CAREER PULSE – March 2018

Taylor Street Dental Welcomes Dr. Stefan Filip

SPRINGFIELD — Taylor Street Dental announce the addition of Dr. Stefan Filip to its dental practice. He began treating patients on Jan. 29.

Filip obtained his DMD degree at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania and his DDS from the University of Southern California School of Dentistry. At USC, he obtained thorough training in the latest and most advanced technologies and techniques of modern dentistry. 

Filip’s professional experience encompasses the ethics and compassion needed to treat people from all backgrounds. He has worked and volunteered at several community clinics providing care to homeless, disabled, and underserved patients.

“Dr. Filip’s clinical expertise is surpassed only by his chairside manner,” said Dr. David Peck, owner of Taylor Street Dental. “Like the rest of our staff, Stefan takes pride in providing you with a safe and gentle experience. If you’ve ever had anxiety or fear of the dentist, it will be a thing of the past.”

Peck established his practice on Worthington Street more than 30 years ago. In 2015, he moved to the historic Stacy Building on Taylor Street. He completely refurbished the building with the latest state-of-the-art technology and equipment, in addition to adding new dentists and associates.

Filip is welcoming new patients. Appointments can be made by calling (413) 781-7645. The office is located at 41 Taylor St., fourth floor, in downtown Springfield. Parking is validated at the Taylor Street Garage.

 

Gray House Inducts Two New Board Members

SPRINGFIELD —
 The Gray House recently inducted two new board members to a three-year term. They were welcomed at the January board meeting by the president and officers of the board. The new board members are Margaret (Meg) Beturne and Ruben Arroyo. The remaining board officers are Kathleen Lingenberg, president; Susan Mastroianni, vice president; Janet Rodriguez Denney, clerk; and Candace Pereira, treasurer.

Beturne is a professional nurse with extensive experience in perianesthesia, surgical, ambulatory and critical-care nursing and is the assistant nurse manager at the Baystate Orthopedic Surgery Center in Springfield. Previous positions include Nursing Clinical Operations manager of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit and staff nurse in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. She has served on several boards of directors, including the Children’s Study Home, the Ronald McDonald House of Springfield, the Elms College board of trustees, and the American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses.

Arroyo is the Code Enforcement inspector for the Holyoke Board of Health and president of Arroyo Inc., an HVAC and home-improvement business. He is a deacon at his church, Iglesia Casa de Misericordia, and also involved with Iglesia Apostolica Cristiana Betzaida and the Christian radio broadcast station La Hora Zero 1490 AM.

 

Baystate Health Names Two New Trustees

SPRINGFIELD — Two prominent Western New England community leaders have been elected to serve on the Baystate Health Inc. board of trustees.

New trustees recently announced by Baystate Health board chair Anne Paradis, CEO of MicroTek Inc., include Irene Rodriguez-Martin, associate dean of Graduate Enrollment and Student Services at Smith College School for Social Work, and Maria Goncalves, regional vice president, West Region, Southern New England, TD Bank.

As the daughter of immigrants and a first-generation college graduate, Rodriguez-Martin has been dedicated to issues of access, support, and retention for students, especially those of color, for the past 20 years. She has taught in the Research Sequence at Smith and serves as an advisor for the Council for Students of Color.

Rodriguez-Martin is also a dedicated community volunteer on a range of social-justice issues. She is past president and fundador of the Latino Scholarship Assoc., a charter member of the Carlos Vega Fund for Social Justice, and a trustee of the Western Massachusetts Community Foundation and the CARE Center.

Goncalves has more than 30 years of banking experience in small-business and middle-market lending, including 15 years with TD Bank. Active in the community, she is a member of the finance committee for the nonprofit Center for Human Development, having previously served as its treasurer for more than 25 years. Previous community work includes serving for 10 years as a trustee of Springfield Technical Community College and for 25 years as president of the nonprofit MicroTek Inc.

Goncalves holds a joint bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Tufts University, a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University, and an MBA with a concentration in finance from UMass Amherst.

“We welcome these two valuable community leaders who are volunteering their time to take an active role in governing Baystate Health. They will provide their expertise in guiding the financial health and stability of our organization to assure the delivery of safe and high-quality care to our patients,” said Dr. Mark Keroack, president and CEO of Baystate Health. “Their willingness to provide oversight and further our mission to improve the health of the people in our communities serves as a vote of confidence in Baystate Health.”

 

Sisters of Providence Ministry Corp. Names Four Board Members

HOLYOKE — John Dowd Jr., Dennis Fitzpatrick, Diane LaCosse, and James Wall were recently named to the board of the Sisters of Providence Ministry Corp. (SPMC). 

SPMC functions as the holding company for Providence Place Inc., Mary’s Meadow at Providence Place Inc., and Providence Ministries for the Needy Inc., all in Holyoke; and Genesis Spiritual Life and Conference Center in Westfield. The Sisters of Providence executive council serves as the corporation’s members on the SPMC board and as corporation officers; they include Sr. Kathleen Popko, president; Sr. Mary Caritas Geary, vice president; and Sr. Senga Fulton, secretary/treasurer.

Dowd is president and CEO of the Dowd Insurance Agencies, and has served on numerous boards, including the Sisters of Providence Health System (SPHS) and foundation board, NUVO Bank & Trust, and CityStage and Symphony Hall.

Fitzpatrick is president of the O’Connell Companies and former board chair of Brightside for Families and Children, SPHS, and Catholic Health East, of which SPHS was a founding member.

LaCosse is senior vice president of United Bank’s commercial banking division in West Springfield and a member of the Providence Place/Mary’s Meadow board and finance committee. She is a volunteer for the WestMass Eldercare Money Manager Program, an associate of the Sisters of Providence, and formerly served on the Brightside for Families and Children Board.

Wall retired in 2012 as global managing director of talent and chief diversity officer for Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., U.S. He currently serves on two boards of trustees: as vice chair of American Management Assoc. International, NYC, and chair-elect of Providence Ministries for the Needy Inc. in Holyoke.

 

Dr. Neil Kudler Joins Team at VertitechIT

HOLYOKE — Dr. Neil Kudler, former chief medical information officer for Baystate Health, has joined Holyoke-based healthcare consultancy VertitechIT as chief medical officer.

“IT consultants focused primarily on bits and bytes are doing their clients a disservice,” said Kudler, who has held other senior executive and strategist positions at Baystate Health, one of New England’s largest healthcare systems. “As CMO of VertitechIT, I’m in a position to bridge that all-important technology gap between clinicians and the IT departments that must support them.”

VertitechIT is among the fastest-growing healthcare IT consultancies in the country, focused on helping senior IT leaders to strategically and tactically transform the role of IT in the hospital setting.

“Any consultant worth their fee can design and implement a new cloud strategy or infrastructure platform,” said VertitechIT CEO Michael Feld. “Dr. Kudler gives us immense credibility on the clinical side of the house, providing guidance on things like diversified health-system operations, population health, and data analytics.”

Before joining VertitechIT, Kudler served as senior healthcare innovation strategist for TechSpring Technology Innovation Center, and as chief operating officer for Baycare Health Partners. He is a graduate of Colgate University and received his master’s degree from Harvard Divinity School. He received his doctor of medicine degree from New York University and trained in internal medicine at UC San Francisco.

 

Tom Schiff of Phallacies Inc. Wins National Award

FLORENCE — Tom Schiff, the founder and executive director of Phallacies Inc., will receive an Innovative Initiative Award in March for his work with the nonprofit, which helps men create healthy masculinities through dialogue and theatrical performance.

Schiff will receive the honor in person from the Men and Masculinities Knowledge Community of the National Assoc. of Student Personnel Administrators at the organization’s 100th annual conference in Philadelphia on March 3-7. The honor comes as Schiff is poised to begin to expand the organization in the region to reach and impact a broader audience of men of all ages.

Phallacies Inc. provides leadership development, health education, and violence prevention for men via dialogue and innovative educational theater. It was born four years ago through Schiff’s work as a health educator at UMass, where he also founded the Men and Masculinities Center.

Through Phallacies, people who identify as male between the ages of roughly 19 and 35 engage in a dialogue about masculinity and the intersections with other identities, health, violence, and relationships, and then create performance pieces as educational and thought catalysts to encourage changing the cultural scripts about masculinities. Performances take place at colleges, human-service organizations and forums, conferences, and local high schools and middle schools.

Men who are involved include teachers, staff from youth and human-service agencies, and medical students. “They’re interested in getting support for themselves about how to be healthier as a man — physically, emotionally, and psychologically — and to find support for that. They are trying to rethink what it means to be a man in the world,” Schiff said. “People also get involved because they’re interested in violence prevention. Men need to speak up and speak out about these issues to help support more men and boys in creating healthy masculinities.”

Schiff holds a doctoral degree in organization development from UMass, a master’s degree in therapeutic recreation from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, and a bachelor’s degree in history with certification in secondary social studies from the State University of New York at Cortland.

 

Baystate Wing Board Welcomes Two Members

PALMER — The board of directors of Baystate Wing Hospital Corp. recently welcomed two new members: Derek Gariepy, certified public accountant and owner of Derek S. Gariepy & Co., and Kara Noonan Pear, director of Human Resources for Noonan Energy Corp. 

Derek S. Gariepy & Co. is an accounting, auditing, and bookkeeping service located in Ludlow. Gariepy and his eight-member staff focus on company and individual tax planning and preparation. He has served as a corporator for Country Bank since 2012, serving on the community advisory council; chairman of the Three Rivers Finance Committee; treasurer for a local nonprofit organization that educated adolescents on substance abuse; and coach of various Belchertown youth soccer teams for more than 14 years. “I’m looking forward to giving back to the local community that I live in,” he said.

Noonan Energy Corp. is a fifth-generation, family-owned business with more than 125 years providing home-comfort services in the Pioneer Valley. Noonan Pear holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from American International College and a bachelor’s degree from Springfield College. Prior to her role at Noonan Energy, she served as scheduler for U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, and in many roles with state Sen. Stephen Brewer.

Board members who have completed their terms include Mark Borsari, Ronald Christensen, Katherine Coolidge, Robert Haveles, and Edward Noonan.

 

O’Connell Care at Home Names Sara Vincunas Community Liaison 

SPRINGFIELD — O’Connell Care at Home, with offices in Springfield and South Deerfield, announced the appointment of Sara Vincunas as community liaison. She will move into a new role after working in photography and animal care for the last six years.

“Sara shares our commitment to advancing the quality of care within our community, and we are happy to have her join our team,” said Fran O’Connell, who established the home healthcare and staffing-services agency in 1987. “Sara will be entrenched in our community, spreading awareness about the benefits offered by O’Connell Care at Home.”

As community liaison, Vincunas’ primary function will be to build relationships with referral sources for both clients and caregivers, while assisting with marketing and creating community events. Prior to joining O’Connell Care at Home, she was manager at the Feeding Hills Animal Hospital, where she scheduled appointments, assisted veterinarians, and controlled inventory. She also is owner of Sara Vincunas Photography, with experience photographing families, babies, and weddings. She graduated from Wilbraham and Monson Academy and earned her photography certificate from the Hallmark Institute of Photography.

 

Melha Shriners Elect Glenn Surprenant 108th Potentate

SPRINGFIELD — The Melha Shriners, a philanthropic organization based on fun, fellowship, and Masonic principles, announced the official election and installation of their potentate (president) and his Divan (executive board). At its annual meeting, the Melha Shriners presented the potentate’s fez to Glenn Surprenant, the 108th top-ranking Shriner in Western Mass. as the organization enters its 120th year.

A lifelong resident of Western Mass., Surprenant graduated from Classical High School and later pursued his passion for laboratory sciences. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from American International College in 1976, he became a registered medical technologist in Laboratory Sciences and is currently the director of Radiology at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. 

In 1976, Surprenant married Diane Ruggeri, an assistant nurse manager, Labor & Delivery for Baystate Medical Center. After many years of observing other members of his family join the Masonic fraternity and then the Shrine, Surprenant was raised a Master Mason in the Indian Orchard Lodge in February 2006 and joined the Melha Shriners in March 2006. He has been an active member and past president of the Hadji Unit in 2014. During parades, he can be seen driving one of the brightly colored Jeepsters.

Surprenant’s cousin, Al “Poppy” Surprenant, is a member of the clown unit; his brothers, Joseph and Gary Surprenant, are both board of governors members at the hospital; and his son, Andrew, is president of the Melha Oriental Band Unit.