The MedConference 2016

Deborah Acevedo, RN

Deborah Acevedo is an assistant head nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of NY-Presbyterian, in New York City. She graduated from Columbia University, NY (BSN) and has been working as a registered certified neonatal nurse for over 30 years in the NICU of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. This NICU has been a leader in the care of critically ill newborn patients and offers such services as open heart surgery, ECMO, Head Cooling, but it is mostly distinguished for the world renowned use of bubble CPAP and gentle ventilation for the management of extremely premature infants. Deborah has been involved as an ambassador to various hospitals in South America and Europe to train nursing staff to the practice of bubble CPAP and other aspects of newborn care. She has been a strong proponent of primary nursing, a practice that has allowed her to enjoy many long-term relationships with the families of the patients she has cared for. She also participates to the International Outreach Program collecting and distributing supplies for neonatal medical care to third world countries.

Vicky Aryenyo

Mother of three children, she lives in Kampala, Uganda, where she is a volunteer
at the Meeting Point International (*). She became involved with Meeting Point after asking the center to help her and her youngest son. She said: “Every time I welcome sick people at the center I tell them that the value of life is greater than the virus that they carry inside them. This feeds the hope of a person that suffers and is dying, and brings him or her back to life.”

(*) Meeting Point International is a body of volunteers charged with caring for women with AIDS in Uganda. Although they provide medical care for treatment of their sickness, they hold that more important than administering medicine is to ‘value’ their life greater than their sickness.

Lodovico Balducci, MD

Lodovico Balducci is Professor of Oncologic Sciences, University of South Florida College of Medicine, and Program Leader of the Senior Adult Oncology Program, at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Balducci received his medical degree from Catholic University, Rome, Italy, and his residency training and fellowship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, Mississippi.

Dr. Balducci has edited five textbooks on geriatric oncology and two books on geriatric hematology. Dr. Balducci has published over 250 articles in various medical journals on the subject of geriatric oncology, and five monographs on geriatric oncology. Dr. Balducci’s clinical research activities include cancer and aging, management of the frail elderly, assessment of quality of life in the older cancer patient, prognostic assessment of the older cancer patient, and interactions of comorbidity and function in the older cancer patient. Dr. Balducci was a member of ASCO’s Grant Selection Committee, and ASCO’s Cancer & Aging Task Force and Oncology Workforce Task Force. He is a member of ASCO Cancer Foundation’s TACF-ASP 2009 Young Investigators Award in Geriatric Oncology Committee. Dr Balducci is a member of the Membership Committee and on the Board of Directors with the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology.

In 2003, Dr. Balducci was selected to present the first Paul Calabresi Memorial Lecture by the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) in Rome, Italy. In 2003, he also received the ACCC award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research, and was the 2003 Physician of the Year at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center. In 2007, he received the Medi Tavossoli Lecture Award for Innovative Research in Hematology in the Elderly and the ASCO’s B.J. Kennedy Award and Lecture for Scientific Excellence. In 2009, he received the 17th Claude Jacquillat Award in Paris, the recipient of the 2009 Nimmo Visiting Professorship in Adelaide, Australia and the HMDP Visiting Expert in Singapore.

Dr. Balducci is board certified in Medical Oncology/Hematology. He is a member of the American Geriatrics Society, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Hematology, American Society of Breast Disease, and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Balducci has lectured throughout the USA, Europe, Asia, Australia and South America.

Mark Basik, MD

Mark Basik is a surgical oncologist practicing at the Jewish General Hospital. His main clinical and research interest is breast cancer. He is the Medical Director of the Inter-disciplinary breast cancer team at the Segal Cancer Center in Montreal, which is affiliated with McGill University. His laboratory work involves the use of genomics and proteomics technologies to discover novel therapeutic and diagnostic biomarkers for breast cancer.

Veronica Bushman, RN

Veronica Bushman is a senior staff nurse in the Medicine Unit at Tisch Hospital, part of New York University Langone Medical Center, in New York. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from New York University College of Nursing in 2007 and has been working since then at NYU. She cares for acutely-ill adults, with a focus on geriatric population. She rotates through the medical step-down units assisting critically-ill patients. For two years she also worked in the acute stroke unit where she provided care to patients affected by stroke, epilepsy, and brain tumors. She has been involved in the preceptorship program, guiding new nurses during the transition into the work environment. She serves on the committee for Quality and Improvement Projects with the goal to improve the quality of care delivered to patients.

Ginny Darling, RN

Ginny Darling is a staff nurse in Obstetrics and Neonatology at Mayo Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Mankato State University in 1982 and Master of Science in Nursing at Winona State University in 2008, both in Minnesota. She has worked at Mayo Medical Center for 28 years in many inpatient areas, currently in Antepartum, Mother Baby, Obstetric/Gynecologic Triage, the Intermediate Special Care Nursery and the Neonatal Resuscitation Team.

Ginny has been a preceptor for many nurses and students and has often worked on patient and staff education. She has a special interest in minority populations, having worked on the Olmsted County Maternal Child Health Committee to improve Somali women’s access to health care and frequently with Latino families in her area. She has also been an Adjunct Faculty member in the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota. She is a member of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

Stephen Lynch

Stephen Lynch spent 25 years working in the health insurance field. He was most recently President of Health Plans for Health Net, Inc., having retired in February, 2009. In this position, he had full responsibility for Medicare, Medicaid, and employer sponsored health plans in Oregon, Washington, California, Arizona, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. At the time, these businesses provided health benefits for about 3 million individuals. Prior to that, he served as President of Health Net of California and President of Health Net of Oregon. He also held leadership positions at PacifiCare of Oregon.

He has served on the Board of Directors for the Oregon Medical Insurance Pool (chairman), California Association of Health Plans, Los Angeles Free Clinic, Oregon Symphony, Foundation for Medical Excellence, and St. Vincent de Paul Society of Salem Oregon.

Following his retirement from Health Net, Mr. Lynch has made a dramatic career change and is currently serving as Principal at St. Joseph Catholic School in Salem, Oregon. He lives in Turner, Oregon with his wife Elise, and has four children and two grandchildren.

Alberto Reggiori, MD

Alberto Reggiori was born in Italy in 1957. He graduated from medical school in 1983 and completed his residency in Surgery in 1988 at the University of Milan, Italy. From 1985 to 1996 he lived in Uganda, participating to several health projects supported by AVSI (Italian NGO), working in the following hospitals: Kitgum, Hoima (rural and post-war areas) and Mulago – University hospital in Kampala. In Africa he practiced medicine as clinician, surgeon, obstetrics-gynecologist and public health officer. He also collaborated with organizations devoted to the cure of AIDS.

In 1996 he moved back to Italy and he has been working in the Department of General and Emergency Surgery at the Varese Government hospital. However, his collaboration with AVSI continued up to now by means of short missions in emergency or critical situations requiring medical intervention in different areas of the globe: Albania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Congo, Sri Lanka, India, South Sudan, and most recently, Haiti.

He wrote a book entitled “Dottore, e’ finito il diesel” (Doctor, the diesel ended) reporting his medical and human experience in Africa and he was among the founders of a primary school in Hoima.

He has also been involved in the organization of conferences related to health care and medical education concerned with the dignity and the centrality of the person in medical practice.

Married with Patrizia, they have 7 children.

Carmen I. Sáenz, MS

Carmen I. Sáenz is the Manager of the Foreign-Trained Health Professionals Program at the Latino Health Initiative of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services. Ms. Sáenz is responsible for the overall management of the program, including the provision of services to participants.

Ms. Sáenz has been working in public health for the last 15 years. She has extensive experience in project management, including the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of technical assistance programs. Prior to her post at the Latino Health Initiative, she worked as the Cancer Prevention Program Coordinator of the Latino Outreach Program at Community Ministries of Rockville and Health and Environment Project Manager overseeing the Health-in-Housing Regional Initiative at the Pan American Health Organization. In addition, she served as the International Program Coordinator at the Center for Child Welfare at George Mason University coordinating post-graduate courses, scholar’s exchanges, and other health projects.

Ms. Sáenz received her Masters of Science in Industrial Engineering with specialization in Decision Science and Operations Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1994 and her Bachelors of Science in Industrial Engineering at the University of Lima in Peru in 1989. Ms. Sáenz was born in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Sidna Tulledge-Scheitel, M.D., MPH

Dr. Sidna Tulledge-Scheitel is the medical director of Mayo Clinic Global Products and Services. She is a practicing physician in Primary Care Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic Rochester. She obtained three degrees from the University of Minnesota:

• Biochemistry from the College of Biological Sciences-1982
• Medical Degree-1988
• Master in Public Health-epidemiology-1992

She did her residency (Internal Medicine) and fellowship (Preventive and Occupational Medicine) at the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Tulledge-Scheitel is an Assistant Professor in the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine. She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed journal articles with a special interest in care deliver models, preventive service delivery and chronic condition management.

Dr. Tulledge-Scheitel is married to a free-lance musician. She has four children and one grandson.

Christopher Vath

Mr. Christopher Vath was born in New Orleans and attended North Texas State University, where he received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Piano Performance with Joseph Banowetz. After doing graduate studies at the Julliard School in New York with Martin Canin, he resided in Italy, where he worked as a solo pianist, chamber musician, and chamber music teacher. On his return to the US, he started teaching piano and working as the music director/choir director at a church in New York City, activities that continue today. He has worked as composer, arranger, and pianist in the field of commercial music (VISA, Mercedes Benz, Anderson Consulting) and co-written music for two film scores, as well as incidental music for the theatre. Two of his choral arrangements are published by World Library Publications. He gave solo recitals at Carnegie Hall in New York in 2005 and 2006. In 2005, in addition to his Carnegie Hall debut, he gave a private performance for Pope Benedict XVI at the papal summer residence. He has performed in Spain, Italy, Mexico and Peru, and has recently performed Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto with the Metro Chamber Orchestra in New York City.