion NYC DOH RELAY opioid intervention program. Started in 2017 with NYP CUIMC as the inaugural site for this city-wide program providing 24-7 peer counselling to near fatal opioid overdose patients.
2. NYP ED Clinical and Program Director for the NYS DOH Naloxone Distribution Program. This has required developing site specific protocols for this new service that will allow naloxone kits to be distributed from the ED with lay person training each time.
3. Liaison with community physicians and community based organizations whose patients and clients are served by our emergency department.
4. ED representative with the initial rollout of the CMS ANCHOR program in the NYP Adult ED. ANCHOR involves screening patients for and then addressing problems patients have with social determinants of health.
5. Liaison with the Ft. Washington Shelter Project Renewal to improve communication over processes involving the clients that frequently present to our ED.

I have also served as the Medical Director of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) Program at NYP since 2007. In this role I have been a part of a team that has provides and supports the care of victims of sexual assault.

I am a Fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and since 2014 has been an Oral Board Examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM).