Career Pulse

Jewish Geriatric Services Taps Baicker as CEO

LONGMEADOW — Martin W. Baicker has been appointed the new president and CEO of Jewish Geriatric Services, where he brings over 25 years of experience building and maintaining multi-system health care organizations.

Baicker holds an MPA in Health Administration from the Wagner School of Public Service, New York University, and for 14 years was the senior vice president of operations and then senior vice president and administrator of Liberty Health/Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus, N.J., a 165-bed, nonprofit community hospital with 470 employees and more than 300 medical staff members.

At Liberty Health/Jersey City Medical Center in Jersey City, N.J., he held the titles of vice president, Clinical Services; vice president, Support Services; and director of Quality Assurance. Baicker has served as trustee on the boards of the Meadowlands Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Hudson Perinatal Consortium, and Hudson Cradle, a home for infants. He was an adjunct instructor at Adelphi University Graduate School of Business, Garden City, N.Y., and the College of Mount St. Vincent, Bronx, N.Y. Baicker is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Mercy Welcomes Glynn as Director of Medical Oncology

SPRINGFIELD — Dr. Philip Glynn has joined Mercy Medical Center and the Sisters Caritas Cancer Center as director of Medical Oncology. Glynn is responsible for all aspects of the Medical Oncology program and its activities, such as cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, state-of-the-art treatment and services, counseling, and rehabilitation. He will also assist with the development and implementation of new program initiatives, such as cancer survivorship, navigation, community outreach, and clinical research/clinical trial participation.

Prior to this new role, Glynn maintained a private practice in Springfield for more than 20 years. He is board-certified in medical oncology, palliative care and hospice, and internal medicine. He serves as assistant clinical professor at Tufts School of Medicine and as medical director of Oncology and Hospice at Noble Hospital in Westfield. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Massachusetts-Rhode Island Make-A-Wish Foundation.

“As a recognized expert in medical oncology, Glynn will play a key role in furthering efforts to distinguish the Sister Caritas Cancer Center as the region’s leading provider of comprehensive services for cancer patients,” said Daniel Moen, president and CEO of the Sisters of Providence Health System.

“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Glynn to our team of dedicated professionals at the Sister Caritas Cancer Center,” added Dr. Scott Wolf, senior vice president of Medical Affairs and chief medical officer at Mercy Medical Center. “His extensive clinical experience and focus on quality will enhance the state-of-the art cancer services already offered to our patients in the community.”

Goncalces Receives ACHCA Facility Achievement Award

SPRINGFIELD — The American College of Health Care Administrators (ACHCA) has recognized Diane Goncalves, administrator of Wingate at Springfield, as a 2012 recipient of the ACHCA Facility Achievement Award. The award was presented in May during the awards banquet at ACHCA’s Annual Convocation and Exposition in Nashville, Tenn.

The ACHCA firmly believes that facility excellence is a reflection of leadership excellence, and the prestigious Facility Achievement Award is made possible with the support of eHealth Data Solutions and is based on three years of skilled-nursing-facility survey data, including a health survey, fire and life-safety survey, complaint surveys, and improvement in the last two quarters of the reported quality measures.

Goncalves credits her staff for the providing quality care worthy of this national recognition. “My staff is second to none. Many of them, like me, have been here for over 20 years, entirely because they love their jobs and the people they serve.”

Celebrating 50 years in existence, the ACHCA is the only professional association devoted solely to meeting the professional needs of today’s long-term-care administrators and executives.

Padmanabhan Opens Pulmonology Practice

HOLYOKE — Dr. Sivakumar Padmanabhan has announced the opening of his private pulmonology practice, Pioneer Valley Lung Associates, on the campus of Holyoke Medical Center.

Padmanabhan, a pulmonologist, is board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, and critical-care medicine, and in addition to operating his practice, he is one of three intensivists at Holyoke Medical Center. Previously, he was a pulmonologist at Christus Spohn Hospitals & Corpus Christi Medical Center and served as director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Christus Spohn Hospital South, both in Texas.

Padmanabhan earned his medical degree from Baratidasan University in India and completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in pulmonary diseases at Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. He completed his fellowship in critical-care medicine from the University of Texas Medical Branch.

Padmanabhan’s areas of interest include treating patients with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema, and lung cancer, and he also specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea.

Rodstein Joins Staff at Baystate Mary Lane

WARE — Baystate Mary Lane Hospital announced that physiatrist Dr. Barry Rodstein has joined the medical staff providing outpatient care in physical medicine and rehabilitation and spinal-cord medicine at the hospital.

A physical medicine physician, also called a physiatrist, treats diseases and disorders including neck and back pain, sports injuries, and neurological conditions including stroke and those resulting from trauma such as spinal-cord injury or head injury.

“We are pleased to have Dr. Rodstein join our medical staff,” said Dr. M. Shafeeq Ahmed, chief operating officer and chief medical officer for Baystate Mary Lane Hospital and the Baystate Health Eastern Region. “His expertise in rehabilitation medicine will serve our patients well, and his experience in working with patients with various disabilities will be a tremendous asset to our team.”

Rodstein, who is the chief of the Division of Rehabilitation Medicine at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, earned his medical degree at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York and completed his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Rodstein is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation and sub-certified in spinal-cord medicine.

Schonholz Tapped to Lead Noble’s Breast Program

WESTFIELD — Noble Hospital and the Noble Health Network welcome Dr. Steven Schonholz, breast surgeon, as director of the Comprehensive Breast Program at Noble Hospital. Schonholz is board-certified by the American Board of Surgery, and is also certified in radioactive-seed localized breast surgery, ASBS ultrasound, and stereotactic procedures.

Schonholz received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and his medical degree from Mount Sinai School of Medicine, both in New York City. He is fellowship-trained in Endoscopy from Mount Sinai Hospital/Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio, and his general surgery internship and residency were at Yale-New Haven Hospital in Connecticut. He is a member of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American College of Surgeons, the National Consortium of Breast Centers, the National Lymphedema Network, and the Society of American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons.

At Noble, Schonholz will be focusing on the identification of women who are at a high risk for breast cancer, genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, pre-operative and post-operative screening for sub-clinical lymphedema, minimally invasive breast surgery, and the development of a survivors’ group.

Schonholz has been awarded two Susan G. Komen grants and will be given an honorary degree in August from Western New England University for excellence in research, early detection, and treatment of breast cancer.

Noble Hospital Welcomes Schmelkin

WESTFIELD — Noble Hospital recently announced the addition of Dr. Ira Schmelkin to Dr. Heidi Kolek’s gastroenterology practice.

Schmelkin is board-certified and specializes in gastroenterological endoscopy, capsule endoscopy, and liver disease, and has extensive experience in diagnostic and therapeutic colonoscopy and endoscopy. He will provide comprehensive gastroenterology services, including diagnostic and screening colonoscopy and endoscopy services, to patients in the greater Westfield area.

Schmelkin received his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo and is fellowship-trained in gastroenterology from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. He is a member of the American Gastroenterologic Assoc., the American College of Gastroenterology, and the American Society of Gastroenterology Endoscopy.

Wrigley Joins Staff at Baystate Franklin

GREENFIELD — Roger Wrigley has joined the staff at Baystate Franklin Medical Center as manager of Security and Emergency Management.

A graduate of Western New England University with a bachelor’s degree in Law Enforcement, Wrigley is currently attending Columbia Southern University, where he is a candidate for a master’s degree in Occupational Safety and Environmental Management.

Wrigley spent 14 years with the Gardner Police Department, first as a police officer, then as a patrol supervisor, and ultimately as the community-policing and school-resource supervisor. Most recently, he served as an environmental health and safety specialist at Johnson Controls in Devens.