Health care professionals: Names to Know
Cornerstone VNA holds 110th Annual Meeting and announces Board changes
ROCHESTER – Cornerstone VNA, your local nonprofit home health and hospice care organization, held their 110th annual board meeting on March 16, and shareS some important announcements.
Longtime Board Member and Board Chair, Susan Gaudiello of Barrington, proudly handed her leadership responsibilities over to new Board Chair, Dr. Archana Bhargava of Durham. Gaudiello will remain on the board for an additional one-year term to support Dr. Bhargava in her new role as Board Chair.
Dr. Bhargava first joined the Cornerstone VNA Board in 2013 and has made significant contributions to advance the mission of the organization. Upon joining the board, she began sharing her passion for Palliative Care and encouraged the board, and the organization’s leadership team, to consider adding this specialty service in 2014. Due to its success, Palliative Care is now one of five distinct programs at Cornerstone VNA. Dr. Bhargava was instrumental in the development of another key program with the establishment of the Kiddie Cornerstone Fund in 2016. This special fund provides support to pediatric patients and their families to promote hope and healing at home.
Dr. Bhargava shares, “I am proud to be associated with Cornerstone VNA and in my new role as the Chairperson of the Board. I hope to continue teaming with the esteemed Board members to help the organization grow and progress further as it continues to provide excellent care to the community.”
During the annual meeting, the Board welcomed new member, Gina DeNuzzio of Rochester. DeNuzzio has worked at First Seacoast Bank since 2018 and currently serves as the Assistant Vice President and Barrington Branch Manager. She has 21 years of experience in the financial services industry while also fulfilling her personal and professional passion of making a positive impact for behavioral and mental health. DeNuzzio is a certified financial literacy instructor and a graduate of the New England School of Finance. She holds a degree in Behavioral Science, a Mental Health Rehabilitation Technician (MHRT/C) License and a Behavioral Health certification.
DeNuzzio shares, “I am proud to be part of an organization that provides a valuable service in the community and join them as a volunteer board member. First Seacoast Bank encourages and understands the importance of volunteering in the community.”
The Board also celebrated and said goodbye to two wonderful members who served for 12 years, Sharla Rollins of Farmington and Ruth Henderson of Barrington. A retired nurse, Ruth served on the Governance, Ethics and Strategic Planning Committees, and helped make important decisions through a time of significant growth. Sharla served on the Finance and Strategic Planning Committees, and spent many years as Board Treasurer, providing clear and concise updates of the organization’s financial reports. The Board appreciates their tremendous guidance and support, and they will be greatly missed.
According to Julie Reynolds, RN, MS, Cornerstone VNA President/CEO “We have been blessed with a wealth of talent and expertise on our Board of Directors, both past and present. We are so grateful to Sharla and Ruth for their twelve years of dedicated service and look forward to celebrating this 110-anniversary momentous year under the steady new leadership of Archana and alongside skilled new board member Gina.”
To learn more about Cornerstone VNA, visit www.cornerstonevna.org or call 800-691-1133.
Center for Asthma, Allergy & Respiratory Disease adds staff
NORTH HAMPTON — Sharon Lever has joined the Center for Asthma, Allergy and Respiratory Disease (CAARD) in North Hampton, New Hampshire. Lever is a Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) who specializes in pulmonary medicine and has more than 22 years of pulmonary medicine experience. She will be accepting new patients and is passionate about patient education and wellness.
Lever holds multiple national board certifications, including as an FNP from the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, as a certified Medical-Surgical Nurse from the American Nurses Association (ANA), and as an Adult Critical Care Specialist, Registered Respiratory Therapist and certified Asthma Educator from the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC). She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and earned her Master of Science in Nursing at Rivier University.
At CAARD, Lever will also be working with Dr. Mark Windt, medical director, whose practice is one of the few conducting research on pulmonary rehab and its impacts on Long COVID.
For more information about CAARD, visit www.caard.com or call 603-964-3392.
Governor Sununu selects Benchmark at Rye Mind & Memory Care Director for Alzheimer’s Subcommittee
RYE – Benchmark Senior Living, the largest senior housing provider in New England, today announced that Meghan Wentworth, CDP, of Barrington, the Mind & Memory Care Director for Benchmark at Rye, has been selected by New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu to serve on the state’s Alzheimer’s and Related Dementia subcommittee. Wentworth will represent the assisted living industry as the subcommittee’s sole assisted living representative.
Established in 2014, the subcommittee oversees Alzheimer’s in the state, including developing educational programs and training as it advocates for the more than 26,000 individuals and the 58,000 caregivers in New Hampshire effected by dementia. It includes representatives from care providers, state agencies, law enforcement, state legislators, caregivers and other individuals impacted by Alzheimer’s.
“I am incredibly honored to be able to serve New Hampshire families in this way,” said Wentworth. “There is still so much that needs to be done to support the growing number of families facing a dementia diagnosis and I’m thrilled to be able to share my experience.”
Wentworth is a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP) and has nearly 15 years of assisted living with memory care experience. Before joining Benchmark in January, she served as the memory support manager for RiverWoods in Durham.
In her free time, she serves as the event chair for the Seacoast Walk to End Alzheimer’s, a position she has held for over three years and as an advocate for the Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts/New Hampshire chapter. She has also served as the New Hampshire State Lead for Dementia Friendly America.
“We feel very fortunate to have her passion representing our community and our state as we all work together to end Alzheimer’s,” said Rob Memmolo, executive director of Benchmark at Rye.
Portsmouth Regional Hospital accepts 24 new Residents on 2023 Match Day
PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth Regional Hospital accepted 24 new residents to its Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Psychiatry residencies recently on what is known in academic medicine as Match Day. The new residents will begin their programs on July 1, 2023.
“Each year, we receive more and more applicants for our residency programs, which demonstrates just how valuable our new program is for our future physicians,” said Dean M. Carucci, market president of HCA New England Healthcare. “This is an especially exciting year as our first class of Family Medicine and Internal Medicine residents will graduate in June, and four of these residents were accepted into our fellowship programs to continue their training. It’s well known that the country is facing a shortage of healthcare providers, and we’re proud to have stepped up to help train and educate tomorrow’s physicians and physician leaders.”
The family and internal medicine residencies, which are both three-year programs, received accreditation in 2020 from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The first class will graduate this spring. The psychiatry residency’s four-year program was accredited by the ACGME in 2021. The first class in the psychiatry residency will graduate in 2025.
The residents come from 22 medical schools, 12 states, and four countries outside the U.S.: Canada, Jordan, India, and Syria. Following are the Seacoast area residents accepted to the program in 2023:
Family Medicine Residency
Erik Benotti, DO, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Kansas City University, College of Osteopathic Medicine
Anna Byrne, DO, of Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine
Internal Medicine Residency
Samuel Brock, DO, of Rochester, New Hampshire
William Carey University, College of Osteopathic Medicine
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Health care professionals: Names to Know
