Join us on November 14, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. for the next installment of the California Medical Association’s Virtual Grand Rounds – A Surge in Silicosis - Not Just Miner's Lung – which will take a look at a recent uptick in silicosis. While silicosis is a long-recognized occupational disease affecting workers who inhale silica dust, and is preventable by reducing or eliminating silica dust exposure, in recent decades hundreds of cases have been identified worldwide among workers who cut and finish kitchen countertops. In the past four years alone, over 80 cases have been identified among countertop workers in California, including at least 10 worker deaths.

In this Virtual Grand Rounds, we will be joined by two experts in this disease: Amy Heinzerling, M.D., MPH, Public Health Medical Officer and Chief of the Emerging Workplace Hazards Unit, Occupational Health Branch in the California Department of Public Health, who investigates cases of silicosis among California workers, and Jane Fazio, M.D., Clinical Instructor, UCLA Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, who has identified and treated many patients with this disease.

Additionally, California State Epidemiologist Erica Pan, M.D., MPH, will present updates on COVID-19 and the current status of vaccine recommendations for the fall.

The free one-hour webinar is open to all interested parties.   

Virtual Grand Rounds: Emerging Public Health Issues is a free and monthly series providing the latest patient management news and resources. The effort is a partnership between CMA and the California Health and Human Services Agency, with the California Academy of Physician Assistants and the Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of California.

If you are unable to attend the live event, it will be available for on-demand playback at cmadocs.org/grandrounds.