Career Pulse

Mercy Names Roose Chief Medical Officer

SPRINGFIELD — Dr. Robert Roose has been named chief medical officer for Mercy Medical Center. In this position, Roose provides clinical leadership and administrative direction in developing and attaining strategic and operating objectives related to medical practice and patient care at Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates. He also serves as a liaison between administration and the medical staff, and provides leadership in advancing quality initiatives, clinical care, patient satisfaction, and provider and colleague engagement.

Roose joined the Mercy team in 2013, first serving as chief medical officer of Addiction and Recovery Services at Providence Behavioral Health Hospital (PBHH), and later as vice president of Behavioral Health for Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates. His many accomplishments include spearheading the expansion of opioid-treatment programs and championing the creation of the clinical-stabilization service at PBHH. He most recently served in the regional role of chief of Addiction Medicine & Recovery Services for Trinity Health Of New England and has been participating in the Trinity Health Strategic Leadership Program with selected leaders from around the nation.

In addition to his clinical responsibilities, Roose has served on the Quality Improvement Council of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the Clinical Issues Advisory Council and Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment Task Force of the Massachusetts Hospital Assoc., and Gov. Charlie Baker’s Opioid Addiction Working Group. He has presented and published on various aspects of addiction treatment, and has been a prominent community leader and spokesperson on efforts throughout the region to address the opioid epidemic.

Roose earned his doctor of medicine and master in public health degrees at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington D.C. and completed his residency training in Family Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center/Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, N.Y.

“In addition to his clinical expertise and proven leadership skills, Dr. Roose always demonstrates empathy and compassion in his dealings with patients and colleagues,” said Mark Fulco, president of Mercy Medical Center and its affiliates. “He is a valuable resource to the individuals we serve, our health ministry, and the local community.”

LifePath Promotes Merrell to Marketing, Outreach Coordinator

GREENFIELD — Janis Merrell, who has been a resource consultant at LifePath since 2015, has accepted the position of Marketing and Outreach coordinator in the Community Services department.

In her years in the Information and Caregiver Resource department at LifePath, Merrell has helped hundreds of elders access the help they need to live independently, maintained and updated resources listings, represented LifePath at community events, and more. Prior to coming to LifePath, she held several client-service and communications roles and brings experience developing newsletters, e-mail campaigns, webinars, and websites.

Merrell earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and English from UMass. Her communications experience and in-depth knowledge of LifePath’s programs and services, as well as its consumers, will be welcomed in its efforts to make the agency’s message heard and understood throughout the community.

Baystate Primary Care Welcomes Chivers

MONSON — Marie Chivers, a family nurse practitioner, has joined Baystate Primary Care in Monson.

Chivers earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from University of Vermont in Burlington; a master’s degree in nursing administration from Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y.; and a post-graduate certificate as a family nurse practitioner from UMass Amherst. “I’m looking forward to caring for people in the Monson community,” she said.

Chivers comes to Baystate Primary Care in Monson with a rich history of working at Baystate Medical Center providing inpatient and outpatient care in endocrinal and diabetes, heart and vascular/electrophysiology, and emergency medicine. 

“Marie is a wonderful addition to our adult-medicine practice in Monson,” said Dr. David Maguire, chief medical officer for Baystate Mary Lane and Baystate Wing Hospital. “We are proud to have her join us in our commitment to provide families living in our community access to primary care close to home.”

Kaufman Accepted to Distinguished Physical Therapy Faculty Program

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield College Professor of Physical Therapy Regina Kaufman has been has been accepted to the Parkinson’s Foundation Distinguished Physical Therapy Faculty Program. This competitive program improves Parkinson’s physical-therapy care by training faculty leaders across the U.S. with the latest evidence-based findings in Parkinson’s research and care, which can be useful in educating physical-therapy students.

The intensive course is open to only eight physical-therapy faculty per site, which allows physical-therapy educators to immerse themselves in learning. Kaufman has currently completed all requirements of the program. 

With the number of people living with Parkinson’s globally expected to double by 2040 to nearly 13 million, teaching physical-therapy students in the classroom is one of the best ways to prepare the next generation of physical therapists to better care for the growing population of people living with Parkinson’s disease when they graduate.

Kaufman joined the Springfield College Department of Physical Therapy faculty in 1999. She has been board-certified as a specialist in neurologic physical therapy since 1998. During her 32-year career as a physical therapist, she has been committed to helping solve the problems faced by people living with neurologic conditions. In conjunction with her colleagues and students in Springfield College’s doctor of physical therapy program, she coordinates the stroke exercise group, as well as services at the ServiceNet Enrichment Center for people with brain injury. 

Kaufman has published and presented for national audiences on models for deep integration of community engagement into health-profession curricula, and on the outcomes of engaged education for students and community partners.

Whitney Receives Unsung Heroine Award

BOSTON — Joannah Whitney was recently honored by the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women as a member of the 2019 class of Unsung Heroines. State Sen. Jo Comerford nominated Whitney for this honor because of her advocacy focused on disability rights, healthcare access, and equity.

Whitney uses her experience as a person living with multiple sclerosis, and who uses a wheelchair, to increase awareness and support for accessible public spaces and inclusive healthcare policies. “I share this award with my community,” she said. “Together, we have been working to make Greenfield a place that holds accessibility and inclusion as core values.”

Added Comerford, “according to the commission, Unsung Heroines are women who don’t make the news, but make the difference. They are the glue that keeps a community together, and everyone is better off because of their contribution. Truer words could not describe Joannah Witney’s steadfast contributions to the wider Greenfield community. From the moment I met Joannah during my Senate campaign, my awareness about and commitment to disability rights and healthcare access skyrocketed. She has held me and community initiatives accountable ever since. And I am truly grateful.”

Hallowell Continues Work with Global Rehabilitation Alliance

SPRINGFIELD — Brooke Hallowell, dean of the School of Health Sciences at Springfield College, recently returned from Geneva, Switzerland, where she participated in a meeting of the Global Rehabilitation Alliance (GRA), an initiative of the World Health Organization. The GRA’s mission is to advocate for the availability of quality, coordinated, and affordable rehabilitation through system strengthening according to population needs.

Hallowell was one of 14 initial signatories for international associations that founded the initiative of the GRA on May 22, 2018 at the World Health Assembly, hosted by the World Health Organization in Geneva. She serves as the official representative of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Assoc. The meeting last month was the first in-person GRA work session since the group’s foundation. Twenty-five representatives of international organizations from around the world participated.

Hallowell has an international reputation in collaborative development of rehabilitation services and frameworks, especially in under-resourced regions. She is involved in research, educational, and clinical program collaboration in Cambodia, China, Ghana, Honduras, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, and Vietnam.

“My previous global experience toward similar goals has been primarily at grass-roots community levels in areas of high need, focusing on interprofessional service, community-based rehabilitation, and trans-national research to promote rehabilitation,” she said. “The GRA has set important goals at a higher level, especially in terms of linking collective action to policies internationally. It is a tremendous honor to help facilitate action as a founding member of the GRA.”