Department of Family and Social Medicine

Palliative Care Service

What is Palliative Care?

Under the Department of Family and Social Medicine the inpatient Palliative Care Program has 4 interdisciplinary consultation teams at three campuses: Moses, Weiler, Wakefield and one interdisciplinary team at the Inpatient Palliative Care Unit at Moses campus. The consultation teams are staffed by BE/BC attending physicians, nurse practitioners, social workers, and a chaplain, and an art therapist.

The Palliative Care and Hospice Unit has 15 bed capacity and patient care provided by Palliative Care specialists who are committed to provide high quality and compassionate care for patients facing serious illness.

What is Palliative Medicine?

Palliative Medicine is a field of medicine, and its goal is to relieve physical, emotional and spiritual suffering while preserving the psychosocial and physical functioning of the patients and their families to the fullest extent possible, and according to the individual patient’s goals and aspirations.

Who needs Palliative Care?

Palliative Care can be provided at any stage of the disease, from diagnosis through survivorship or the end of life.

It is appropriate for those with cancer and non-cancer diagnoses. Excellent knowledge of pain and non-pain symptom management, initiating conversations regarding patient’s understanding of disease trajectory, their values and beliefs, and their goals and wishes for end of life care are the key components of palliative care approach. These goals of care and advance care planning discussions should happen early rather than at the end of life, and should be ongoing as a person’s needs and preferences may change.

When is Palliative Care Needed?

Palliative Care may be provided at all healthcare settings including hospitals, primary care clinics, homes, and long-term care facilities, hospice facilities.

Our Goals:

  • Educate and train health professionals to provide generalist level or specialist level palliative care across the continuum,
  • Embed a patient and family-centered approach in palliative care
  • Promote palliative care as appropriate across the cancer journey as a seamless experience
  • Develop evidence-based pathways for palliative care
  • Provide support to patients and their caregivers in navigating transitions in health care system
  • Ensure equitable access to palliative care for all, including vulnerable and underserved populations in our communities
  • Ensure that every terminally ill patient has access to effective pain and symptom management
  • Increase the health system's capacity to deliver palliative care by collaborating with clinicians and administrators

Palliative Care Team

Leadership and Administration

Dr. Peter Selwyn Palliative Care Family Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center Bronx NYPeter A. Selwyn, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor and Chairman
Department of Family & Social Medicine
Director, Palliative Medicine Program
Montefiore Medical Center
ALbert Einstein College of Medicine
3544 Jerome Avenue
Bronx, NY 10467
Tel. 718.920.8434  

E-mail: pselwyn@montefiore.org or peter.selwyn@einsteinmed.org 
Dr. Serife Eti Palliative Care Family Medicine Albert Einstein 
College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center Bronx NYSerife Eti, M.D.
Medical Director
Palliative Medicine Program
Associate Professor, Family and Social Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
3347 Steuben Ave
Bronx, NY  10467
Tel. 718.920.6378
Fax. 718.881.6054
E-mail: seti@montefiore.org 
 
 

Physicians Faculty

Dr. Jhosselini Cardenas Mori Palliative Care Family Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center Bronx NY Jhosselini Cardenas Mori, M.D.
Assistant Professor
E-mail: jcardena@montefiore.org  
Dr. Elizabeth Chuang Palliative Care Family Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center Bronx NYElizabeth Chuang, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Family and Social Medicine
Phone: 718.920.6378
E-mail: echuang@montefiore.org  
Nidhi Shah, M.D.
Program Director, Fellowship Program in Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Assistant Professor, Family and Social Medicine
Phone: 718.920.6378
E-mail: nisha@montefiore.org  
 
Dr. Say Salomon, MD Palliative Care Family Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center Bronx NYSay Salomon, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Family and Social Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Palliative Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center
     E-mail: ssalomon@montefiore.org  
Dr. Cristian Zanartu Palliative Care Family Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center Bronx NYCristian Zanartu, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Family and Social Medicine
Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care
     Phone: 718.962.8840
E-mail: czanartu@montefiore.org  
 
 
 

Non-Physician Faculty

Advanced Practice Nurse Leadership in Palliative Care

Bernadette Huvane, MSN, FNP-BC, RNC-BC
Family Nurse Practitioner
Montefiore Medical Center
Department of Family and Social Medicine, Palliative Medicine
Phone: 718.920.6378
E-mail: bhuvane@montefiore.org  
Marlene E. McHugh, ACHPN, FPCN, DNP, FNP-BC
Family Nurse Practitioner
Montefiore Medical Center, Palliative Medicine
Phone:718.920.3789
E-mail: mmchugh@montefiore.org 
Jessica Nymeyer, MSN RN, AGACNP, ACHPN, CCRN
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner
Montefiore Medical Center
Department of Family and Social Medicine, Palliative Medicine
Phone:718.920.6378
E-mail: jenymeyer@montefiore.org 
 
 

Palliative Care Physician Assistants

Felecia Slade, LPA
Inpatient Unit, NW7
Ada Izquierdo, LPA
Beverly Zabriskie, LPA

Inpatient Unit, North West 7
Palliative Care Service
Montefiore Medical Center
111E 210 St. Bronx, NY, 10467
Tel. 718 920 4076 or 7441

 

Palliative Care Social Workers

Yolanda Jasmin Dore, LM-SW
Tel: 718.920.2817
E-mail: yjdore@montefiore.org 
Carolyn Genereux, LM-SW
Tel: 718.920.6378
E-mail: cgenereu@montefiore.org  
Kenneth Meeker, LM-SW
Tel: 718.920.2817
E-mail: kmeeker@montefiore.org 
 
Christina Ramirez, LMSW
Tel: 718.920.6541
 
 
 

Chaplain

Rev. Rosa Carabello Palliative Care Family Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center Bronx NYReverend Rosa Caraballo
E-mail: rcarabal@montefiore.org  
 
 
 
 

Healing Arts Program

Ronit Fallek
Director, Healing Arts Program
Phone: 718.920.6576
E-mail: rfallek@montefiore.org
 
 
 
 
 

Research and Quality Improvement

Dr. Arthur E. Blank Palliative Care Family Medicine Albert Einstein College of Medicine Montefiore Medical Center Bronx NYArthur E. Blank, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Evaluations of Health Programs
Co-Director, Division of Research, Department of Family and Social Medicine

Phone: 718.920.6210
E-mail: ablank@montefiore.org  
 
 

Tanya Nair Cocchia
Clinical Practice Manager ‐ Wound Healing & Palliative Care Programs
Department of Family & Social Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center
3335 Steuben Ave Bronx, NY 10467
Tel: (718) 920‐6357
Mobile: (917) 841‐6601
Fax: (718) 515‐0295

 

Ashley Hunter
Sr. Secretary II
Department of Family and Social Medicine
Palliative Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center
3347 Steuben Ave
Tel: 718-920-6378
Fax: 718-881-6054

 
 

Contact Us

Palliative Care Service
3347 Steuben Avenue
Bronx, New York 10467

Phone: 718.920.6378
Page: 917.729.6232 (9AM-5PM)
Phone (nights, weekends, emergencies): 718.920.8282
 

Palliative Care Fellowship

A 1-year joint training program with Montefiore Medical Center and Visiting Nurse Service hospice.

Palliative Care Fellowship>>

 

Palliative Care Social Work Fellowship

A 1-year program at Montefiore Medical Center to develop specialty trained palliative care social workers.

Palliative Care Social Work Fellowship>>

 

Palliative Care Resources

Palliative Medicine Program at Montefiore
Phone: 718.920.6378 Pager: 917.956.9730

Inpatient Palliative Care Unit (Northwest 7)
MD/PA Office: 718.920.4076

Outpatient Palliative Care at Montefiore Einstein
Center for Cancer Care-MECCC

Cristian Zanartu, MD 718.862.8840
Serife Eti, MD 718.920.6378
Marelene Mchugh, DNP 718.920.6378

Caregiver Support Center
Randi Kaplan, LCSW
718.920.8080

Office of Religious Affairs
Rabbi E. Katz 718.920.2406
Interfaith Chapel: Moses Campus, 2nd Floor, by Care Giver’s Center

Montefiore Customer Service Department
718.920.4943

American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
www.aahpm.org

Center to Advance Palliative Care
www.capc.org

Compassion and Support at the End of Life
compassionandsupport.org

Patient information
getpalliativecare.org

Palliative Care in Cancer
National Cancer Institute

www.cancer.gov