This month, we would have commemorated the 5th Annual Richard C. Christensen, MD Advocacy Day.
We have decided to postpone an amazing talk by Dr. Liz Frye until after the pandemic settles down. However, we know that Dick would have been very proud of how everyone is handling this new reality and truly being there for our patients. In his own words:
Physicians must always be willing to recognize those patients who, because of the depth of their illness and suffering, are isolated and alone, unseen and forgotten, whether they are living on the streets of our cities, occupying an ICU bed within a teaching hospital, or sitting alone on the edge of a bed in a skilled nursing facility. And, as physicians, I would hope the initial impulse and response that begins the process of healing will always be, “I see you. I hear you. You are not invisible.”
In honor of his day, we wanted to share with you a GRACE Marketplace Coronavirus Resources Handout you might find helpful for your patients who live on the streets created by our UNESCO/FARE groups. Also, if you feel motivated to do something in Dr. Christensen’s honor, or in honor of your patients, feel free to check out Grace Marketplace’s wish list/amazon registry to give in Gainesville: https://www.gracemarketplace.org/wish-list
Want to help the Sulzbacher Center in Jacksonville? See below on ways to help make facecoverings for those on the streets:
- If you are interested in assembling bandana face coverings, we are asking for 20 x 20 bandanas. Directions are simple: cut out a 20 x 20 square and put a small hem around the square so that the cloth does not fray.
- Video instructions for non-sewing fabric mask
- To donate your mask to Sulzbacher, please call Emily at (904) 662-2352 or take bandanas to our Downtown campus at 611 East Adams St. or Sulzbacher Village at 5455 Springfield Blvd. from 9am-5pm on weekdays.
Thank you,
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Caroline Nickerson
Executive Assistant
UF-VA UNESCO Bioethics Unit
McKnight Brain Institute, Univ. of Florida
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Ana Turner, MD, FAPA
Assistant Professor, University of Florida College of Medicine
Community Psychiatrist
UF Gainesville Dept of Psychiatry at the IM Sulzbacher Center
Consult Liaison Psychiatrist
UF Health Jacksonville Dept of Psychiatry
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Want to learn more about past Advocacy Days?
- https://psychiatry.ufl.edu/2019/04/26/fourth-annual-dr-richard-c-christensen-memorial-advocacy-day/ (most comprehensive)
- https://psychiatry.ufl.edu/2016/04/25/inaugural-richard-c-christensen-md-lecture-advocacy-day/
- https://ufhealth.org/news/2017/mental-health-experts-gather-remember-christensen-champion-homeless
- https://psychiatry.ufl.edu/2017/04/20/join-us-april-28th-at-12noon-for-the-second-annual-richard-c-christensen-md-memorial-lecture-advocacy-day/
- https://psychiatry.ufl.edu/2018/04/30/third-annual-dr-richard-c-christensen-memorial-advocacy-day/