Angad Kahlon, MD
Kern Chapter President

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday season with family and friends.

As COVID-19 infections surge across the continent, it has never been more important to get vaccinated and boosted, to protect yourself, patients and loved ones. As of this writing, Kern County has about 52% of its residents fully vaccinated. At Kern Medical, we are encouraging and offering all of our patients the COVID-19 vaccine. In the psychiatry department, we have noticed good success given the rapport and trust we are able to build with our patients. At Kern Medical, we recently had a surge of patients in mental health crisis testing positive for the Covid-19 virus, who required inpatient hospitalization. This led to the Kern Medical inpatient psychiatric unit caring for patients with COVID-19 for a period of time. This was new territory for all of us but with the support and strength from all the medical staff, we have been able to provide superb care for our patients. During these times, it's important we, as the medical community, find time to de-stress and prioritize our own wellness as well, so we can continue to provide quality care for our patients and avoid burnout.

With that being said, Kern Chapter initially had a family picnic planned on 1/22/22 at a local park in Bakersfield, CA. However, due to the rising COVID-19 cases, for the safety of everyone, we decided to postpone our picnic to a later time. Within the chapter, we continue to have active discussion with all members in our Whatsapp group, as we have an open forum to share any updates or news. Many of our CCPS council members throughout the Central Valley have been working hard behind the scenes on various advocacy related issues and this hard work is very much appreciated. Thank you for all you do!

I hope everyone continues to do well, stay safe, and continue working hard in the field that we all love.