Faculty
Program faculty are internationally recognized clinicians in the field of wound healing who combine extensive knowledge in the diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of chronic wounds.
Harold Brem, MD, FACS
Helen and Martin Kimmel Wound Center
Conference Program Director
NYU School of Medicine
Chief Division of Wound Healing & Regenerative Medicine
Trained as a general surgeon, Dr. Harold Brem is the Program Director of the Wound Healing Center in the Department of Surgery at NYU Medical Center. Dr. Brem's wound healing program focuses on improving clinical outcomes for all wound patients as objectively measured by decreased wound area and improved quality of life. Dr Brem directs a basic science research laboratory, a clinical outcomes program; an outpatient wound center and a dedicated inpatient wound unit.
Dr. Brem's research includes a basic wound-healing laboratory focused on mechanisms of non-healing wounds, angiogenesis and novel delivery systems. He also concentrates on development of a comprehensive wound electronic medical record, surgical techniques of debridement, design and implementation clinical trials, and wound outcomes-related research.
Additionally, he has focused on the development of standard protocols for treatment of chronic wounds and the integration of multidisciplinary, evidence-based practices for optimal outcomes in non-healing wounds, objectives that serve as the foundation for this conference. Dr. Brem is the author of numerous manuscripts and a recipient of multiple research grants.
Guest Speakers
Charles A. Andersen MD, FAPWCA, FACS
After Graduating from Utah State University, Charles Andersen, earned his medical degree at the University of Utah where he also completed an internship and one year of Surgical Training. He then entered the military where he completed his surgical residency at Madigan Army Medical Center and a Vascular Surgery fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He remained in the military where his positions included program director in General Surgery and Chief of the Department of Surgery at Madigan Army Medical Center for 20 years. After retirement from the Army he remained at Madigan Army Medical Center as a Civilian Physician. He has spoken nationally and internationally on Vascular Surgery and Wound Care. He has 95 peer reviewed publications. Currently he is Chief of the Vascular/Endovascular/Limb preservation Service and Medical Director of the Wound Care Clinic at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma Washington.
Elizabeth A. Ayello, PhD, RN, APRN, BC, FAPWCA, FAAN
Faculty, School of Nursing Excelsior College
Senior Adviser, The John A. Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing
Executive Editor, The World Council of Enterostomal Therapists
Clinical Associate Editor, Advances in Skin and Wound Care
Elizabeth A. Ayello, PhD, RN, ACNS-BC, ETN FAPWCA, FAAN is an internationally known expert in skin, ostomy, and wound care who is a faculty member at Excelsior College School of Nursing (Albany, New York), Co-Director of the International Interprofessional Wound Care Course at the University of Toronto (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), Senior Advisor to the John A. Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing (New York, New York) and President, Ayello Harris & Associates (Copake, New York). Author of over 100 journal and book chapters, she is the Clinical Associate Editor for the Journal, Advances in Skin and Wound Care since 1991, Executive Editor for the international Journal of the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists (JWCET) since 2004 and co-editor author of the AJN award winning book: Wound Care Essentials: Practice Principles.
Dr. Ayello is the first nurse to co-chair the 3rd Congress of the World Union of Wound Healing Societies which was held in June 2008 in Toronto and now serves as Co-Secretary of the Society till 2012. She also is a past president of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel (NPUAP), as well as twice serving as the Chairperson of the Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society (WOCN) Accreditation Committee.
As one of two nurse consultants to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on their 3-year scope and severity of pressure ulcers in nursing homes project, she has assured higher quality of care for vulnerable populations through her work on the revision of guidance to surveyors of Tag F-314 Pressure Ulcers.
Dr. Ayello serves as chairperson of the New Jersey Hospital Association collaborative, which decreased pressure ulcers incidence by 70% across care settings statewide among the NJHA participating partners. The work of this collaborative has used by IHI in their pressure ulcer prevention materials.
Barbara Dellmore, RN, PhD
Dr. Barbara Delmore has been in nursing for 28 years mostly dedicated to wound care. She earned her doctorate from New York University and graduated from Emory's Wound, Ostomy, Continence Nursing Education Program and is a board certified wound care nurse. She is a clinical nurse specialist at NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Delmore recently served as a Steering Committee member for the University HealthSystem Consortium Pressure Ulcer Benchmarking Project, a project that involved over 30 academic medical centers nationally. She is a member of the GNYHA-CCLC Pressure Ulcer Collaborative Steering committee whose initiative is disseminating best practice concerning CMS reimbursement guidelines, particularly, pressure ulcers. She also serves as a clinical expert for the M2M Collaborative group that focuses on high-priority nursing sensitive indicators which are included in CMS's list of serious preventable events. In addition, Dr. Delmore is a member of the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society, the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists, the American Organization of Nurse Executives, and Sigma Theta Tau. She has lectured and published work on wound care. Her research concentrates on the high risk and preventative aspects of wound care.
William J. Ennis, DO, MBA, FACOS
Professor of Surgery University of Illinois Chicago
Medical Director, Division of Wound Healing and Tissue Repair
St. James Hospital Olympia Fields Campus
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Dr. Ennis earned his medical degree from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed, and is board certified in General Surgery, Vascular Surgery and Family Medicine. He subsequently received an MBA from the Keller Graduate School of management in Chicago. Dr. Ennis has been practicing wound care for 19 years and is currently Professor of Clinical Surgery, Chief - Section Wound Healing Tissue Repair at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He founded, and is director of the first Wound Healing and Tissue Repair Fellowship in the US also at UIC. Currently Dr. Ennis serves as President of the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care (AAWC), the nations largest non-profit, multidisciplinary wound care organization.
Other current positions include Chief Medical Officer of Accelerate Wound Centers, Adjunct Faculty Northwestern University and Clinical Professor of Surgery at Midwestern University. Dr. Ennis also serves as the chair of the scientific advisory board of the Combat Wound Initiative at Walter Reed and Bethesda Navy Medical Center.
Dr. Ennis has published over 65 articles, abstracts and book chapters and has lectured throughout the world on wound care and vascular diseases. Current research interests include microcirculation, healing outcomes, health economics, and regenerative tissue mechanisms.
Outside interests include guitar, jazz music, basketball, triathlon racing and reading. Married with 2 children, Dr. Ennis also supports his wife Mary's activities in organizations dedicated to the treatment and cause of autism.
John P. Kirby, MD, FCCWS, FACS
Dr. Kirby is Assistant Professor in the Division of General Surgery, Section of Acute and Critical Care Surgery at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He is the Director of the Wound Healing Program at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University Medical Center. He is able to offer the most effective means to attack fundamental healthcare problems that afflict so many: traumatic injuries, problematic wounds, and critical illnesses in our intensive care units. Dr. Kirby's current surgical practice is the culmination of his training and his personal interests in clinical service, research and teaching in the evolving fields of Acute & Critical Care Surgery and Wound Care. The section of Acute & Critical Care Surgery provide continuous, durable 24/7 care by supporting a cohesive group of surgeons to work together, providing advanced practiced nursing for collaborative practice and developing better uses of information technology to guide our patient care.
Dr. Kirby's main clinical interests are in the delivery of care across a broad range of surgical and wound care patients through Acute & Critical Care Surgery. He has developed the outpatient Surgical Care Center into a unique resource for both our patients and our physicians. At this center, collaborative practice between clinicians offers our surgical patients access to advanced dressings and treatments. Dr. Kirby's research interests are in the mechanisms of the healing wound and the improved use of information technology to evaluate, quantify and track responses to improve the patient care quality. Dr. Kirby is also committed to prepare the next generation of surgeons through education for a continued high standard of excellence for our patients and this is why he directs the Surgical Clerkships at Washington University School of Medicine.
Patrick Lamparello MD, FACS
Dr. Patrick Lamparello is a board certified General and Vascular Surgeon and leader in minimally invasive interventional vascular procedures. He is an expert in all aspects of wound healing as they relate to the lower extremity. He has particular expertise in revascularization techniques in the person with diabetes and pressure ulcers of the heel. Dr. Lamparello has served as Chief of Vascular Surgery at NYU from 2000 to 2007. A Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude graduate of the university of Pennsylvania, he earned his MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and has been continuously ranked among the best doctors in America since 2001. He is well published with numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Dr. Lamparello also directs the Vascular Surgery Fellowship at NYU Medical Center.
Sarah Lebovits, RN, MSN, APRN-BC, CWOCN
Sarah Lebovits has been in nursing more than 30 years where she concentrated mostly on wound and ostomy care. She earned her Master's of Science in Nursing degree at Hunter-Bellvue. She graduated from Wick's Educational Associates, Inc. as a WOCN and earned her national Board Certification as a Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nurse. She is an Adult Nurse Practioner and Nurse Specialist at NYU Langone Medical Center. She is a member of the GNYHA-CCLC Pressure Ulcer Collaborative Steering committee whose initiative is disseminating best-practice concerning CMS reimbursement guidelines, particularly, pertaining to pressure ulcers. She also serves as a clinical expert, volunteering her time and expertise, for the Ostomy Association of New York, Bikur Cholim of Staten Island and Chai Lifeline, for patients and families with wounds or ostomies. In addition, Sarah is a member of the Wound, Ostomy, and Continence Nurses Society, the World Council of Enterostomal Therapists and the American Association of Nurse Practioners. She has lectured and published works on wound and ostomy care. Her practice focuses on prevention and treatment of wounds and fostering independence for ostomates.
Jamie P. Levine, MD
Dr. Levine is one of the world leaders in reconstructive surgery of complex non-healing wounds. Since 2001, he has served as the co-Director of the Laboratory for Microvascular Research at NYU Langone Medical Center. He is Chief of Plastic Surgery at Bellevue Hospital and he directs the Plastic Surgical fellowship in microsurgery. His caseload exceeds 100 free flap and microsurgical cases per year and he has an extensive experience in extremity reconstruction, oncologic reconstruction including the head and neck, breast reconstruction, complex wounds including radiation injury and replantation/revascularization. A graduate of the Albany Medical College of Union University he did both his Plastic Surgical and Microsurgical training at the NYU Langone Medical Center. Dr. Levine is board certified in both General Surgery and Plastic Surgery. He has published over sixty peer reviewed articles and multiple book chapters with topics ranging from limb salvage to the biological basis of healing. He holds several U.S. patents and research grants. He has also received a number of teaching awards throughout his career for work done within his discipline.
Kenneth Mroczek, MD
Dr. Kenneth Mroczek is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon and an Assistant Professor at New York University School of Medicine. His fellowship emphasized ankle and foot reconstructive surgery. He is the Chief of the Foot and Ankle Division and Director of the Diabetes Foot and Ankle Center at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases.
Established in January 2000, the Diabetes Foot and Ankle Center is a progressive and unique program for New York City, based on a team model of healthcare. Advanced treatment and specialized care of foot problems related to diabetes is provided by an interdisciplinary team from the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. The mission of the center is to prevent and treat foot complications and reduce limb loss in patients with diabetes.
Patients have access to an array of services and specialists, including evaluation by an endocrinologist, orthopaedist, podiatrist and plastic and vascular surgeons. The Center also offers on-site orthotic, prosthetic and physical therapy services. He is has great expertise in surgical correction of the Diabetic foot.
Daniel O'Neill, MD
Dr. O'Neill is an assistant professor of anesthesiology at the New York University School of Medicine and a graduate of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. His board certification by the American Board of Anesthesiology includes sub-specialty certification in critical care medicine. Dr. O'Neill has taught difficult airway, thoracic anesthesia and regional anesthesia workshops at major professional meetings and has mentored many residents and students. He developed an interest in geriatric anesthesia after becoming an investigator in an NIH-funded prospective, randomized clinical trial of elderly patients and functional recovery using a beta blockade after major abdominal surgery. In light of the aging population in this county, Dr. O'Neill sees a need for more attention in the outpatient setting toward patients with significant co-morbidites.
Pierre Saadeh, MD, FACS
Dr. Pierre Saadeh is an Assistant Professor and Residency Program Director, Plastic Surgery at NYU School of Medicine. He is also an Associate Director of Plastic and Hand Surgery at Bellevue Hospital. He graduated from Emory University School of Medicine and completed his residency and fellowship training at the University of Connecticut and NYU, respectively. He is board certified in both General Surgery and Plastic Surgery. He is subspecialty trained in microsurgery and his reconstructive interests include head and neck reconstruction and extremity reconstruction. His contributions to the wound literature include over 40 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters. Dr. Saadeh's research interests include gene therapy and tissue engineering, as they relate to aesthetic and reconstructive surgery. Some of his recent research grants include topical gene silencing of p53 to improve diabetic wound healing, treatment of radiation wounds with structural fat grafting, and prevention of radiation-induced skin fibrosis by topical gene therapy. He is a leader on the reconstructive team for complex wound and Pressure ulcers at NYU Medical center.
R. Gary Sibbald, BSc, MD, FRCPC (Med)(Derm), ABIM, DABD, MEd
Dr. Sibbald is a professor of Public Health Sciences and Medicine at the University of Toronto. He trained as a dermatologist and internist with special interest in wound healing and education. He is currently the director of medical education for Women's College Hospital and chair of the faculty of Medical Education Committee. Dr. Sibbald is a board member and President of the Canadian Association of Continuing Health Education.
Presently, Professor Sibbald is the director Wound Healing Clinic at the Women's College Hospital. He established an interprofessional education model for wound care as co-founder, previous chairman and a five-time annual meeting chair of the Canadian Association of Wound Care. Professor Sibbald co-established the International Interdisciplinary Wound Care Course (IIWCC) at the University of Toronto in 1999. This course is the first University of Toronto continuing education course to offer a certificate of completion and combine residential weekends with self-study and a selective that relates new knowledge to everyday practice. This course is currently part of a new Master's Science/Community Health Program in the Department of Public Health Sciences.
He is co-editor of the Fourth Edition of Chronic Wound Care: A Clinical Source Book for Healthcare Professionals. Dr. Sibbald is the president of the World Union of Wound Healing Societies and chairman of the meeting held in Toronto, June 4th to 8th, 2008. Dr. Sibbald has published over 150 articles and book chapters.
Ronald J. Simon MD, FACS
Ronald Simon is Director of Acute Care Surgery, Director of Trauma and Director of Emergency Surgical Services at Bellevue Hospital Center and NYU Medical Center in NY. He is also a Professor of Surgery at NYU School of Medicine. He is an experienced wound surgeon, outstanding general surgeon and nationally recognized trauma surgeon. He did original work in wound healing research and has also published numerous manuscripts on trauma. Dr. Simon is Chairman of the Greater New York Committee on Trauma for the American College of Surgeons. Among his honors and awards, he is the 2008 recipient of the Trauma Surgeon of the Year given by the New York State Chapter of the American Trauma Society.
Marjana Tomic-Canic, PhD
Marjana Tomic-Canic, PhD is a Professor of Dermatology and Director of Wound Healing and Regenerative Medicine Research Program. Dr. Tomic-Canic received her BS degree in Molecular Biology and Biomedicine, from Belgrade University in 1985; MS degree in Human Genetics in 1986. She received her PhD in Molecular Biology and Physiology from joint program of NYU School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology and Belgrade University, Department of Biomedicine in 1991. She completed her post-doctoral training at the Departments of Dermatology and Pharmacology at NYU School of Medicine and joined the faculty of Departments of Dermatology and Microbiology at NYU School of Medicine in 1994 where she remained until 2005, when she moved to Cornell and became Associate Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology in Dermatology at the Weill Medical College of the Cornell University. She was also a Director of the Tissue Repair Program at the Department of Tissue Engineering, Repair and Regeneration and Associate Scientist at Hospital for Special Surgery.
Current Research focus of Dr. Tomic-Canic is molecular and cellular mechanisms of wound healing and its inhibition. She is fully integrated with 6 medical disciplines in addition to Dermatology. These include general and plastic surgery, oncology, diabetology, and geriatrics. In the laboratory her work is fully integrated with stem cell biology, carcinogenesis, genomics, tissue engineering, gene delivery, metabolic diseases and immune disorders. The long-term goal of the translational program led by the Department of Dermatology is to bring bench-side research back to patients at bedside. The skin holds great promise as an easily accessible source of adult stem cells for use in the treatment of heritable, destructive and malignant conditions. Her research focus is understanding biological and molecular mechanisms that regulate stem cell population during wound healing in human skin and their pathogenesis that leads to impaired healing, which manifests as pressure (bed) ulcers, diabetic foot ulcers and venous ulcers. The approach of Tomic-Canic Laboratory in partnerships with clinicians, is to discover the wound genome. Research data are integrated into wound electronic medical record and cell bank to correlate clinical outcomes with primary research data. Recent findings from Dr. Tomic-Canic identified specific molecular targets that can be utilized for both prevention/diagnostics and novel therapeutic treatments. Dr. Tomic-Canic and her colleagues made several fundamental discoveries in the field of wound healing research. These discoveries include identification of the one of the first gene and unique molecular pathway that stops wounds from healing; a novel molecular mechanism though which corticosteroids inhibit wound healing; biomarkers that can guide the extent surgical debridement; establishment of human wound tissue/cell bank; new drugs that accelerate healing.
Bruce C. Vladeck, PhD
Bruce Vladeck is Senior Advisor to Nexera Inc., a wholly-owned consulting subsidiary of the Greater New York Hospital Association. His long and varied career has included senior leadership roles in the public, non-profit, academic and business communities. He is a widely-recognized expert in health care policy and finance, Medicare, Medicaid, long-term care, health care for the homeless and a much sought-after speaker and writer in all of those areas.
In the health care community, Vladeck is perhaps most widely known for his tenure as Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration from 1993 through 1997, a period that encompassed Health Reform, the Contract with America Congress and budget stalemates and the Balanced Budget Act. Dr. Vladeck's time at HCFA was marked by significant innovation in statewide Medicaid programs through demonstration waivers; the development of Medicare prospective payment systems for hospital outpatient services, skilled nursing facilities, and home care agencies; implementation of the first quantitative quality measures for managed care plans; major initiatives to combat fraud and abuse; and significant improvements in beneficiary services. His work at HCFA was recognized in 1995 by a National Public Service Award. He remained closely involved in Medicare policy in 1998-99 as a Presidential Appointee to the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare.
After leaving HCFA, Dr. Vladeck spent six years at Mount Sinai Medical Center, as Professor of Health Policy and Geriatrics and Senior Vice President for Policy of the Medical Center. In that latter role, he successfully undertook a wide variety of administrative assignments, from managing the medical school's affiliation with New York's public hospital system to acting as interim chair of the Department of Geriatrics.
Dr. Vladeck joined Ernst & Young's Health Sciences Advisory Services in 2004. He left that position for sixteen months in 2006-2007 to serve, at the request of Governor Jon Corzine, as Interim President of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey after it had entered into a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with the US Attorney. While at UMDNJ, Dr. Vladeck restored fiscal stability to the system, rebuilt its governance, compliance, and internal control processes, and laid the groundwork for restoration of full academic accreditation.
A graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan, Vladeck has held full-time faculty positions at Columbia University and Mount Sinai and has served as adjunct faculty at Rutgers, Princeton, NYU and the Aquinas Institute of Theology. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine and the New York Academy of Medicine and serves on the boards of the Medicare Rights Center and the March of Dimes as well as on the New York City Board of Health.
Kevin W. Yankowsky, JD
Kevin W. Yankowsky, JD, is a partner in the Health Law Litigation group of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P's Houston Texas office. A true trial lawyer, Kevin has served as lead counsel in over twenty jury trials and eight appeals in both State and Federal Court. Kevin's trail practice encompasses virtually all types of civil litigation facing the health care industry. He serves as lead counsel in professional liability claims, complex commercial suits, class actions, products liability matters, premises liability suits and Federal False Claims Act cases. In addition to his extensive courtroom experiences, he advises on Joint Commission investigations and medical peer review matters. Kevin is also a member of Fulbright's Electronic Discovery and Information Management group and routinely advises on a variety of electronic data and document retention issues. Combining his experience in both practice areas, he counsels health care providers on data and document challenges faced when attempting to minimize the dangers, uncertainties and expense of twenty-first century litigation. As a member of the International Expert Wound Care Advisory Panel, he recently co-authored a paper along with wound care clinicians and researchers entitled "Legal issues in the care of pressure ulcer patients: Key concepts for healthcare providers".