By: DoM Communications
In this month’s Chair’s Spotlight, we feature Alyssa Cali, DO, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.
For Dr. Cali, advocacy has always been a driving force in her approach to care. An early internship with AmeriCorps inspired her commitment to serving the community and advocating for improved access to health care.
“During my internship, I worked doing outreach in homeless shelters in the greater Boston area before I even went to medical school, and I saw the lack of access to health care,” explained Dr. Cali. “You'd think that people in Boston have just such easy access to health care, but I saw that they didn't, and even when the patients did have access to health care, navigating it was tremendously difficult for them.”
With a clear goal of advocating for her community, Dr. Cali decided to pursue medical school. She earned her DO from the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, Maine. While in medical school, she further pursued her passion for advocacy by volunteering at local high schools, where she taught students about blood pressure, healthy eating, and exercise.
Dr. Cali went on to complete her internal medicine residency at UMass at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. During her residency, she maintained a strong focus on patient advocacy, volunteering in a juvenile detention center and assisting with outreach efforts in Springfield. She then continued her training at Baystate, completing a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine. She also advocated for patients at the Massachusetts State House, supporting proposed legislation to improve access to health care.
Dr. Cali currently practices at HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital in Leominster, Massachusetts. A native of Leominster, Dr. Cali was ecstatic about returning to care for the community in which she was raised. “I want to take care of this community, and my focus has really been how we can establish a cardiology practice in this area that people feel comfortable going to,” said Dr. Cali. “We all just care so much about this community and making this a great place for patients to receive care.”
Aside from her clinical responsibilities at UMass, Dr. Cali is interested in learning more about how people use social media and other platforms to access medical information. “I am actually in the early stages of talking with some cardiology fellows about the topic and exploring how much of what we see on social media is factual in terms of medical information that is being put out there,” explained Dr. Cali. “We want to make sure that we can educate our patients on what resources may be appropriate for them to use and what resources may not be factual or may give them information that could be dangerous to their cardiovascular health.” Over time, Dr. Cali hopes to identify new, reliable ways for the community to access accurate health information.
Another major focus for Dr. Cali is improving the overall patient experience. At the Leominster cardiology clinic, she and her colleagues are developing a new echo lab, with a plan to offer stress echocardiograms for patients in the area. “It takes a whole team effort, everyone has to be on board with making sure that we can offer the highest quality testing for our patients, and the echo lab opening here soon in Leominster is going to improve patients' ability to have echos here as opposed to needing to travel,” said Dr. Cali. “Improving the overall cardiovascular care experience is something we have daily conversations about, and it’s really great to be able to offer high-quality testing here.” Dr. Cali and her colleagues are hopeful the new echo lab will be operational by this summer, improving access to additional testing for patients.
Dr. Cali finds that the most rewarding aspect of her work is being able to care for patients both in and outside of the hospital setting. “That’s what’s been so rewarding for me, is that I not only take care of these patients in the hospital, but many of them I take care of when they are out of the hospital. Here, we really can offer that full circle of care,” shared Dr. Cali. With each encounter, Dr. Cali ensures that patients and families feel reassured by providing vital information and discussing the next steps in their care.
In terms of patient care, Dr. Cali finds that one of the biggest challenges is transportation. “It can be challenging for patients to get to appointments in a financially feasible way, and that’s been one of the bigger challenges,” said Dr. Cali. To help address this, Dr. Cali is working with her colleagues on expanding telehealth options for patients who are unable to come to the clinic in person.
Outside of her clinical work, Dr. Cali remains committed to the community, actively mentoring residents in the family medicine residency program in Leominster and visiting local high schools to inspire students to pursue careers in medicine. “I love cardiology, it’s absolutely fascinating. Every day, I learn something new, and I like to share that love with everyone,” said Dr. Cali.
We thank Dr. Cali for her dedication not only to her patients, but to the local community and our department!