PAGNY - Key Persons
Dr. Ammar Nasser Eddin, MD, is an Attending Physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln, excels in patient care, education, and advocacy. With a medical degree from the University of Damascus School of Medicine (2004) and distinction in his Lincoln Medical Center residency (2009), he prioritizes bedside teaching and clinical work. His commitment extends beyond medicine to champion special needs education and mental health inclusion. He serves as a respected leader on the board of directors at PAGNY, contributes to faculty senates at New York Medical College and St. George's University, and holds an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine position at Weill Cornell Medical College
Anthony brings 24 years of Chief Financial Officer experience across the full spectrum of health care, including for-profit, public and voluntary acute care hospitals, post-acute care, and physician group practices.
Anthony served as the CFO of PAGNY from 2013-2021. He returned to PAGNY in 2023 after serving as the Healthcare Consulting Director for Grassi Healthcare Advisors, LLC, where he led the development and execution of business transformation plans and turnaround strategies for distressed hospitals, nursing homes, senior living facilities, physician practices and ambulatory surgery centers.
Dr. Lyssikatos is an attending dentist and General Practice Residency Program Director at NYC Health + Hospitals/Coney Island. He attended Rutgers University in New Jersey for his Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees both in biology. Dr. Lyssikatos went on to receive his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree with honors at New York University College of Dentistry in 2005, completing a general practice residency at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in 2006 and a fellowship from the Academy of General Dentistry in 2009. Before coming to Coney Island, Dr. Lyssikatos was the Dental Director at Newark Community Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center in NJ, for nine years where he was voted as one of New Jersey's Top Dentists in 2014 and 2015. In 2015, Dr. Lyssikatos was designated by Incisal Edge Magazine as one of America's Top Young Dentists, 40 under 40. He has published articles on compound odontoma and stem cells found in pediatric dentition in the Journal of Oral Health and Community Dentistry.
Christine has close to 30 years' experience in the legal sector, including private and public companies, as well as some of the top U.S. law firms. Throughout her career, she has been a key advisor to management and boards of directors about the direction of their companies, their affiliates and expansion into new markets.
Having started out as a litigator, including being Counsel at Am Law 100 firms and a partner at one of New York's oldest and most prominent healthcare litigation firms, Christine transitioned in-house to a multinational public pharmaceutical company and then to healthcare practice management specializing in corporate and transactional work for medical groups, medical billing companies and biotechnology companies. Christine joined PAGNY in 2017 where she is responsible for corporate legal functions arising out of the company's affiliation with New York City Health + Hospitals.
Donna is the Chief Compliance and Risk Officer, overseeing PAGNY's Corporate Compliance and Risk Management Programs.
Donna came to PAGNY in 2022 after more than twelve years at The Brooklyn Hospital Center, where she served as the Senior Director for Risk Management, and most recently, was Vice President of their Audit & Compliance Departments as well as the Chief Privacy Officer for the hospital. During her service, she oversaw the Hospital's Corporate Compliance Program and provided basic and complex preventative risk management assessment of processes, procedures, programs, and other activities, including on-call emergency assistance.
Donna has over 20 years of experience in Risk Management and 6 years in Corporate Compliance in primarily healthcare settings. Donna is also a Registered Nurse, and spent over 10 years in ICUs, Cardiac Catheterization Labs, and Emergency Medicine. She also spent five years as a Legal Nurse Consultant at a law firm.
Donna earned her BSN from Adelphi University and her MBA in Health Care Management from Saint Joseph's University in Brooklyn. She is also certified in healthcare compliance (CHC).
Job Titles:
- Physician at Harlem Hospital
Dr. Cara Taubman is an Emergency Physician at Harlem Hospital where she is the Assistant Director for the Emergency Department, Clinical Director of Emergency Management for the hospital and Assistant Program Director for the Met-Harlem Emergency Medicine residency. She graduated from New York Medical College with an MD and MPH and completed her Emergency Medicine residency at Jacobi and Montefiore Medical Centers where she served as Chief Resident. During residency she received Leo M. Davidoff society's Award for Medical Student Education and Emergency Physician of the year. After residency she went on to a Global Emergency Medicine fellowship at Columbia University where she worked with the Ministries of Health in both Ghana and Rwanda and for Doctors Without Borders.
Job Titles:
- Interim Chief Executive Officer
- Vice President
- Chief of Emergency Medicine at PAGNY for NYC Health
Dr. Edward Chew is the Chief of Emergency Medicine at PAGNY for NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem.
"I am motivated everyday by my team in the emergency department. We are truly working in a team environment. Everyone has the same goal of providing the best care possible to every patient. My team is motivated by working together and on improving the department as a whole. Our improvements focus on education to our residents and nursing colleagues, and monitoring and lowering stroke and cardiac MI numbers."
Job Titles:
- Chief of Oral
- Generation Dentist
Dr. James R. King is Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Director of Dentistry at Harlem Hospital Center. He is past President of the Medical Board of Harlem Hospital Center. Dr. King is a Diplomat of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, a Fellow of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and a Fellow of the American College of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.
Dr. King, a third generation Dentist received his Doctor of Dental Surgery Degree from Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry. He performed his Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery training at Harlem Hospital Center. He has served as Program Director for the General Practice Residency, Assistant Director of Dentistry, and Associate Director of Dentistry. He is currently Program Director of the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program at Harlem Hospital Center. Dr. King has worked extensively in dental education teaching Dental Assistants, Dental Hygienist, Dental students and Post Graduate Dental students. He has served the Harlem Community for over 30 years as a Clinician, Administrator and Educator.
Dr King has participated in private practice, is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Dentistry at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, an Adjunct Professor at Hostos Community College, and an Adjunct Professor at Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry.
Job Titles:
- President
- Chairman of Emergency Medicine at NYC Health
Dr. Jeremy Sperling is the Chair of Emergency Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals /Jacobi and NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx. He is an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Sperling is the co-chair of the NYC Health + Hospitals Emergency Medicine Council. Dr. Sperling earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed his residency training in Emergency Medicine at Bellevue / New York University Medical Centers where he also served as a Chief Resident. Dr. Sperling has received multiple teaching awards including the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) National Emergency Medicine Faculty Teaching Award.
Job Titles:
- Director
- Chairman of the Department of Surgery
Dr. John McNelis is the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi and NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx. A native New Yorker, Dr. McNelis graduated from New York University and obtained his medical degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He is the past President of the Brooklyn Long Island Chapter of the American College of Surgeons and a current Governor of the American College of Surgeons. Dr. McNelis obtained an M.S. in Health Care Management from Harvard University in 2008. Active in clinical research, he has published multiple articles and abstracts in Surgery, Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Quality. Dr. McNelis is a Professor of Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a fellow of both the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and the American College of Critical Care Medicine (FCCM) as well as a member of multiple regional and national trauma and surgical societies. He is excited to be working with his regional colleagues on the PAGNY board, and hopes to be very active.
Job Titles:
- Senior Manager, Human Resource Operations
Eileen Z. Fuentes is a results-driven human resources leader and patient advocate committed to improving quality of care, health equity, and personalized customer service. She earned her Masters Degree in Health Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and has extensive healthcare experience including Columbia University Irving Medical Center where she worked for over 20 years initially overseeing Human Resources and Academic Affairs in the Division of Cardiology, and later addressing disparities and supportive services for breast and gynecologic oncology patients. Most recently, she worked for Memorial Sloan Kettering's Department of Patient Relations managing a team of Patient Representatives.
In addition to these roles, Eileen serves as patient advocate and steering committee member for notable organizations including the National Cancer Institute (NCI), SWOG Cancer Research Network, the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO), New York City's Nutrition Education Network (NCYNEN) and The Health Equity Collective, a national coalition of selected health leaders committed to transforming the American health system. Among others, she has been recognized by the United States Dominican Consulate for her community advocacy efforts and was named by Cancer Health Magazine as 1 of 25 individuals working to improve the lives of people with cancer. Eileen lives in New York City with her husband and three daughters.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- Operations Executive
Jonathan Cho is a proven operations executive with years of experience in providing leadership, enhancing efficiencies, and expanding service lines. He started his career as a pharmacist and held previous roles as a Professor, Director of Pharmacy and Infectious Diseases Residency Program Director. In his current role, Jonathan will be responsible for overseeing daily operations, leading growth strategies, and heading outreach and business relations.
Josephine E. Sullivan, D.D.S. is currently the Assistant Director of the General Practice Program at Jacobi Medical Center and North Central Bronx Hospital since 2004 to present. She obtained her D.D.S at S.U.N.Y Stony Brook in 2001. She completed a 2 year general practice residency at Montefiore Medical at Jacobi Medical Center and graduated in 2004. She is a member of the America Dental Association with Bronx County and the 9 th District. She is also on the executive board for the Bronx County Dental Society. She has been a general practice attending at Jacobi and North Central Bronx since 2004. Also, she works at a private practice in the Bronx for the past 30 years. She started as an assistance and continued there after becoming a dentist. Also, she is a member of the Antonio Medici Italian American Society 213.
Lisa A. Ross, MD, MBA joined the staff of NYC Health + Hospitals/Harlem in 2010, became the Director of the Department of Anesthesia in 2012 and is an Associate Clinical Professor of Anesthesia at Columbia University Medical Center. Prior to that she was Program Director in the Department of Anesthesia at St. Vincents Catholic Medical Center in Manhattan.
She earned her A.B. in biology from Harvard University and her M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her anesthesia residency was completed at Presbyterian Hospital with a focus on neuroanesthesia. Dr. Ross has presented at many anesthesia conferences, has written numerous abstracts and has authored a chapter in a text book that addresses anesthesia in areas outside of the operating room. She serves on several committees within the hospital and is very active in the Dr. Muriel Petioni Women Chiefs' Council. In 2013 she earned an Executive MBA from Fordham University.