Strengthening the COVID-19 message will be a major focus in 2021 of the new president of the Essex County Medical Society.
Dr. Jessica Summerfield officially stepped in for outgoing president, Dr. Jennifer Bondy, during the Essex County Medical Society Annual General Membership Meeting Friday night.
Dr. Summerfield says strengthening COVID-19 messaging with the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit will be a major focus moving forward.
"Messages that {Medical Officer of Health} Dr. Wajid Ahmed has been doing a fantastic job with, as far as social distancing, hand washing, all these things so that we can really strong health care infrastructure for our region," she says.
Summerfield says doctors need to remember to take care of themselves too.
"Physicians need to take care of one another so we can take care of you," she says. "Working a pandemic definitely takes its toll, so one of our mandates is to really help physicians to continue to stay well so we can continue the important work that we do."
Summerfield says taking over as president during a pandemic is going to be tough, but she knew what she was getting into.
"Unfortunately for Dr. Bondy, my predecessor, when she took over in December [2019] there's no way she could have anticipated the majority of her year would have been consumed with COVID-19," she says. "At least I know this going in, which is very helpful."
The society currently represents more than 450 members in Windsor-Essex.