Career Pulse

WILBRAHAM — Baystate Wing Hospital announced that Dr. Dennies Cuevas-Rivera, a board-certified internal-medicine physician, has joined the medical staff and is now accepting new patients at Wilbraham Medical Center located at 2344 Boston Road in Wilbraham.

“We are proud to welcome Dr. Cuevas-Rivera to our Wilbraham medical practice,” said Dr. Mohammed Ahmed, chief operating officer and chief medical officer of the Baystate Health Eastern Region, which includes Baystate Wing Hospital and Baystate Mary Lane Hospital. “He will be a great addition to the staff and is dedicated to offering health promotion, preventive medicine, and wellness to our community members.”

Cuevas-Rivera earned his medical degree at Ponce School of Medicine, Ponce, Puerto Rico, and completed his residency in internal medicine at Brook Army Medical Center at Fort Sam in Houston. He served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom as a combat medical advisor. During his service, he received the Meritorious Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the NATO Non-Article 5 Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.

He is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine, the American College of Physicians, and the U.S. Army Medical Department Regiment. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Italian.

Cuevas-Rivera is now accepting new patients. To make an appointment with him or one of the providers at the Wilbraham Medical Center — Dr. Linda Schoonover in adult medicine, Dr. Asha Sindwani in pediatrics, and physician assistants Jason Franconeri and Kate Cameron — call (413) 596-3455.

LEE — Representatives of Porchlight VNA/Home Care and Kindred Laurel Lake recently announced the recipient and nominees of the second annual Tender Tributes awards presentation.

The awards celebrate frontline caregivers in the Greater Berkshire region. Fifteen caregivers, serving Berkshire home-care agencies, skilled-nursing facilities, and assisted-living communities, were selected by their peers, clients, and administrators for their exceptional work and dedication.

The Tender Tributes Caregiver of the Year Award was presented to Elaine Keane, CHA/HHA, of Porchlight Home Care, who has worked as a home health aide for more than 30 years. Attending the ceremony was Barbara Wisionowski, the daughter of one of Keane’s longtime clients, the late Joseph Piechowski. Wisionowski credited Keane for improving her father’s quality of life in the 16 years she cared for him. Piechowski passed away in April in his own home at the age of 107.

Tender Tributes is an important way to recognize individuals who provide essential services to elderly people and others with physical and/or cognitive limitations, said Porchlight VNA/Home Care CEO Holly Chaffee. “We hope to take any opportunity we can to celebrate their incredible work, and to hear the remarkable stories of how they continue to positively impact the lives of so many in our community. I congratulate all of those who earned a Tender Tribute certificate and all of those who have chosen this admirable profession.”

Other recipients of 2015 Tender Tribute awards include Jamie Nolli, At Home with Berkshire Place; Louis Lingebach, At Home with Berkshire Place; Edith Messina, Amedysis Home Health; Joan Lane, Porchlight VNA; Susan Stillman, Cameron House Assisted Living; Tony Monterosso, Home Care for Seniors of Massachusetts; Leroy Strattman, Kindred Laurel Lake Assisted Living; Katrina Burt, Porchlight Home Care; Lisa Berry, Springside Rehabilitation & Nursing Care Center; Jamie Hunt, Kindred Laurel Lake Skilled Nursing Center; Innocent Idah, Craneville Place of Dalton Rehabilitation & Nursing Center; Carol Sunn, Sweet Brook Rehabilitation & Nursing Center; Dawn Hazzard, Timberlyn Heights Rehabilitation & Care Center; and Monica Pacheco, Mount Carmel Care Center.

LONGMEADOW — Jewish Geriatric Services Inc. (JGS) held its annual meeting last week, providing membership the opportunity to elect officers and directors of JGS and all subsidiaries.

“We are at a crossroads in our 103-year journey,” said Martin Baicker, president and CEO of JGS, “bridging past and future with Project Transformation, which will transform our campus and the care we provide. JGS is a learning organization. We will enhance services for elders.”

James Rosenthal was elected to a new two-year term on the JGS board of directors. Eric Berg was elected chairman of both the Jewish Nursing Home and Ruth’s House, Brad Foster was elected treasurer for Genesis House, and Mark Katz was elected a director of Genesis House, filling vacancies left by departing board members Michael Hurwitz, Michael Ginsburg, and Donald Frank, who were recognized for their service.

Dr. Robert Baevsky, chair of the JGS board of directors, awarded William Burrows with the annual Chairman’s Service Award, for 35 years of outstanding service, stewardship, and volunteerism. Baevsky said it was an honor to pay tribute to “a man with an ever-present smile and the talent to turn the ordinary into something extraordinary.”

Burrows, the former owner of Wm. Burrows Florist in Longmeadow, has helped plan themes, table settings, and décor for several signature JGS events, from annual donor and Passover dinners to long-time involvement in the Frankel-Kinsler Golf Classic.

Burrows has served on a number of development and event committees. For the past 12 years, he’s also lent a hand on Honorable Menschen Day each Dec. 25, assisting residents and employees of the Leavitt Family Jewish Home and Ruth’s House. A member of the JGS Circle of Honor, he has enriched the lives of residents and families through planned giving at the highest level, and has also helped raise funds in support of JGS programming and services.

Also at the annual meeting, Susan Kimball Halpern, vice president of philanthropy, provided on update on the Project Transformation Campaign, a $9 million capital campaign in support of five campus initiatives that will enhance person-centered care across all services. Six million dollars has been raised to date in the campaign, half represented by a $3 million naming gift for the Sosin Center for Rehabilitation.

Members also learned of the Grinspoon Foundation’s $500,000 challenge grant that will be matched to all new gifts, as well as increased gifts to the campaign. For more information, contact Halpern at (413) 567-6211 or e-mail shalpern@jewishgeriatric.org.

BOSTON — On May 26, Madelyn Breen, an oncology registered nurse at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, was among the honorees at “the one hundred” — 100 individuals, groups, and organizations from across the country and around the globe who are changing the fight against cancer and inspiring others to take action. Created and supported by the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in 2008, the one hundred celebrates hope in the cancer community.

Breen officially retired in 2011, but her dedication to caring for people living with cancer brings her back to Cooley Dickinson three days a week as an oncology registered nurse. In a career that spans 45 years — all at CDH — Breen has set an example of providing exceptional nursing care, leading to her selection as one of the 100 honorees who are changing the fight against cancer and inspiring others to take action. Read more about the award at www.theonehundred.org/honorees/madelyn-breen-rn-bsn-ocn.

In addition, Breen received the Mass. Nursing Assoc. Clinical Excellence Award in 1991 and the American Cancer Society’s Volunteers’ Community Partner’s Award in 2012 for her volunteer leadership. In addition, Breen has served in many leadership positions for the Relay for Life.

Nearly 1,000 nominations were submitted for consideration for the one hundred in 2015 from sources around the world. As in previous years, the list includes remarkable and diverse individuals and organizations from all walks of life.

“At the Mass General Cancer Center, we pair the most advanced science with the most compassionate care. As a result of this comprehensive approach, we are recognized around the globe as a leader in the fight against cancer,” said Dr. Daniel Haber, director of the Cancer Center.

“Each year, the one hundred honors those who support our mission to help people living with cancer, in inspiring and often revolutionary ways,” he continued. “Our honorees are truly amazing. They are doctors and nurses selflessly caring for patients and their families, advocates raising awareness for the cancer cause, researchers working tirelessly in their laboratories to make important discoveries, and philanthropists contributing generously to make a cure possible.”

A signature event, the one hundred is also a key fund-raiser for the Mass General Cancer Center. A dinner honoring recipients was held at the Westin Copley Place in Boston on May 26. Funds raised support the Cancer Center’s research into targeted therapies and early-detection technologies, as well as innovative supportive-care programs.

The full list of the one hundred recipients for 2015, along with their photos and stories, can be found at www.theonehundred.org/honorees.

GREENFIELD — Dennis Chalke, senior vice president of Community Hospitals for Baystate Health, announced that Steven Bradley, president of Baystate Franklin Medical Center (BFMC) and Baystate Health’s Northern Region, is stepping down from his position to deal with unexpected and urgent family-related issues.

Dr. Thomas Higgins, chief medical officer of BFMC and the Northern Region, will take on the additional role of interim president of the hospital and the region, effective immediately.

“Steven played a major role in moving forward BFMC’s project to modernize and renovate its operating rooms, and over the years strengthened Baystate Health’s relationships with many community-based organizations. We thank him for those contributions, and we wish him well in his future endeavors,” said Chalke.

In his prior role at Baystate Health, as vice president of Government and Community Relations and Public Affairs, Bradley was a crucial contributor to Baystate’s work to bring healthcare out of the hospital and into the community, advocating for social justice and public health and partnering with community-based organizations across Western Mass.

Higgins is a graduate of Boston University with a bachelor’s degree in medical science; he continued at BU to earn his medical degree. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. He completed a residency in anesthesiology, was chief resident, and completed a fellowship in critical care at Massachusetts General Hospital. He also earned an MBA at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.

Higgins joined Baystate Health in 1996 as chief of Baystate Medical Center’s Critical Care Division. Since 2012, he has served as vice chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Medicine and as interim chief in the Division of General Medicine/Community Health. He is a professor of Medicine, Surgery, and Anesthesiology at Tufts University School of Medicine.

“Serving as the chief medical officer for BFMC and the Northern Region — and seeing for myself the ways a community hospital can influence a community’s health — has inspired me,” Higgins said. “I’m eager to accept this new challenge and continue the work of advancing our mission in Franklin County.”

MONSON — Baystate Wing Hospital announced that Dr. Samson Hanka, a board-certified internal-medicine physician, has joined the medical staff and is now accepting new patients at Monson Medical Center located at 2 Main St. in Monson. The full team there includes Dr. John Diggs, Dr. Joanna Preibisz, and physician assistant Lindsey Marchand in adult medicine; Dr. Lori Trask in pediatrics; and registered dietitian Christine King.

“We are proud to welcome Dr. Hanka to our community,” said Dr. Mohammed Ahmed, chief operating officer and chief medical officer of the Baystate Health Eastern Region, which includes Baystate Wing Hospital and Baystate Mary Lane Hospital. “We believe that accessibility, compassion, and communication are important qualities in patient care. And in Dr. Hanka, residents of the Monson area have a strong advocate of health promotion, preventive medicine, and wellness.”

Hanka earned his medical degree at Jimma University, Ethiopia, and completed his residency in internal medicine at Metro West Medical Center in Framingham. He is a member of the Mass. Medical Society, the American College of Physicians, and the American Medical Assoc.

“I look forward building trusting relationships and providing excellent care in the community setting,” Hanka said. “Helping my patients improve their health and quality of life is what I enjoy most in my role as a primary-care physician.”

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call Monson Medical Center at (413) 267-9101.

SPRINGFIELD — Two Baystate Medical Center physicians were honored recently by the Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians (MACEP) for advancing excellence in emergency care.

Dr. Sunny Mani Shukla received the Emergency Medicine Fellow of the Year award, and Dr. Lauren Westafer received the Emergency Medicine Resident of the Year award, during MACEP’s recent annual meeting.

The Emergency Medicine Resident and Fellow of the Year awards recognize an outstanding emergency-medicine resident and emergency-medicine fellow in Massachusetts, whose combination of clinical promise, leadership, ability to think outside the box, and commitment to patients and emergency medicine separate them from others.

Westafer earned her doctor of osteopathic medicine and master of public health degrees from Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Blogging on emergency medicine even before her residency, today she co-hosts an educational podcast and frequently tweets and blogs about important and interesting articles, keeping her colleagues up to date on the latest in emergency medicine.

Westafer regularly takes on additional tasks as part of her residency, including providing statistical mini-lectures to colleagues. An adjunct assistant professor at Western New England University College of Pharmacy, she lectures pharmacy students preparing to enter the field of medicine. She has also been recognized as a Knowledge to Action Fellow by the Emergency Medicine Residents’ Assoc. (EMRA) and the New York Academy of Medicine.

“Dr. Westafer is an incredibly talented physician with the potential to contribute greatly to academic emergency medicine. Her ability to review the current literature and distill it into an easily digestible format is incredibly valuable and will make her a strong contributor in the future,” said Dr. Niels Rathlev, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Baystate.

Shukla, who received his medical degree from Manipal University in Karnataka, India, completed a residency in emergency medicine at Baystate. He participated in MACEP’s Leadership & Advocacy Fellowship Program in 2014, and recently designed the Baystate Emergency Department’s Administrative Fellowship.

He was also selected by the EMRA as one of 10 residents nationwide to receive an EDDA scholarship, which provides financial assistance to resident leaders to attend the Emergency Department Directors Academy, designed to help them develop leadership skills that will advance their careers, their local emergency departments, and the specialty of emergency medicine.

Shukla, who provides emergency care at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, was also the second-place winner in the Emergency Medicine Physicians’ emp.com third annual Video Challenge, allowing residents to show off their residency program in a creative way. As secretary/newsletter editor for the American College of Emergency Physicians’ Emergency Medicine Practice Management and Health Policy Section, he also uses his talents to mentor residents in writing scholarly articles.

“Dr. Shukla has tremendous potential as a future leader in healthcare,” Rathlev said. “He has a particular interest in administrative matters and is currently obtaining his MBA at UMass Amherst. He is an active contributor to important patient-care and safety initiatives at Baystate Health.”