Q&A: Leonard Mermel
Infectious Disease
How has the coronavirus affected your workflow?
We wrote guides for pandemic planning at Lifespan a few years back when we were dealing
with SARS and H1N1. I was fortunate to address the National Academy of Science’s Institute
of Medicine twice about pandemic planning for hospitals, specifically for respiratory viral
infections. For the last few months, I have been spending most of my time working on preparedness
for the Lifespan system. I continue to work closely with the Rhode Island Department of
Health to align our efforts with theirs amid COVID-19.
As medical director of infection control, what infectious diseases have you dealt with the most?
Part of my job is seeing patients on our infectious disease consult service. As the medical
director of infection control, I’m also responsible for curtailing the spread of germs in health
care settings. What is amazing about Rhode Island Hospital is the diversity of our patient
population. It brings in people from all walks of life and from all over the world. What is
challenging, intellectually very gratifying and makes my life exciting when I see patients, is
when I am on the infectious disease consult service, and I may see something I have never
before. Because of all of the patients we serve, we see a vast number of infectious disease
challenges that makes it stimulating and enjoyable to come in every day.
What advice of preventative measures would you offer patients to steer clear of
infectious diseases?
Keep up with your vaccination schedule, whether it be pediatric or adult. Get enough sleep
because it has an effect on immune function. Diet is also very important. Good personal hygiene
includes frequent hand hygiene, particularly after contact with a high-touch surface. Avoid
high-touch surfaces, like inside a bathroom, or use a barrier; a paper towel to open the door is
ideal. In addition, stay at least six feet away from someone who has a transmissible illness and
minimize exposure to them. If you are traveling outside of the country, you can check the CDC
website to see what list of vaccines you may need. In the summer, we have a very high incidence
of tickborne diseases in Rhode Island. So use insect repellent, wear long sleeves and look at the
CDC website for other things you should be aware of.
What does a typical day-to-day look like?
It’s rarely the same from day to day. I do direct patient care, sometimes I am working on general
infection control issues, other times I am mentoring people. Some of the time, I work on
national and international guidelines on how to reduce risk of health care-associated infections.
It is profoundly variable.
You’ve wanted to be a doctor since you were ten. Why did you gravitate to infectious disease?
My grandmother was hospitalized, and she was a very strong stabilizing factor in my youth.
I told my mom and my grandmother I wanted to be a doctor so I could help people. I took a
course in college on studying parasites and I really enjoyed it. Although I was an undergraduate,
I was allowed to help teach the class. I went to public health school before medical school, and
I took courses on epidemiology of infectious diseases. During my residency training, various
fields of medicine interested me but I kept coming back to infectious disease. I did a rotation
as a medical resident and found the greatest satisfaction in trying to figure out if someone had
an infection, cancer, a rheumatological condition and more.
What aspects of your job keep you up at night?
On a local, regional and national level, staying a step ahead as much as humanly possible is on
my mind when I go to sleep and wake up. Often I think of something in the middle of the night
and wake up to write it down. I feel responsible in trying to mitigate risk to patients, staff and
visitors and I have to go to bed every night knowing I have done everything I possibly can to
do that.
Jose Bernardo Quintos [RIH]
Valerie Thomas [MIR]
Lisa Swartz Topor [RIH]
Family Medicine
Denise M. Arcand [KENT]
Katherine D. McCleary [KENT]
Mark Rosenberg [KENT]
Gastroenterology
Paul Akerman [RIH]
Eric Berthiaume [KENT]
Carolina Cerezo [HCH]
William T. Chen [MIR, RIH, RW]
Christy L. Dibble [WI]
Alan Epstein [RW]
Michael I. Herzlinger [HCH, RIH]
Neil Greenspan [MIR]
Samir Shah [MIR]
Jason Shapiro [HCH]
Nabil Anis Toubia [RW]
Philip Trupiano [KENT]
Geriatric Medicine
Rebecca Brown [RW]
Lynn McNicoll [MIR, NPT, RIH]
John A. Stoukides [RW]
Geriatric Psychiatry
Laura Anne Stanton [MIR]
Gynecologic Oncology
Christina Bandera [MIR]
Paul A. DiSilvestro [WI]
Cara Mathews [WI]
Katina Robison [WI]
Ashley Stuckey [WI]
Hematology
James Nicholas Butera
[MIR, RIH]
Ritesh Rathore [RW]
John Reagan [RIH]
Sundaresan T. Sambandam
[KENT, RIH]
Hospice/Palliative Medicine
Angela Anderson [RIH]
Edward W. Martin [RIH, SC]
Maria Aileen Soriano-Pisaturo
[KENT, WI]
Hospitalist
Kwame Dapaah-Afriyie [MIR]
Brian Kenneth Alverson
[HCH, RIH]
Rajnish Bansal [RW] >>
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