Andrew H. Telzak
Family Medicine
<p>Andrew Telzak, MD, MSc, is an attending physician and Director, New York City Research and Improvement Networking Group (NYC RING) at Montefiore Einstein and Assistant Professor, Family and Social Medicine and Pediatrics at our Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Telzak’s clinical focus is on providing comprehensive, high-quality primary care to families and communities. He has expertise in providing complex care coordination for patients with both medical and social needs.</p><p>After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in public health studies from The Johns Hopkins University in 2008, Dr. Telzak earned his Doctor of Medicine at Montefiore Einstein in 2016. He remained at this institution to complete his family medicine residency in 2019, where he was a Chief Resident in his final year. Following this, Dr. Telzak earned his Master of Science in clinical research methods at Montefiore Einstein in 2021 and completed a population health fellowship the same year.</p><p>Dr. Telzak’s research focuses on the intersection of social determinants of health and clinical outcomes for patients with chronic illnesses. He has been principal investigator and co-investigator on several grant-supported research projects and has shared his work through numerous peer-reviewed journals, abstracts, posters, book chapters and invited presentations. Dr. Telzak is also a reviewer for scientific journals, including <em>Circulation</em>, the <em>Journal of the American Heart Association</em>, <em>BMC Primary Care</em> and the <em>American Journal of Preventive Medicine</em>.</p><p>Dr. Telzak is board certified in Family Medicine. He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians and the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG).</p>
Ellen P. Tattelman
<p><strong>Education</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Medical School: Yale University School of Medicine</li>
<li>Residency: Residency Program in Social Medicine/Family Medicine, Montefiore</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Interests</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Educational quality</li>
<li>Integrative medicine (complementary and alternative medicine)</li>
<li>Care of HIV + patients</li>
<li>Women’s health</li>
<li>Comfort with uncertainty</li>
<li>Maintaining our humanism in medicine</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Expertise</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Educational innovation</li>
<li>HIV and Hepatitis C primary care and QI</li>
<li>Integrative medicine</li>
<li>Healer's Art</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Active Project</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Ongoing HIV continuous quality improvement</li>
<li>Comfort with uncertainty</li>
<li>Teaching in the patient’s presence</li>
<li>The Healer’s Art</li>
<li>Healing Loss</li>
</ul>
<p><strong><br /></strong></p>
Family Medicine
<p><strong>Recent Publications and Presentations (selected)</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Fallek R, <strong>Tattelman E</strong>, Browne T, Kaplan R, Selwyn P. Helping Providers and Staff Process Grief through a Hospital-Based Support Program. <a title="The American journal of nursing." href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=fallek+tattelman">Am J Nurs.</a> 2019 Jul;119(7):24-33. </li>
<li>Appelbaum, D, Kliger B, Barrett B, Frenkel M, Guerrera MP, Kondwani KA, Lee BB, <strong>Tattelman E</strong>. Natural and traditional medicine in Cuba: Lessons for U.S. medical education. Acad Med, 2006;81:1098-103.</li>
<li>Morrow R, <strong>Tattelman E</strong>, Purcell J, King J, Fordis, M. Academic Peer Detailing—The Preparation and Experience of Detailers Involved in a Project to Disseminate a Comparative Effectiveness Module. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2016 Spring;36(2):123-6.</li>
<li><strong>Tattelman E</strong>, Purcell J, Morrow R. Academic Detailing: Train-the-Detailer Session. MedEdPORTAL Publications; 2015. Available from: <a href="https://www.mededportal.org/publication/10052" target="_blank">https://www.mededportal.org/publication/10052</a></li>
<li><strong>Tattelman E</strong>, Karnik A, Fornari A. Questioning as a Tool in Teaching. MedEdPORTAL; 2011. Available from: <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="https://www.mededportal.org/publication/8419">www.mededportal.org/publi…;
<li><strong>RCT Comparing Patient, Intern and Faculty Experience with Teaching in the Patients’ Presence vs. in the Precepting Room. </strong>Oral Presentation on Completed Research, 47th North American Primary Care Research Group Annual Meeting, Toronto, Ontario, November 2019</li>
<li><strong>Teaching in the Patients’ Presence (TIPP): Intern, Faculty and Patient Experiences. </strong>Lecture-Discussion, Family Medicine Education Consortium, Northeast Regional Meeting, Lancaster Pennsylvania, November 2019 </li>
<li><strong>Empowering Family Medicine Residents to Deliver HIV Care in their Communities. </strong>Lecture-Discussion, Family Medicine Education Consortium, Northeast Regional Meeting, Lancaster Pennsylvania, November 2019 </li>
<li><strong>Dealing with Patients Whose Behavior is Racist. </strong>Workshop, Family Medicine Education Consortium, Northeast Regional Meeting, Lancaster Pennsylvania, November 2019 Seminar, Society of Teachers in Family Medicine, National Conference, Toronto, Ontario, April 2019</li>
<li><strong>Family Doctors as Specialist Consultants: What Does This Mean for Teaching Comprehensive Care of Our Patients. </strong>Seminar, Family Medicine Education Consortium, Northeast Regional Meeting, Rye Brook, NY, November 2018 </li>
<li><strong>Co-Location of Team Members in the Medical Home. </strong>Lecture-Discussion, Family Medicine Education Consortium, Northeast Regional Meeting, Rye Brook, NY, November 2018 </li>
</ul>
Deborah M. Swiderski
<p><strong>Education</strong></p>
<p>Medical School: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons <br />Residency: Montefiore Health System (Internal Medicine)</p>
<p><strong>Professional Activity</strong></p>
<p>Dr. Deborah Swiderski co-leads the psychosocial curriculum for residents in the Social Medicine Program (with Dr. Jennifer Egert of the Psychosocial Unit). </p>
<p>Dr. Swiderski has been a clinician-educator for over twenty-five years with a teaching and research focus on the patient-physician relationship, bioethics and the professional development of physicians. Her other areas of interest include spirituality in medicine and the role of women in medicine. She is a member of the Ethics Committee for the Montefiore Medical Center, and an active member of the Society of General Internal Medicine, The American Academy of Communication in Health Care, and American Society of Bioethics and Humanities.</p>
<p>In addition to leading the psychosocial curriculum for Social Medicine residents, Dr. Swiderski precepts Primary Care and Social Internal Medicine residents and sees patients in her continuity practice at the Comprehensive Health Care Center (CHCC).</p>
Adult Medicine<quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>
<p>Deborah M. Swiderski, MD, is an attending physician and Professor, Medicine and Family and Social Medicine at Montefiore Einstein. Her clinical focus centers on primary care internal medicine.</p><p>After obtaining her Bachelor of Arts from Barnard College, Dr. Swiderski attended Columbia University, earning her Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Pre-Medical Studies followed by her Doctor of Medicine. Dr. Swiderski came to Einstein to complete her internship and residency in internal medicine. She continued her medical education, completing a certificate in Bioethics at New York University/Montefiore Medical Center, as well as a certificate as a Palliative and End-of-Life Care (EPEC) Trainer from Northwestern University.</p><p>Building on her clinical focus, Dr. Swiderski’s research interests include communication skills, end-of-life care, health disparities and Bioethics. These are synthesized in her work leading the Serious Illness Conversation Project at Montefiore. She has been Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator on a number of funded research projects, and she has given invited presentations nationally and internationally. Dr. Swiderski’s work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, books, chapters, review articles and abstracts. She has been a peer reviewer for scientific journals, including the <em>Journal of General Internal Medicine</em> and <em>Annals of Internal Medicine</em>.</p><p>Dr. Swiderski is a Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Internal Medicine. She is a member of the Society of General Internal Medicine, the American Academy of Physician and Patient, the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. In 2007, Dr. Swiderski won the Leo M. Davidoff Society Award for Teaching Excellence.</p>
Resmi Sulekha
Asli S. Sucu
Joseph H. Stephens
<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: center;">Joseph Stephens is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a member of the Global Health and Clinical Skills Faculty at Montefiore Medical Center. He is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and the Primary Care and Social Internal Medicine Residency Program at Montefiore. He enjoys practicing medicine in primary care and inpatient settings both in the Bronx and Kisoro, Uganda. His interests include helping learners to interpret and apply clinical research to patient care, teaching clinical reasoning, and promoting community oriented primary care. Sepp has worked with the NGO Doctor’s for Global Health since 2016, supporting and strengthening their village health worker program and related community health initiatives in Kisoro. </span><span style="border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-alternates: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: inherit; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-optical-sizing: inherit; font-kerning: inherit; font-feature-settings: inherit; font-variation-settings: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; text-align: center;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6667px; text-align: center;">His research has focused on hypertension and other chronic diseases in rural Uganda, from household level universal screening to community and hospital-based management. </span></p>
Adult Medicine<quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>
Martina Stehlikova
<p>In-patient internal medicine with a special interest in hematology. Anemia, thrombocytopenia and coagulopathy in hospitalised patients.</p>
Joanna L. Starrels
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Dr. Starrels is Professor of Medicine (with tenure) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Associate Chief of Research in the <a title="Division of General Internal Medicine" href="http://www.einstein.yu.edu/faculty/medicine/generalinternalmedicine"><s… style="color: #3b5b98; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Division of General Internal Medicine</span></a>, and Director of the IMPOWR-ME Research Center. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. Dr. Starrels is nationally recognized for her expertise in research, clinical care, education, and health policy to address the opioid crisis. Her research focuses on opioid management for patients with chronic pain with or without opioid use disorder. In particular, she studies the benefits and harms of opioid tapering, treatment agreements, urine drug testing, prescription monitoring programs, and medical cannabis use. She also studies the impact of opioid use on HIV outcomes, collaborative care models for integrating behavioral health care and pain management, treatment of opioid use disorder in primary care, and integrated treatment for opioid use disorder and chronic pain. Her work has been funded by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Society of General Internal Medicine, the New York Community Trust, and the Einstein-Montefiore Center for AIDS Research. Her expertise has been recognized </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">by invitations to serve as</span><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"> expert consultant to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the New York State Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for developing guidelines and initiatives to improve opioid prescribing.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Dr. Starrels joined the Einstein/Montefiore faculty in 2008. Her teaching and clinical care activities also focus on chronic pain and substance use. She is faculty in the Center on Comparative Effectiveness Research, leads a number of opioid and pain related initiatives, is teaching faculty in the Internal Medicine and Primary Care and Social Internal Medicine residency training programs, and is attending physician at the Montefiore Family Care Center where she focuses on caring for patients with chronic pain and who use opioids and/or medical cannabis.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Before joining Einstein/Montefiore, Dr. Starrels received her BA from Wesleyan University, where she majored in the Science in Society Program, and her MD from Jefferson Medical College. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center and fellowship in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a MS in Health Policy Research. </span></span></span></p>
<p> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 15.6pt;">Dr. Starrels is a physician, teacher and researcher who focuses on the safety and effectiveness of opioids for the management of chronic pain. Her research centers on defining best practices for managing chronic pain in primary care and HIV-treatment settings. She studies the benefits and harms of using treatment agreements, urine drug testing, and prescription monitoring programs in pain management; the effectiveness of collaborative care models for integrating behavioral health care and pain management; treatment of opioid use disorders in primary care settings; and the impact of opioid analgesic use, misuse and disorders on HIV outcomes. </p>
<p><span style="line-height: 15.6pt;">Her work has been funded by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the Society of General Internal Medicine, the New York Community Trust, and the Einstein-Montefiore Center for AIDS Research. Dr. Starrels also works to improve policies and guidelines to improve the safety of opioid prescribing. She serves as consultant to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene on several initiatives to reduce prescription drug abuse, addiction and overdose in New York City. She was a field reviewer for the Federation of State Medical Board’s 2013 Model Policy on the Use of Opioid Analgesics for the Treatment of Chronic Pain, and served as a core expert for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2016 opioid prescribing guidelines. She is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Addiction Medicine. </span></p>
Adult Medicine<quillbot-extension-portal></quillbot-extension-portal>
<ol>
<li><strong><strong>Starrels JL</strong>, </strong>Becker WC, Alford DP, Kapoor, A, Williams AR, Turner BJ. Treatment Agreements and Urine Drug Testing to Reduce Opioid Misuse in Patients with Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review. Annals of Internal Medicine.2010;152:712-720.</li>
<li><strong>Starrels JL</strong>, Becker WC, Weiner MG, Li X, Heo M, Turner, BJ. Low Use of Opioid Risk Reduction Strategies for Even High Risk Primary Care Patients with Chronic Pain. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2011;26(9);958-64.</li>
<li><strong>Starrels JL</strong>, Fox AD, Kunins HV, Cunningham CO. They Don’t Know What They Don’t Know: Internal Medicine Residents’ Knowledge and Confidence in Urine Drug Test Interpretation for Patients with Chronic Pain. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2012;27(11):1521-1527.</li>
<li>Bachhuber MA, Hennesy S, Cunningham CO, <strong>Starrels JL</strong>. Increasing benzodiazepine prescriptions and overdose mortality in the United States, 1996-2013. American Journal of Public Health. 2016;106(4):686-8. </li>
<li><strong>Starrels JL</strong>, Peyser D, Haughton L, Fox AD, Merlin J, Arnsten JH, Cunningham CO. When HIV treatment goals conflict with guideline-based opioid prescribing: A qualitative study of HIV treatment providers. Substance Abuse. 2016;37(1):148-53.</li>
<li>Buonora M, Perez H, Heo M, Ning Y, Cunningham CO, <strong>Starrels JL</strong>. Race and gender are associated with opioid dose reduction among patients receiving chronic opioid therapy. Pain Medicine. 2018. </li>
</ol>
Michele St. Louis
<p><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium;">Michele St Louis received her MD from New York University School Of Medicine and completed her internship and residency in Family Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center. She completed fellowships in Developmental Disabilities and Faculty Development in the Department of Family Medicine at Montefiore. She is director of the Montefiore School Health Program and sees patients at the school-based health center in Theodore Roosevelt High School. Her clinical and research interests include health promotion and reproductive health care, including access to and satisfaction with long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) in adolescents. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in Family Medicine.</span></p>
<p><strong>Education</strong></p>
<p>Undergraduate: Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, City College of New York, Bachelor’s Degree in Biomedical Science, Cum Laude<br />Medical School: New York University School of Medicine<br />Residency: Montefiore Medical Center (Family Medicine, Social Medicine)<br />Fellowships: Montefiore Medical Center (Developmental Disabilities Fellowship Program, Faculty Development Program)</p>
<p><strong>Professional Activity</strong></p>
<p>Dr. Michele St. Louis is Director of the Medical Division of the Montefiore School Health Program, and supervises residents and fellows in school-based health settings.</p>
<p>Her research focuses on teens' access to and acceptability of intrauterine devices in school-based health centers.</p>
<p>Patient Satisfaction with IUD Services in a School Based Health Center: A Pilot Study. Tara B Stein, MD, MPH, Aleza K Summit, MPH, Michele St Louis, MD, Marji Gold, MD Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, Vol 33, Issue 4, p 388-392 Jan 2020</p>