MAINEHEALTH - Key Persons
Alec Luro holds a PhD in biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a MA in Animal Behavior and Conservation from Hunter College.
His past work includes research of animal behavior and visual perception, as well as applied conservation projects developing software applications to improve decision-making processes.
Alec has a technical background in statistical modeling and programming, and serves as the lead research data analyst for iPACE.
Dr. Bing-You is a graduate of George Washington University School of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine residency training here at Maine Medical Center, followed by a clinical and research fellowship in Endocrinology. He then went on to obtain a Masters in Adult Education at the University of Southern Maine. Most recently, he completed his MBA degree through the University of Massachusetts.
For eight years, Dr. Bing-You served as Residency Program Director and Clerkship Director for the Department of Internal Medicine. He has been active at the leadership level of several local and national educational committees, such as the C.M.E. Advisory Committee, Maine Track Admissions Subcommittee, and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, to name a few. He also served as MMC Vice President for Medical Education from 1992-2021.
Dr. Bing-You has a limited endocrine practice at Penobscot Bay Center, located in Rockport, ME. His practice focus is on thyroid conditions and bone health. Additionally, Dr. Bing-You now serves as MMC Director of Continuing Interprofessional Development.
Kalli Varaklis is the Designated Institutional Official at Maine Medical Center, after having served as Ob/Gyn Residency Program Director in 2 different institutions. Dr. Varaklis has been involved in the iPACE project since its inception, serving as Principal Investigator on both the ACGME and AMA grants. Dr. Varaklis is also the PI on the Maine Rural GME Education (MERGE) Collaborative grant, funded by the State of Maine to increase rural GME training opportunities in Maine. Dr. Varaklis enjoys organic gardening, spending time with her family and knitting.
Melissa holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from Clemson University. At Clemson University and as a graduate student, Melissa assisted in the creation of Clemson University's Center for Workforce Development where she led various initiatives for the center including research studies and grant writing efforts such as a $2.4M funded NSF grant.
After making a move to Maine, Melissa joined MaineHealth in 2015 as a Performance Improvement Specialist in the Center for Performance Improvement. During this time, she led and managed medium to large scale quality improvement projects throughout the MaineHealth system. Additionally, she supported the deployment of Operational Excellence, our daily management system. This experience enabled her to obtain her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification, a facilitation certification, and refine her project management skills.
Joining the iPACE™ team in October 2019, Melissa is able to leverage her research and program management background with quality improvement and facilitation skills to meet the goals of the iPACE™ program.
Patti is a graduate of the University of Southern Maine with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation. She began her career as a Recreation Therapist at Pineland Center. Patti joined the MaineHealth family in 1998, and was the Practice Manager at Scarborough Family Medicine for eight years. She then spent four years as the Training Coordinator for the Portland Intervention and Early Referral (PIER) Program, disseminating the PIER Model and the Multifamily Group Model for youth at risk of developing psychosis.
Prior to joining the iPACE™ team in 2019, Patti served as the Program Coordinator for the TUSM-MMC Maine Track program for eight years.
Job Titles:
- Principal Investigator
- Co - Investigator
- Patricia White 2021 - 01 - 20T11
Sarah Hallen is a graduate of the University of Vermont College of Medicine. She completed her residency program at Strong Memorial Hospital located in Rochester New York and her Geriatric Medicine fellowship here at Maine Medical Center. Dr. Hallen is board certified in Internal and Geriatric Medicine and is still currently practicing at MMC.
Since childhood, Dr. Hallen has been drawn to the company of older adults and has found joy in to caring for this population. She believes that ideal care for older adults should prioritize quality of life, maintenance of function and making care decisions that honor the things that are most important to them. High functioning teams provide the best holistic care for older adults and this has motivated Dr. Hallen's interest in researching how to educate teams and evaluate interprofessional interventions to improve patient care.
Dr. Hallen leads the ongoing evaluation and assessment efforts for the iPACE™ program.
Job Titles:
- Co - Investigator
- Patricia White 2021 - 01 - 20T10
Dr. Van der Kloot attended medical school at the State University of New York College Health Sciences Center in Brooklyn. Following this, Dr. Van der Kloot completed a residency program in Internal Medicine, and a fellowship in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at the University of Minnesota Hospitals & Clinics. Dr. Van der Kloot has been affiliated with Maine Medical Center since 1999 and currently practices as a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician.
Dr. Van der Kloot leads the efforts to expand the iPACE™ principles into Maine's rural communities.