Goldie Alfasi, PhD

Director, Behavioral Science Curriculum
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Internship
City University of New York, PhD in Clinical Psychology
Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center &
Montefiore Medical Center, Post-doctoral research fellowships

Dr. Alfasi teaches psychosocial aspects of health and illness. She also has a private psychotherapy practice with children, adolescents, and adults. She has explored mother-infant interactions, feeding difficulties, and failure-to-thrive syndrome. Her current research is on breastfeeding in African-American mothers.

Victor Sta.Ana, MD

Director, Primary Care Scholars Program; Faculty

Albany Medical College, Albany, NY – MD
Beth Israel Residency in Urban Family Practice, New York, NY – Residency

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John Anderson, MD

Medical Director, Family Health Center of Port Ewen

Attending Physician
Hahnemann University School of Medicine, Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – MD
Mid-Hudson Family Practice Residency Program – Residency

Dr. Anderson was Program Director of our Residency Program from 2003 to 2007.He is currently an adjunct clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM). His interests include geriatrics, community health and gardening. He also precepts residents at the FMC.

Guedy Arniella, LCSW

Director, Community Health and Outreach

Columbia University, New York, NY – MS

Guedy Arniella is a clinical social worker and psychotherapist with extensive experience working in East and Central Harlem and the South Bronx. She is the director of community health and outreach at the Institute, and oversees the residency’s community health placements. Ms. Arniella’s focus has always been to help improve the quality of life of those that are at...

Marek Balutowski, MD

Medical Director, New Paltz Family Health Center

Attending Physician
Jagiellonian University, School of Medicine, Cracow, Poland – MD
Montgomery Family Practice Residency Program, Montgomery, Alabama – Residency

Dr. Balutowski has been associated with the Institute and the Residency Program since 2003. He is currently the Medical Director of the New Paltz Family Health Center. Dr. Balutowski is an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM). He is an avid skier in his spare time.

Augustus Bentsi-Barnes, MD

Attending Physician
University of Ghana Medical School – MD
Interfaith Hospital, Residency in OB/GYN

Dr. Barnes joined our faculty in 2010 after private practice in Kingston for over 15 years. He has served as a collaborating physician with our practice for quite some time. He prides himself on being a generalist OB and is interested in all aspects of women’s health through the life cycle. In his spare time he enjoys music.

Kathleen Bernard, MD

Faculty

Medical School - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Dr. Kathleen Bernard grew up in a close-knit community in rural CT with her parents and older brother. She attended a small Montessori school from kindergarten through 8th grade. At Brown University, she concentrated in Community Health and was involved with teaching creative writing and arts within the Rhode Island prison system, receiving the Community Service Award for her...

Azmina Bhayani, MD, MPH

Faculty

Medical school - Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Family medicine residency - Lawrence Family Medicine Residency

Dr. Azmina Bhayani is originally from Chicago and completed her undergraduate, medical, and public health training at Northwestern University. She graduated from a four-year family medicine residency in Lawrence, Massachusetts, with a focus on urban underserved medicine and an area of concentration in women’s health. Currently, Dr. Bhayani works at Walton Family Health Center, the Institute’s Bronx residency training...

Lindsay Blevins, PhD

Behavioral Science Faculty

PhD in Counseling Psychology, Seton Hall University
Postdoctoral Fellowship in Primary Care Psychology, Montefiore Medical Center Family and Social Medicine Residency Program
Clinical Psychology Internship Consortium, VA Connecticut and UConn School of Medicine
BA/MA, Marist College

Dr. Lindsay Blevins cares deeply about working toward bridging the gap between physical and mental health care with a focus on holistic treatment. Research interests include mental health stigma, barriers to seeking help, implicit bias, and health disparities. Her clinical interests include integrated primary care, health psychology, geropsychology, trauma-informed care, and social justice.

Mindy Brittner, MD, MS

Core Faculty

Undergrad: Barnard College
Medical School: Rutgers- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Residency: Residency Program in Family and Social Medicine- Montefiore Medical Center
Graduate: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Fellowship: Columbia University Medical Center

Dr. Mindy Brittner is a graduate of Barnard College and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She completed her residency in Family and Social Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center. She went on to complete a fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and Master of Science in Epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Dr....

Yezmin Pena Brown, AAS, BS, RDH

Dental Hygienist

Hostos Community College

Yezmin is passionate about motivating patients to have a successful oral hygiene routine and focuses on oral hygiene preventative care, public health, nutritional counseling, and oral health care for patients with disabilities.

Maggie Carpenter, MD

Attending Physician
SUNY-Health Science Center at Brooklyn (Downstate)
Swedish Family Medicine Residency

Before joining the Institute, Dr. Carpenter practiced in Kansas, New Zealand and Brooklyn where she ran her own micro-practice before moving to the Hudson Valley. She has extensive experience in women’s reproductive health and international health. In addition to her work at the Mid-Hudson Family Medicine Residency Program, she runs a home based palliative care practice. In her spare time,...

Michaela Frazier, LMSW, CCM,

Vice President, Social Support Services

Michaela Frazier is the Institute’s vice president for social support services. In this role, she oversees delivery of case management, care coordination and related psychosocial support services across the Institute’s network of sites. Previously, she served as the Institute’s regional director of care coordination and interim director of community programs. Prior to joining the Institute, Michaela held director roles at...

Cathy-Anne Charles, MD

Medical School - St. Matthew’s
Residency - Mid-Hudson Family Practice Residency Program

Dr. Charles was born in the United States Virgin Islands and is a former Brooklynite. She is a graduate of St. Matthew’s Medical school. Her background ranges from Laboratory Medicine to Clinical Research with Systemic Lupus patients. Dr. Charles believes that Family Medicine offers a diverse patient population and enjoys the continuity of patient care. She has a strong...

Jincy Cherian, DO

Associate Program Director and Director of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency - Mid-Hudson Family Medicine Residency Program
Medical School - New York College of Osteopathic Medicine
Undergraduate - New York Institute of Technology

Dr. Cherian grew up as a Bronx/Long Island hybrid. She spent half of her early days in the Parkchester area of the Bronx and the rest of her pre-residency days in Nassau County on Long Island. She was enrolled in an accelerated Bachelors of Science/Doctor of Osteopathy program through the New York Institute of Technology and the New York...

Cheryl Clark, MD

Community Medicine Rotation Coordinator, SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn
Family Medicine Residency at St. Clare’s Hospital in Schenectady, NY

Prior to joining the faculty at Beth Israel Residency, Dr. Clark worked at Hometown Health doing full scope family medicine including OB. She also was core faculty at the St. Clare’s hospital residency now the family medicine program. Her last job prior to returning back to New York City was at Syracuse community health center. Her interests include obstetrics,...

Andreas Cohrssen, MD

Program Director, Beth Israel Residency in Urban Family Practice
Johann-Wolfgang Goethe Universitaet, Frankfurt/Main, Germany, MD
Lutheran Medical Center, Residency

Dr. Cohrssen has focused his medical interests on international health and outcome-oriented evaluations in a resident-centered context. He formerly served as program director and acting chairman of the Family Medicine Program at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center. He has a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Sports Medicine and completed the National Program Director Development Fellowship. He is a certified ALSO...

Aashish Dadarwala, DO

Community Preceptor

Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences UMDNJ – Family Medicine Osteopathic residency program

Dr. Aashish Dadarwala’s focus is in travel health. Over the past ten years, he has served as a community health physician in New York City, worked as a Family Medicine Residency Director at Long Beach Medical Center, volunteered in Peru, India, and Guatemala with DoCare International and commanded medical relief teams in Haiti with Heart-to-Heart. His primary focus has...

Dominique Delma, MD

Attending Physician, Medical Director OB/GYN and Specialty Care Center
The Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA-MD
Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center, Bronx, NY- Residency

Dr. Delma is a Board Certified OB-GYN. She is Medical Director of the Institute’s OB-GYN and Specialty Care Center and Chair of the Department of OB-GYN at the Kingston Hospital. Dr. Delma had a private OB-GYN practice in Kingston for over 10 years before joining the Institute in 2010. She loves to travel and has been actively involved in...

Julie Desch,

Residency Administrator

Jennifer Eaton, DO

Doctor of Osteopathy (DO) from University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dr. Jennifer Eaton is a family physician who recently completed her residency at the Institute's Mid-Hudson Family Medicine Residency. She has a special interest in osteopathy (treating the body, mind and spirit), osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) and integrative medicine. Dr. Eaton loves family medicine because of the diversity of the population she works with, the focus on caring...

Mary Kristine Ellis, MD

Attending Physician

Bachelor of Science - Psychology, State University of New York at Stonybrook
Doctor of Medicine, Ross University School of Medicine
Family Medicine Residency, Tulane University East Jefferson General Hospital

Dr. Mary Kristine Ellis is a family physician with interests in culinary medicine, pediatrics, urgent care and women's health. Previously, she served as the associate program director and on the faculty at the NYU Langone Brooklyn Family Health Center. She has also served as an urgent care physician. She enjoys working in the Downtown residency's diverse environment, where all...

Neil S. Calman, MD, FAAFP,

President and Chief Executive Officer, The Institute for Family Health
Chair, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai/Mount Sinai Hospital

Dr. Calman is a Board Certified family physician, and the president, CEO and co-founder of the Institute for Family Health. Since 1983, Dr. Calman has led the Institute in developing family health centers in the Bronx, Manhattan (where he practiced for 38 years) and in the Hudson Valley. Under his leadership, the Institute has been successful in establishing health...

Fern Roberson, FNP, MSN, RN-BC, FNP-BC

Nurse Practitioner

Fern Roberson, Nurse Practitioner Fern earned her bachelor ’s and master's degree in nursing from Pace University. Fern first joined the Institute in 2008 as a clinical nurse manager before deciding to return to school. After earning her master's, Fern worked as a nurse practitioner at a skilled nursing facility in New Jersey before returning to the Institute.  Fern is...

Bridget Foy, , DO

Osteopathic Faculty

Osteopathic Residency Program Director; Osteopathic Director of Medical Education
New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury NY – DO
NYCOM/Mid-Hudson Family Practice Residency Program – Kingston, NY – Residency

After spending time in private practice, Dr. Foy has returned to academic medicine with the Institute for Family Health. She holds faculty status with NYCOM, and is Clinical Director for the BS/DO seven-year program...

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Eric Gayle, MD

Vice President, Medical Services
Regional Medical Director, New York City

Dr. Eric Gayle is a graduate of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He began his career in family medicine at the Institute’s Beth Israel Residency in Urban Family Practice, where he was chief resident. After completing his training, Dr. Gayle joined the Institute in 1998. Dr. Gayle also mentors minority students who are interested in careers in medicine,...

Ginger Gillespie, MD

Community Preceptor

Suny-Health Science Center at Brooklyn, NY, MD
Beth Israel Residency in Urban Family Practice, Residency

Dr. Gillespie's interests include comprehensive reproductive care and maternity. She supervises a women's health procedural session at Phillips Family Practice. Dr. Gillespie has been instrumental in the development of the Controlled Substances Contract used throughout the Institute for Family Health by providers and patients to better monitor and manage appropriate use of controlled substances.

Regina Ginzburg, PharmD

Clinical Pharmacy Faculty, Outpatient Pharmacology Curriculum
BS Pharmacy and PharmD: St John's University, New York, NY
Pharmacy Practice Residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA

Dr. Ginzburg extended the pharmacotherapy curriculum for the residency program. In addition to helping precept clinic patients at Phillip's Family Medicine, she and her pharmacy students provide education to patients on proper management of their medications, disease states or devices (glucometers, inhalers, etc). In addition, Dr. Ginzburg provides didactic lectures to residents, performs clinical research, runs the Prescription Competency...