Career Pulse

Grow Appointed Chair of Ob/Gyn at Baystate

SPRINGFIELD — Dr. Daniel Grow, who helped to develop Baystate Medical Center’s reproductive medicine program over the years, offering hope to couples faced with infertility, has been appointed chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baystate Medical Center.

Grow, who joined Baystate in 1993, received his medical degree from the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Pennsylvania State University. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at York Hospital in Pennsylvania and his fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School, in Norfolk, Va.

During Grow’s tenure at BMC, he has served as director of In Vitro Fertilization, medical director of Baystate Reproductive Medicine, medical director of the Wesson Women’s Group, chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology, vice chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and interim chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Grow’s research interests center around assisted reproductive technologies, improvements in fertility therapy, and minimally invasive surgery, with regular presentations at national meetings. He is actively involved with the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

In his new position, Grow will simultaneously serve as deputy chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tufts University School of Medicine. Baystate Medical Center serves as the western campus of Tufts University School of Medicine, and educates many of Tufts’ medical students.

Hanson Joins BFMC Hospital Medicine Team

GREENFIELD — Bonnie Jo Hanson, PA-C, has joined the hospital medicine team at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, and is also providing part-time coverage in the hospital’s Emergency Department. She comes to BFMC from an outpatient practice in Springfield and, before that, the Hospital Medicine program at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield.

“I was born at Wesson Women’s Hospital, which is now Baystate Medical Center; my family members have all been cared for at Baystate hospitals; and I did several of my clinical rotations here at Baystate Franklin during my training,” said Hanson. “So this really does feel like a homecoming for me, and I am excited to be part of such a dynamic team.”

Hanson completed her undergraduate studies at UMass Amherst, where she designed her own major in Child Development and Assessment. “I took every course I could find related to human growth and development,” said Hanson, whose first career was as a special-needs teacher for middle-school students with behavioral and emotional difficulties.

“I was good at teaching and running programs, but after seven years in that position and partway through a master’s degree, I acknowledged that my real dream was medicine,” she added. “So I quit my job, quit graduate school, and took the foundation courses I needed in the basic sciences.” Later, Hanson taught an Anatomy and Physiology course at Springfield Technical Community College.

Hanson completed her two-year master’s program in Medicine at the University of New England Physician Assistant program in Westbrook, Maine, and did several clinical rotations with physicians on staff at Baystate Franklin Medical Center, including Dr. Jacques Blanchet in the Emergency Department, Dr. James Arcoleo in Cardiology, and Drs. Alan McClelland and Stephen Fox in General Surgery. “These attending physicians were such wonderful mentors for me,” said Hanson, “and I am delighted to now be working with them as part of the inpatient care team.”

Children’s Hospital Taps Pulmonologist Kaslovsky

SPRINGFIELD — Pediatric pulmonologist Dr. Robert Kaslovsky has joined the Department of Pediatrics at Baystate Children’s Hospital, where he is serving as chief of the Pediatric Pulmonology Division.

Kaslovsky, who has special expertise in asthma, cystic fibrosis, and flexible bronchoscopy, comes to Baystate from West Virginia University Physicians of Charleston, where he was director of the Pediatric Pulmonary Section and a professor of Pediatrics. He is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric pulmonology.

He earned his medical degree at Albany Medical College, where he was a member of the faculty for 21 years, and completed his residency in pediatrics, as well as a fellowship in pediatric pulmonary and infectious disease, at Albany Medical Center Hospital.

Kaslovsky serves on numerous national professional organizations, including the Patient Registry Committee of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Faculty Development Task Force of the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, the American Thoracic Society, and the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Pediatric Pulmonology.

Kaslovsky has received several awards and honors over the years, including the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Lung Assoc. of West Virginia and Asthma Coalition of West Virginia, and was most recently listed in the Guide to America’s Top Pediatricans. An active researcher, he is published in numerous peer-reviewed journals and abstracts and has contributed a chapter on “Cystic Fibrosis, Then and Now” in the book My Children, My Children by P. Callopy.

Kaslovsky sees patients at Baystate Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine – a Baystate Children’s Hospital Practice, located at 3300 Main St. in Springfield. He is part of Baystate Health’s board-certified team of pediatricians, who provide primary care and hospital coverage to patients throughout Western New England and serve on the faculty of Tufts University School of Medicine’s western campus at Baystate Medical Center.

He is currently accepting new patients on a referral basis and welcomes physician calls for consultations and second opinions. Most insurance plans are accepted. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (413) 794-0815.

Be Well Kids Inc. Welcomes Margiotta

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Be Well Kids Inc., an up-and-coming after-school program in West Springfield has announced the addition of Nicole Margiotta as assistant director.

Nicole comes to Be Well Kids from Elms College, where she received a bachelor’s degree in Social Work. She also has an associate’s degree in Human Services.

“Nicole is an ambitious addition to BWK,” said Mary-Anne DiBlasio, executive director of the program. “She is a self-motivated machine, with impressive results on any and all projects put in her path.”

With Be Well Kids being a startup, DiBlasio said, much work needs to be done by the time the September opening comes around, and she feels Nicole is the right fit to tackle those responsibilities.

“Nicole’s lifelong dream has been to work with children,” she said. “She just did not know in what capacity that would be; well, now she does.”

Margiotta also spent some time interning at both Shriners Children’s Hospital in Springfield, as well as working alongside guidance counselors at Mittineague Elementary School in West Springfield.

BFMC Names Mortimer Nurse Manager of ED

GREENFIELD — Michelle Mortimer, RN, has been appointed nurse manager of the Emergency Department at Baystate Franklin Medical Center. She comes to this position from Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, where she had most recently served as manager of a surgical orthopedic outpatient unit.

Mortimer first attended the Thompson School of Practical Nursing, and worked as an LPN for a short time; then graduated with high honors from the Vermont Technical College Nursing program in 1996. She is presently completing a combination bachelor’s and master’s degree in nursing through the University of Vermont.

Mortimer got her first taste of emergency nursing as an LPN, working at Grace Cottage Hospital in Townsend, Vt. “It’s a tiny hospital — just 16 beds — and the day after I graduated from nursing school and had my RN, I was made charge nurse there, overseeing Emergency, Obstetrics, and Med/Surg,” she recalled.

After Grace Cottage, Mortimer went on to Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, where she was trained as a sexual-assault examiner and worked nights in the Emergency Department. She then left to work as an agency nurse, and spent periods of time covering various medical/surgical units at Baystate Medical Center as well as the occupational health service there. When she was offered the position of house supervisor of the day shift at Brattleboro Memorial, she returned to her hometown hospital, later taking on the nurse-manager role.

To promote education at BFMC, she has since instituted a monthly lecture series, in which physicians and nurses from throughout the hospital address various clinical topics, and the nurses are also planning hands-on learning days during which they will practice specific skills they want to maintain.

Siersma Elected to Hospital Assoc. Board

CHATHAM — Dr. Peter Siersma, an internal-medicine physician, was elected to the Mass. Hospital Assoc. (MHA) board of trustees at its annual meeting held on June 11. With his appointment to the board, Siersma joins health system presidents and other health care leaders from across the state.

“As we move forward into the next fiscal year, MHA is exceptionally fortunate to be moving from strength to strength,” said MHA President and CEO Lynn Nicholas. “While I am always impressed with the quality of MHA’s board of trustees, this year’s slate of candidates is truly exceptional.”

Siersma has practiced in Williamsburg since 1985. His service to Pioneer Valley residents and Cooley Dickinson Hospital and its medical staff spans more than 20 years. He has served as both vice president and president of the CDH medical staff and as the medical director at Calvin Coolidge Nursing Home and the Northampton Rehabilitation & Nursing Center.

In 2008, Siersma received the William E. Dwyer Distinguished Service Award, a recognition given to outstanding individuals whose service on behalf of Cooley Dickinson exemplifies loyalty, leadership, and dedication to improving the health of the community.

Weidl Joins Team at Performance Rehab

EAST LONGMEADOW — Performance Rehabilitation has announced the addition of Lynne Weidl, PT, to its physical therapy team at 80 Denslow Road.

Weidl has over 15 years of experience in outpatient orthopedics. She received her physical therapy degree from Boston University. Her specialty is in sports rehabilitation and manual therapy.

While at BU, Weidl played on the women’s basketball team; her senior class led the Terriers to the most wins in a four-year span (71) in school history. Lynne is currently available to offer a unique combination of clinical and athletic experience to orthopedic patients at Performance Rehab. Call (413) 526-9924 to schedule an appointment.