Career Pulse

Tessier Recertified by Pharmacotherapy Board

GREENFIELD — Edward Tessier, PharmD, MPH, a clinical pharmacist at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, has been recertified in Pharmacotherapy by the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties (BPS).

Board-certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) is the highest credential in clinical pharmacy practices. Through his board certification, Tessier has demonstrated a defined level of education and training, as well as a mastery of the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the public’s demand for expert pharmaceutical care.

Tessier has been practicing as a clinical pharmacist in Western Mass. since that time. He is currently a part-time faculty member at the UMass School of Nursing, and is co-author of the 22nd edition of Mosby’s Pharmacology in Nursing.

Two other Baystate Health clinical pharmacists also are board-certified with the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties. Kathy Kopzca, PharmD, a pediatric clinical specialist at Baystate Medical Center, was recently board-certified in Pharmaco-therapy, and Dave Brown, PharmD, an oncology clinical specialist, has been board-certified in Oncology since 2000.

Levin, Spath, Tupponce Named HMC Staff Officers

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Medical Center (HMC) has announced the appointment of three physicians as its medical staff officers.

Dr. Andrew Levin was elected president; Dr. Catherine Spath was elected vice president; and Dr. David Tupponce was elected secretary/treasurer.

Levin, who joined the hospital in 1989, has been a member of the HMC Executive Committee since 1995, and previously served as both vice president and secretary/treasurer of the medical staff. Board-certified in Emergency Medicine, he is a member of the Mass. Medical Society and the Hampden District Medical Society. He is also medical director of the Mont Marie Infirmary and the Marian Center in Holyoke, and maintains a full-time private practice at 1221 Main St. in Holyoke.

Board-certified in Orthopedic Surgery with a subspecialty in Hand Surgery, Spath joined Holyoke Medical Center in 2000. She is a member of the Hampden District Medical Society, the Mass. Medical Society, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and the Ruth Jackson Society. Spath practices at 10 Hospital Drive on the hospital campus.

Tupponce, an HMC hospitalist, is board-certified in Family Medicine and worked in private practice in Pittsburgh before coming to Holyoke in the early part of this decade.

Promutual’s Brewer, Afonso Speak at Insurance Conference

BOSTON — Two ProMutual Group executives were guest speakers at the 2007 annual Crittenden Medical Insurance Conference on April 19. The conference was held at the Omni Parker House in Boston and featured several sessions on issues surrounding medical liability insurance. Richard Brewer, president and CEO, and Al Afonso, vice president of claims, spoke in separate sessions.

Brewer joined a panel of other CEOs from regional medical liability insurance companies to discuss forecasted trends and changes in the medical liability insurance industry in the Yogi Berra-inspired session, “If You Don’t Know Where You Are Going, You Will Wind Up Somewhere Else.”

Issues included the future competitive environment, mergers and acquisitions, universal health care, risk retention groups, tort reform, enterprise risk, and more.

Afonso participated in the discussion titled, “Failure to Diagnose Cancer: Litigator, Claim Professional, and Physician Perspectives.” This session focused on how cancer cases are trending as well as suggestions for the avoidance, defense, and resolution of these claims.

Lemieux and Berton Present at Mental Health Conference

WESTFORD — Dr. Paul Lemieux, psychologist and former treatment director at AdCare Hospital, presented on the topic of “Neurobiology of Substance Dependence” at the Mass. Mental Health Counselors Association (MaMHCA) annual conference April 28 in Westford, Mass.

“In addition to the strong behavioral and social components to the disease of addiction, it’s important to understand that the long-term use of addictive substances actually tampers with the brain’s delicate chemical balance,” Lemieux said. “The goal of treatment is to address all aspects of the addiction — physical, psychological, and social — in a sequence that ultimately will allow the individual to enjoy a good quality of life.”

In addition, Jennifer Berton, LCSW, CADAC-II, an outpatient counselor at AdCare Outpatient Services in Worcester, addressed “Methamphetamine: History, Characteristics, and Treatment” at the MaMHCA conference.

Berton has over a decade of experience in the mental health and substance abuse fields.

Of particular note in the substance abuse field, Berton participated in the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment-funded Methamphetamine Project, a first-of-its-kind study that aimed to examine and compare effective treatment models.