National Doctors’ Day

On March 30, hospitals across the country will recognize National Doctors’ Day, a time to celebrate the compassionate care our doctors give to patients. This year, the Upstate Foundation’s Grateful Patient and Family program will celebrate its 14th National Doctors’ Day. A letter was sent to patients informing them of National Doctors’ Day and offering them an opportunity to honor their health care provider with a note of thanks. The tributes are delivered to each doctor, nurse and other health care professionals along with a certificate of appreciation.

Eileen Pezzi, vice president for development at the Upstate Medical University noted, “This day is a special opportunity to thank the dedicated physicians who serve our community, and go above and beyond to make our health and wellness their top priority. We are grateful for the patients and their families who choose to acknowledge their doctor for the exceptional care they received in the past year.”

A few of tributes received

A tribute for Dr. Stephen Blakely: “Dr. Blakely is a kind and gentle spirit who cares about my well-being. When I see or speak to him I feel reassured that everything is ok and I have confidence that he will find answers to anything that might be unusual. Thanks Dr. Blakely. You are a great doctor.”

A tribute for Dr. Monica Morgan: “I am thankful for all the time you spent reviewing my long medical history and patiently explaining the HBO treatment recommended for me. Your kindness and clear explanations were done in such a way that my brother and I were able to easily understand the process. We took up a good deal of your time with my medical history review and questions but we left with a clear understanding of the treatment process and appreciation for your caring attitude towards me.”

 

A tribute for many practitioners and departments: “I was in a hit & run accident and life flighted to Upstate. The care I received from the minute I got there was absolutely amazing. They helped me when I needed it most and did it with kindness and compassion. The ER was so overfilled and I am sure it is a hard job for them. But they made me feel like I mattered and that they were there to help me and that says a lot for a crowded ER. There was not one bad experience that I had while I was there. I was transferred to Amb. Surg and the staff there was just as amazing. 7th and 5th floor took care of me just as if I was their family. Thank you it means a lot to me."

2025 Practitioners recognized with patient tributes


 Patrick Adcock, MD
Rinki Agarwal, MD
Jamal Ahmed, MD
Sumera Ahmed, MD
Tamer Ahmed, MD
Emily Albert, MD, MPH
Jeffrey Albright, MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS
Jessica Allan, MD
Wisam Al-Mutawalli, MBChB
Geoffrey Ameele
Nicholas Anand, MBBCH
Michael Archer, DO, FACS
Britney Arnold
Kiranya Arnold, MBBS
John Atkinson
Emil Azer, MD
Harish Babu, MD, PhD
R. Eugene Bailey, MD
Gajan Balakumar, MD
Alexander Banashkevich, MD, FRCPC
Alina Basnet, MD
Jacob Beer, DO
Sam Benjamin, MD
Miriam Bernstein, MD
Timothy Beutler, MD, FAANS
Rahul Bhardwaj, MD, FASN
Daniel Birklin, PA
Stephen Blakely, MD
Adam Blanden, MD, PhD
Jeffrey Bogart, MD
Deborah Bradshaw, MD
Gennady Bratslavsky, MD
Mitchell Brodey, MD
Paula Brooks, MD
Devin Burke, MD
Pavel Burskii, MD
Vishal Busa, MD
Melissa Butler, BSN, MSANP-BC, RNFA
Kristina Byrne, DO
John Cannizzaro, MD
Robert Carhart, Jr., MD
Abdelkader Chaar
Larry Charlamb, MD
Mark Charlamb, MD
Debanik Chaudhuri, MD
Ankur Chawla, MD
Ilona Chepak, MD
Irene Cherrick, MD
Tahsin Choudhury, MD
Melanie Comito, MD
John Costanza
Kayla Critser, PT, DPT, NCS
Reis Cunningham, MS OTR/L, BCPR, CBIS, AIB-VRC
Timothy Damron, MD
Richard Davila, MD
Connor Delaney, PT
Daniel Demartini, PA
Kiran Devaraj, MD
Mantosh Dewan, MD
Felipe Diaz
Callistus Ditah, MD
Joan Dolinak, MD
Nienke Dosa, MD, MPH
Robert Dracker, MD
Kayla Dueland- Kuhn, MD
Anuradha Duleep, MD
Aubrey Duncan, MD
Mohamed Eisa, MD
Safa Elzein, MD
Mark Emerick, MD
Jessica Eno, PA
Nader Estfanous, MD
Anthony Feghali, MD
Elizabeth Ferry, MD
Michael Fischi, MD, FACC, FSCAI
Jaimee Fogus
Timothy Ford, MD
Allison Franklin, NP



 


 Brooke Fraser, NP
Vincent Frechette, MD
Matthew Garner, MD
Teresa Gentile, MD, PhD
Kathleen  Gere, CNM
Krishna Ghimire, MD
Auyon Ghosh, MD, MPH
Megan Gilbert, NP
Natasha Ginzburg, MD
Kristina Go, MD
Gregory Goldstein, MD
Grahame Gould, MD, FAANS
Matthew Grover
Ananth Guddeti
Katherine Gutchess, DO
Markus Gutsche, MD
Roseanna Guzman-Curtis, MD, MPH
Marissa Hakes, CNM
John Harrison
Adam Hatala
Ali Hazama, MD
Alex Helkin, MD
Kathleen Hergert, MSN, RN, FNP-C
Sang Hwa Himchak, MD
Stephen Hoag, MD
Joseph Jacob, MD, MCR
Mansur Javaid, MD, FCCP, FRCP
Seth Jeong
Joshua Jimenez, MD
Amanda Jock, PA
Savio John, MD, AGAF, FACG
Gary Johnson, MD, FACEP
Allison Jones, NP
David Kanter, MD
Denise Karsten, RN, MSN - CNS, DC
Kristen Kelly, FNP-C
Kristin Kelly, MD
Rebecca Kelsey
Gloria Kennedy, MD
Aisha Khaliq, MD
Ali Khan, MD
Waasay Khan
Matthew Kolbeck, MD
David Koldin, PA
Marvin Koss, MD
Igor Kraev, MD
Sergey Kravchick, MD
Michael Kuhn, MD
Lisa Lai, MD
Shaun Lamphear
Adam Landry
Sarah Lappin, DO
William Lavelle, MD
Anthony Le
Tod Leggat
Hsin Li, MD, PharmD
Taryn Lindquist, NP, MSN
Alfredo Lopez, MD
Jennifer Lovell
Michael Luca, DO
Amy MacDonald, MD
Randi MacMaster
Bhaskara Reddy Madhira, MBBS
Elizabeth Magowan, MD
Angana Mahapatra, DO, MPH
Fadi Makhlouf, MD
Leah Marinelli, NP
Mehdi Marvasti, MD
Jennifer Marziale, MD
Mark Marzouk, MD, FACS
Hesham Masoud, MD
Joshua Mathew, MD
Courtney Maxey-Jones, MD
Olivia McEachron, MSN, RN, FNP- BC
Luis Mejico, MD
Jenny Meyer, MD
Dragos Mihaila, MD
Martina Milcevic, MD
Jonathan Miller, MD

 


Michael Mix, MD
Tumelo Moleko, MD
Iman Moradi
Melissa Morris, NP
Anthony Mortelliti, MD
Linda Naples
Christopher Nardone, MD
Laura Nicolais, MD
Dmitriy Nikolavsky, MD
Cierra Omlor, PA
Ronaldo Ortiz-Pacheco, MD
Emily O’Toole, PT, MSPT, DPT, CBIS
Mythili Pathiyil
Tanya Paul, MD
Emilia Peluso, MS, PA-C
Charles Perla, MD
John Petosa, MD
Redion Petrela
Kalliopi Petropoulou, MD, FASFNR
David Pinter, MD
Marek Polomsky, MD
Mary Powers, MD
Cynthia Pyrtle, NP
Krithika Ramachandran, MBBS
Gita Ramamurthry
Kristin Ramella, NP
Denali Remonda, PT, DPT
Jennifer Richmond, NP
Allison Roy, MD
Matthew Sarsfield, MD, FAAEM
Dana Savici, MD
Elena Schmidt, MD
Julia Schmutz, MD
Rahul Seth, DO
Kevin Setter, MD
Al-Aman Shaukat, MBBS
Robert Sherman, MD
Timothy Shope, MD
Jody Sima, MD
Brittany Simone, DO
Emily Skutnik, DO
Jason Sloane, MD
Mark Slocum
Frank Smith, MD
Rose Solomon, MD
Zafer Soultan, MD
Stephanie Stalcup
Lillia Steffenson, MD
Matthew Sullivan, MD
Mike Sun, MD
Karna Sura, MD
Joshua Sweet, MD
Ryan Ta, MD
Richard Tallarico, MD
Vikrant Tambe, MBBCH
Zachary Telgheder, MD
Margaret Terzolo, PA
Anthony Tracey, MD, MPH, FACS, FAAP
Mackenzie Trovato, MD
JC Trussell, MD
Joseph Valentino, MD
Thomas Vandermeer, MD, FACS
Lauren Waichenberg
Carolyn Walker, NP
Maria Walker, MSN, NP
Kyrsten Wallace, MD
Jason Wallen, MD, MBA, FACS, FCCP
Kerry Walsh, PT, DPT, GCS, CEEAA
Claudine Ward, MD
Taylor Weber, FNP-C
Ruth Weinstock, MD, PhD
Scott Wiener, MD
Sarabeth Wojnowicz, PharmD
Abdalla Yousif, MD
Allyson Zakrzewski, MD
Zakiya Zeahwon
Yifan Zheng, MD
Xiangping Zhou, MD, PhD
Emma Zingaro, NP

 

“I’m grateful!” tributes

This is an opportunity to say “I’m grateful” by sending a note of appreciation to any Upstate University Hospital health care provider who went above and beyond to make your experience the best it could possibly be. 

Click here for online tribute form

  • Email: FDN@upstate.edu
  • Mail: Upstate Foundation, 750 E. Adams St, Syracuse, NY 13421