CAREER PULSE – June 2018

GREENFIELD — Baystate Medical Practices announced the addition of Dr. Jeffrey Hayer to Valley Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine.

Board-certified in orthopedic surgery, Hayer earned his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and his M.D. from Dartmouth Medical School. He completed a general surgery internship and residency at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and an orthopedic residency at the University of Connecticut.

Hayer is a past president of the Baystate Franklin Medical Center physicians’ organization and a past president of the Baystate Franklin Medical Center medical/dental staff. He is a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and the American Medical Assoc., and has been a member of the Massachusetts Medical Society since 1983. 

Hayer had been a physician with Franklin Orthopedic Group in Greenfield since 1983. At Valley Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine, he is joined by Dr. Brian Hoffman and Dr. James Bullock at the office located at 48 Sanderson St. in Greenfield.

 

CHD Appoints Eskander Medical Director

SPRINGFIELD — Dr. Emad Helmy Eskander has been appointed medical director at CHD, with responsibility for overseeing the organization’s psychiatric/prescribing team.

Eskander is a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University in Egypt, and board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He completed his psychiatric residency training at the Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, including rotations in neurology, substance abuse, electro-convulsive therapy, and psychiatric emergency services.

Eskander is licensed to practice medicine in Massachusetts and Connecticut. Prior to joining CHD, he was a full-time staff psychiatrist at West Central Family Counseling in West Springfield. He is a fluent speaker of English and Arabic.

 

 

Parkinson Joins Berkshire Orthopaedic Associates

NORTH ADAMS — Berkshire Health Systems announced the appointment of Dr. James Parkinson, a longtime provider of orthopaedic services, to the medical staff of Berkshire Medical Center (BMC) and the physician staff of Berkshire Orthopaedic Associates. Parkinson will provide orthopaedic evaluation and care at Berkshire Orthopaedic Associates’ office on the North Adams Campus of BMC.

Parkinson served on the medical staff of the former North Adams Regional Hospital and with the former Orthopedic Associates of Williamstown for more than 20 years. He also served as medical director of Sports Medicine and team physician for Williams College and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts from 1982 to 2016.

He received his medical degree from the University of Rochester in New York and completed his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. He is board-certified in orthopaedics and was fellowship-trained in orthopaedic rehabilitation at the University of Southampton General Hospital in Southampton, U.K.

For an appointment with Parkinson, ask your physician for a referral or call Berkshire Orthopaedic Associates at (413) 664-5699.

 

SPRINGFIELD — Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) named Myrta Colon Groeneveld of Longmeadow, a professor of Mathematics at Manchester Community College in Connecticut, as Distinguished Alumna 2018.

Groeneveld first came to STCC after she moved from Puerto Rico to Springfield. She wanted to get medical care for her son, who has Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, a condition causing severe seizures. To better communicate with doctors, she began taking ESL courses at the college. She continued and earned an associate degree in early childhood education in 1999.  She began working as an advocate for families of children with disabilities and began her service on the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services citizen advisory board.

After working as a lead teacher for Head Start, she returned to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Westfield State University. She went on to the University of Connecticut to complete a master’s degree in mathematics.  While at UConn, she began teaching math classes at Westfield State, Manchester Community College (MCC), and STCC. She taught developmental courses at STCC and MCC in Spanish.

Groeneveld began working full-time at MCC in fall 2008.  She redesigned the developmental math program at MCC and helped obtain a grant to rewrite the developmental math curriculum and construct and implement a dedicated computer lab for instruction and testing.

Because of improvement in student success, Groeneveld was chosen to be a National Academic Transformation Scholar to mentor and train college and university faculty across the country.  She developed the curriculum and continues to train instructors for programs such as Summer Training and Retention Services, Reaching Education Achievement for College Transition (now called Smart Start), and the ALEKS self-study program for underprepared students.

She was named coordinator of Developmental Math at MCC, a position she still holds, and also served as Math Department chairman. She quickly attained full professorship and was awarded the MCC College Employee Leadership Award in 2014 and 2016 for her dedication to students. On April 5, MCC awarded Groeneveld the Jonathan M. Daube Award for her commitment to providing access to students with disabilities.

 

STOCKBRIDGE — Jane Tillman, Evelyn Stefansson Nef director of the Erikson Institute for Education and Research at the Austen Riggs Center, received a significant grant from the Fund for Psychoanalytic Research through the American Psychoanalytic Assoc. for her work, “Follow Up to States of Mind Preceding a Near Lethal Suicide Attempt Study.” In making this award, the review committee indicated this was an important topic for study and may yield valuable information. 

“Suicide is a significant public-health problem,” Tillman said. “Despite a burgeoning research literature that focuses primarily on biobehavioral and diagnostic risk factors, there has been little effective translation of these findings into improved clinical care of suicidal patients.”

Tillman’s project is a follow-up study to “States of Mind Preceding a Near Lethal Suicide Attempt: A Mixed Methods Study,” conducted between 2009 and 2012, which examined protective and risk-factor measures in four groups of adult participants: those without any history of suicidal ideation, those with a history of suicidal ideation, those who had attempted suicide, and those who had made a near-lethal suicide attempt.

The new study, part of a broader Suicide Research and Education Strategic Initiative at Riggs led by Tillman, follows up with these participants to ascertain their clinical course and outcome. Data from the original study will be used to better understand the longitudinal course of psychiatric patients without any history of suicide and those with remitting versus persistent suicidal ideation and/or behavior.

“This longitudinal, naturalistic study of psychiatric outcome in patients, those with and those without suicidal ideation and attempts, will allow us to better understand the psychological change and differential outcomes related to suicide that occur following residential treatment,” Tillman noted.

 

Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee Names Torres Youth of the Year

CHICOPEE — Daishany Torres was named 2018 Youth of the Year by the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee, and will compete against other Boys & Girls Club members for the Massachusetts Youth of the Year title and a $5,000 college scholarship from Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). The Youth of the Year program honors young people on their path to great futures and encourages all kids to lead, succeed, and inspire.

As the new Youth of the Year for the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee, 18-year-old Torres was recognized for her leadership, service, academic excellence, and dedication to live a healthy lifestyle.

“It has been a joy watching Daishany grow as both a member and as a junior counselor. She truly represents what our organization is about,” said Jason Reed, the Chicopee club’s executive director.

Torres has been a member of the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee Teen Center since her freshman year at Chicopee Comprehensive High School. She is a junior counselor now, working with other club members each week. She is also part of the club’s SMART Girls program, which allows members to explore their own and societal attitudes and values as they build skills for eating right, staying physically fit, getting good healthcare, and developing positive relationships with peers and adults. She has developed a passion for working with children, and will continue her education after graduation next year and hopes to open her own daycare in the future.

Locally, the Chicopee Youth of the Year program is supported by Freedom Credit Union. Torres will also be receiving $1,000 from the Donald Heroux Scholarship fund, in honor of the late Donald Heroux, a past executive director of the club. 

If Torres wins at the state competition in June, she will compete for the title of Northeast Region Youth of the Year and an additional $10,000 college scholarship, renewable for four years up to $40,000. Five regional winners will advance to Washington, D.C., in September, to compete for the title of BGCA’s National Youth of the Year and an additional scholarship of $25,000, renewable each year up to $100,000.

 

SPRINGFIELD — Consolidated Health Plans (CHP) has hired insurance and financial-services executive James Ocampo, who will lead development, sales growth, earnings growth, strategy development, and operational execution across the company’s emerging Group and Voluntary Benefits line of products. Ocampo will also be responsible for developing and maintaining affiliations with private exchanges, enrollment systems, benefit-administration platforms, and third-party administrators.

Ocampo, who holds an MBA in finance and strategy from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, will drive the development and implementation of CHP’s newest business venture. 

“I’m tremendously excited for this opportunity to work at CHP, a leader in the healthcare space, to build a group and voluntary benefits business from the ground up,” said Ocampo. “Backed by the financial strength of Berkshire Hathaway, CHP is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this growth opportunity in the marketplace, by providing a simple, engaging, and digitally focused customer-engagement experience that will differentiate CHP from its competitors in the employee benefits space.”

Ocampo came to CHP following a five-year tenure at MassMutual, where he served as vice president of Worksite Insurance, responsible for strategy and operations of voluntary and executive benefit products, and developed MassMutual’s benefit enrollment and administration platform, BeneClick! Prior to MassMutual, he was the senior director of Strategy & Analytics at Optum subsidiary Executive Health Resources, a division of UnitedHealth Group. He also has considerable experience in management consulting and business development, serving a variety of Fortune 500 clients in the communications, healthcare, and life-sciences industries.

“CHP has high expectations for James as we build our world-class group and voluntary employee benefit program,” said Drew DiGiorgio, CHP’s president and CEO. “James’ skills and leadership will lead CHP’s strategic execution and innovation within the voluntary-benefits space.”

 

AdCare Hospital Names Alhabbal Medical Director

WORCESTER — Dr. Mohammad Alhabbal has been named medical director at AdCare Hospital.

“We’re very excited to have Dr. Alhabbal leading the medical team at AdCare Hospital,” said Jeffrey Hillis, president. “Dr. Alhabbal’s qualifications are outstanding, and his experience includes 11 years as an attending physician here at AdCare.”

Alhabbal, who is certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine and the American Board of Family Physicians, is also a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine and the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is a family practitioner at 200 Lincoln Street Primary Care in Worcester.

A graduate of the Damascus University Medical School in Damascus, Syria, Alhabbal completed his family medicine residency at UMass Medical School in Worcester. He is an assistant professor at the UMass Medical School Department of Family Medicine, Hospitalist Division, where he has taught since 2006 and was recognized in 2013 with the Teacher of the Year Award. He has also received a Resident Teacher Award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine.