Often on the Road, Always on Point: 2020 MDOY is a Hero to Many

If you want to talk with Fred Feinsod, MD, MPH, DSc, CMD, FACP, AMDA’s 2020 Medical Director of the Year (MDOY), don’t be surprised if that means catching him on the road. Dr. Feinsod is a multi-facility medical director and attending physician in Colorado. He serves hundreds of nursing home residents throughout the state, and he travels many miles every week to ensure that all of them get quality care. His efforts also help the practitioners and other interdisciplinary team members in those facilities, who often don’t have access to key resources. To residents and staff alike, Dr. Feinsod is a hero.

“It is very important to be supportive of rural communities. They need to know there is a caring physician who answers the phone and works out problems with facility leadership and individual nurses when there is a clinical issue,” says Dr. Feinsod. “They need to know that they are not alone and can have the confidence that a practitioner who knows long-term care will be available to them and share education and resources.”

Education is key, Dr. Feinsod observes, as staff in rural communities not only don’t have access to meetings and conferences, they often lack the ability to pursue online resources. However, Dr. Feinsod notes that it doesn’t end there: “We have to make sure that staff and practitioners understand how what we are sharing with them, for instance the use of a clinical practice guideline, will positively impact their work.”

Dr. Feinsod presents dozens of in-service programs for nurses and other staff at his facilities. He is passionate about professional ethics; he is a founding member of several community ethics committees throughout Colorado and currently chairs two of them.

Like so many members, Dr. Feinsod found his professional home when he discovered AMDA. He uses the clinical practice guidelines in many of his facilities, and he is grateful for the organization’s tremendous guidance and leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. He has been on the board of both AMDA and the AMDCP, and he chaired the latter in 2010. And he is always in demand as a presenter and expert at conferences.

Dr. Feinsod has overcome challenges and stayed true to his calling. He says, “When I first started working in rural areas, I was a pariah. I would talk about issues such as restraint reduction, falls prevention, and infection control practices, and there was a lot of pushback to what I was saying. There was no internet or established credibility regarding the long-term care physician or medical director. It took a while to gain traction and establish credibility.”

Proud to be a physician leader, Dr. Feinsod notes, “As a medical director, you are part of the leadership, and many people learn from you and are looking to you for guidance. Staff and practitioners receive strength by this leader showing an interest in them and their growth as professionals.”

While medical directors are teachers, says Dr. Feinsod, they also need to be students. “I am so grateful for all the programming and resources AMDA has.” At the same time, he believes that the Core Curriculum is key to taking physician leaders to the next level. “The CMD [Certified Medical Director] designation gives us credibility and pride in our profession.” It’s “remarkable,” he notes, that so many physicians are CMDs and carry a standard of care and good medical practice.

Dr. Feinsod is honored and proud to be 2020 Medical Director of the Year; but he is also quick to praise his team. “Whether a facility is rural or urban, strong clinical teams—lead by a knowledgeable medical director—make a difference. Nowhere is this more important than in addressing infection control,” he explains. “Whether it’s a rural or urban facility, the practice of long-term care medicine has so much impact on infectious disease issues. It has everything to do with practicing good medicine and being responsible for good care and the safety of our patients.”

Established in 2007, the MDOY award recognizes a PALTC facility medical director whose vision, passion, leadership, and commitment succeed in taking patient care to exceptional levels of quality, excellence, and innovation. Click here for a list of past award recipients.