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ARISTOTLELYSSIKATOS, DDS, MS, FAGDAttending Dentist, Program Director of theDental Practice Residency ProgramNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS/CONEY ISLANDBetter Dental Care for BrooklynDr. Aristotle Lyssikatos came to NYCHealth Hospitals/Coney Island in2015 to establish a dental residencyprogram, and under his leadershipthe program has quickly becomeone of the most desired residenciesfor dental school graduates in thecity. With some 75,000 patientencounters in its first four years, theprogram has also had an impact ondental health in the community itserves. “By the time of graduation,our dental residents consistentlytell me that this was one of the bestexperiences of their lives,” says Dr.Lyssikatos. “Meanwhile, our patientshave been very appreciative of thecompassionate care they receivefrom our program.”Dr. Lyssikatos graduated with honorsfrom New York University Collegeof Dentistry in 2005 and served asdental director of Newark CommunityHealth Centers for nine years beforejoining Coney Island. In addition tohis clinical work, he has publishedresearch articles in the Journal ofOral Health and Community Dentistryand represents his colleagues on theFacility-Based Collaborative Council,developing research projects withstaff and residents. In 2015, Dr.Lyssikatos was designated one of thecountry’s top young dentists under40 by Incisal Edge Magazine.Dr. Lyssikatos says he’s proud to bepart of a health system devoted tobringing care to people who oftenhave complex medical and socialneeds. “We have patients with greathardships, and the emphasis is alwayson their needs,” he says. “This systemallows us to care for our patientswithout constraints. That is why I amnot just a doctor here but a patientas well. We have talented doctorswho work together and genuinelycare about their colleagues, and wehave an executive team that is veryapproachable and goal-oriented. Wehave a group of dental residents whoenjoy learning and dental attendingswho have a passion to teach.”

MARITZABROWN, MDAssociate Program Director,Inpatient MedicineDirector of HemodialysisNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS/ELMHURSTSpeaking with CompassionDr. Maritza Brown’s compassionateapproach to patient care isappreciated by those she treatsand the future physicians she trains.She has served in a variety of keyleadership roles since she arrived atElmhurst in 2008, and is known forexcelling in all of them.Dr. Brown received her B.S. fromCUNY’s Medgar Evers College andher M.D. from the Universidad delNoreste in Mexico. Her postdoctoraltraining – internship, residency,and nephrology fellowship – wasat Brookdale Hospital/DownstateMedical Center.Dr. Brown, a nephrologist, isAssociate Program Director ofInpatient Medicine and Director ofHemodialysis. She is also ClerkshipSite Director for the Icahn Schoolof Medicine at Mount Sinai. As amedical educator, she has receivedElmhurst’s Distinguished WardPreceptor Award multiple times.She is also a distinguished leaderin the larger medical community,serving on the National KidneyFoundation Advisory Board, and asan IPRO Chronic Kidney DiseaseProject Advisor.She traces her ambition to studymedicine to her childhood daystranslating for her grandmother, whospoke little Spanish, during doctor’sappointments in Costa Rica. Dr.Brown was “awed by the doctors’knowledge,” she says. “I wanted to belike them.”Working at Elmhurst, she says,“allows me to fulfill two of my greatestpassions -- direct patient care andbeing a part of the education of ouryoung physicians, being a role model.”Compassion for patients resonateswith Dr. Brown as a criticalcomponent of care. “Many of ourpatients speak very little English,and come here with very advanceddisease, and have limited healthliteracy,” she says. “They are fearfulof what the doctor might tell them.Speaking to them with compassionhelps to allay some of this fear andpermits them to make informeddecisions.”

OYEBISIJEGEDE, MDAttending Physician, Infectious Disease andInternal MedicineNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS/GOTHAM HEALTH, BELVISFighting Disease,from Nigeria to the BronxA few years after earning her medicaldegree in her native Nigeria, Dr.Oyebisi (Bisi) Jegede decidedshe wanted her career to focuson improving the treatment ofHIV and other infectious diseases.Immigrating to the United Statesin 2002, she earned a Ph.D. incellular and molecular biology atthe Cleveland Clinic, spent severalyears as a researcher in labs thatwere trying to develop new drugsfor HIV and hepatitis C, then serveda residency in internal medicine.Eventually she moved to NewYork for a Masters in translationalscience—the application of laboratorydiscoveries to patient treatment—atThe Rockefeller University. “I wantedto do clinical studies to develop newtherapies and also have the flexibilityto be able to practice medicine,” shesays. “The best of both worlds.”In 2017, Dr. Jegede’s long road ledto NYC Health Hospitals/GothamHealth, Belvis, where a position for aninfectious disease specialist had beenopen for some time. It was a good fit.“The central thing to me—and I wrotethis all the way back in my graduateschool application—is that health careshould be affordable and accessibleto everybody. At that time in Nigeria,a lot of people were dying withoutcare so that is how I got interested inworking in a public health system.”At Belvis, Dr. Jegede has quicklybecome known as a kind-hearteddoctor who has an exceptional waywith patients. “What’s important tome is getting people to buy in totheir care,” she says. “To do that, myapproach is to speak to them in a waythey will understand -- less jargon,more straightforward information,what the prognosis will be with andwithout intervention and what theycan do to make things better. Oncepeople understand what is at stake,whether it is an HIV patient or adiabetic patient, they’ll be the oneto tell you, ‘This is what I’m doing.’They take ownership and if they makeprogress that’s their achievement.”

MAGALIEPIERRE-LOUIS, MDPediatric AttendingNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS/GOTHAMHEALTH, CUMBERLANDThe Great CommunicatorDr. Magalie Pierre-Louis exemplifiessome of the most important qualitiesof a doctor who practices in acommunity as diverse as the one sheserves at NYC Health Hospitals/Gotham Health, Cumberland. “Ithink every doctor should havecompassion and be considerate ofthe particular needs and cultures oftheir patients,” said Dr. Pierre-Louis.Those aspects of her approach areone reason she’s earned a reputationamong both staff and patients forbeing a great communicator.Dr. Pierre-Louis, a pediatrician whogrew up in Haiti, cares for manyfamilies who speak her native Creole.Her Spanish-speaking patients alsoappreciate her ability to talk with themin their first language. It’s all in serviceof Dr. Pierre-Louis’s fierce commitmentto making Cumberland’s pediatricclinic a place that fosters strongpersonal and therapeutic relationshipsbetween staff and patients.“I always wanted to be a pediatrician,since my own childhood,” Dr. PierreLouis says. She immigrated to NewYork when she was 18 and beganpursuing her dream at City College.She went on to medical school atTemple University, returned to NewYork for her pediatric residency atAlbert Einstein, and spent 14 yearsas an attending pediatrician atclinics in Brooklyn before joining theCumberland team in 2007.Colleagues laud Dr. Pierre-Louis asa strong advocate for her patientswho is always seeking innovativeways to deliver the best care to heryoung patients and their families.Sometimes it’s as simple as goingthe extra yard to connect with them—calling an adolescent patient herselfto find out why they missed anappointment, for instance.She recalls a teenage boy with asubtle abnormality that led herto refer him to a specialist, whodiagnosed an unusual geneticcondition, called Klinefelter’sSyndrome that can affect variousaspects of development. “As a resultof my discovery he had the properworkup and treatment,” she says.“That was a case where I was proudthat I could really make a differencein my patient’s life.”

LLOYD P.HASKES, OD, FAAOChief, Eye Care ServicesNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS / GOTHAMHEALTH, EAST NEW YORKCaring for the Eyes of East New YorkAsk Dr. Lloyd Haskes what he lovesabout being an optometrist at NYCHealth Hospitals and he might tellyou about the patient who came intohis clinic one day years ago, confusedabout why an outside provider hadprescribed eye drops. Dr. Haskesdid a complete workup and foundthat the patient had glaucoma. Hecarefully explained the condition,its treatment and prognosis. “I’llnever forget the hugs I received,”Dr. Haskes says, “as well as the nearly10-year doctor-patient relationshipsince then.”Dr. Haskes is the chief of eye careservices at NYC Health Hospitals/ Gotham Health, East New York,and director of the center’s familypractice/ocular disease residencyand externship program with SUNY.Overseeing a clinical center that seesmore than 350 patients a month, Dr.Haskes has had an important impacton the awareness and treatment ofocular disease in the East New Yorkcommunity. Known for his proactiveapproach, he’s recently been focusedon stepping up his department’sengagement with diabetic patientsand improving their management ofvision-related conditions.In addition to his clinical dutiesat East New York, Dr. Haskes is afull-time clinical professor at thefacility’s affiliate, the SUNY Collegeof Optometry, his professional almamater. He earned his D.O. degreethere in 1987, following his fatherinto the field.Three decades later, Dr. Haskeshas seen thousands of patients andtrained hundreds of doctors buthis daily mission remains constant:To make sure his team sees everypatient as an individual, addressesall their needs, answers all theirquestions, sends them home betteroff than when they came in. “Becauseof the immense size of our system,with a lot of moving parts, a patientmay feel overlooked,” he says.“My goal every day is for our patientsto leave our care smiling. Nothingfeels better than being told, ‘Doc,don’t ever leave East New York.’ ”

NATHANIEL LIMYAO, MDPrimary Care Physician,Family Medicine-Integrative MedicineChief Medical Information OfficerNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS/GOTHAM HEALTH, GOUVERNEUREMR ChampionDr. Nathaniel Yao, Primary CarePhysician at Gotham Health,Gouverneur and Chief MedicalInformation Officer at Gotham Health,is passionate about treating patientsand developing the potential of ITto improve care. A computer whizsince childhood, Dr. Yao, uses his ITskills to help colleagues navigatemedical databases, and to fine-tunethe functionality of electronic medicalrecords. As Gotham Health’s CMIOhe works to improve EMR as a criticaltool in delivering quality care.One of his most memorable NYCHealth Hospitals experiences,Dr. Yao says, was realizing that histeamwork with other providersto substantially improve clunkyprescription-writing software boostedtheir ability to help patients. Thecity’s public health care teams “domore with less,” he notes. “We deliverthat world-class care when we workcloser and depend on each other’sstrengths.”Dr. Yao is considered an extraordinaryteam player, teacher and colleaguewhose talents and dedication haveproduced significant improvementsbenefiting providers and patients.Patients also respond to his caring,easygoing style and professionalism.Dr. Yao earned his B.S. in BiomedicalScience at The Sophie Davis Schoolof Biomedical Education at The CityCollege of New York and his M.D.at The School of Medicine at StonyBrook University Medical Center.He was inspired to study medicine bythe doctor who treated him and hisfamily members, at very reasonablecost, after they came to the U.S., fromthe Philippines.“Being able to take care of families,and experiencing their trust whenyour patient brings their newborn toyou as well as their grandma . . . ishumbling,” he says. “I would not haveit any other way.”

BELKIS J. VIZCAINO-REYES,MD, MPH, FAAPAttending Physician, PediatricsNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS/GOTHAM HEALTH, MORRISANIAA Morrisania GrandmotherFor Dr. Belkis Vizcaino-Reyes, herproudest moment—and it comes withincreasing frequency these days—iswhen a patient she began treatingyears ago has a child herself andwants Dr. Vizcaino-Reyes to be theirpediatrician. “That is when I becomewhat I call a ‘Morrisania grandmother,’“ she says. “I feel honored and proudto start the cycle all over again.”Dr. Vizcaino-Reyes joined thepediatric service of NYC Health Hospitals/Gotham Health, Morrisania26 years ago after a long anddetermined journey to becomethe doctor her mother wanted tobe. “She is my inspiration,” says Dr.Vizcaino-Reyes, who grew up in theDominican Republic. “She was neverable to become a doctor because ofthe circumstances of her life. I tookover her dream and made it a reality.All my life the only thing I wanted todo was become a doctor.”She earned her medical degreefrom the Autonomous Universityof Santo Domingo in 1981 afteran arduous seven-year pursuit. Afew years later, she came to NewYork to continue her education witha Master’s in public health fromColumbia University, followed by apediatric residency at Bronx-LebanonHospital, a second residency in socialpediatrics at Montefiore Hospitaland a fellowship at the nationallyrecognized Mount Sinai AdolescentHealth Center.At Morrisania, Dr. Vizcaino-Reyes isknown for her easy smile, warmth,compassion and commitment to apublic health system that doesn’t turnanyone away. “Health care is a right,not a privilege,” she says. “I like thefact that I do not have to think aboutfinances when I see my patients.”Dr. Vizcaino-Reyes was instrumentalin the founding of the Facility-BasedCollaboration Council at Morrisaniaand worked with her team to developand implement a project to improvethe flow of newborns in the pediatricsdepartment.

FRANCISCOSANTONI, MDInternistNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS/GOTHAM HEALTH, SYDENHAMCaring for the LatinoCommunity in HarlemColleagues praise Dr. FranciscoSantoni for his commitment toexemplary care and for his serviceto the Hispanic community inHarlem. He is recognized as thehighest-performing physician atSydenham this year on his chronicdisease metrics in both diabetes andhypertension.Beloved at Sydenham since joiningthe medical staff in 1994, Dr. Santoniserves as a medical advocate for theSpanish-speaking population servedby the community health center.He champions collaborative care ofpatients with both mental health andchronic disease and was an earlyadopter and champion of “cycletime” improvements.He trained in Internal Medicine andCardiology at New York MedicalCollege and at Hospital Damas inPonce, Puerto Rico. He credits hisfamily doctor in the South Bronx,“who treated me and many othersregardless of the ability to pay,” forinspiring him to become a physician.That commitment resonates today ashe serves a medically disadvantagedcommunity “with higher morbidityand mortality rates due to less accessto primary prevention and premorbid care, and discontinuity ofcare,” he says.Accountability in the practice ofmedicine is an essential value forDr. Santoni. “Excellence is ideal butnot always obtainable,” he says.‘However, accountability in ourwork and its product is essential fordelivering the best health care thatwe can.”What motivates his commitmentto practice medicine, he says, is“knowing that when a patient leavesmy room I have done my best toachieve the goals of all medical care:to relieve suffering, to prevent futuresuffering or to prolong life.”

ANDREA N.COTLER, OD, FAAODirector of Eye Vision Services,Chief of OptometryNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS/GOUVERNEURA World Crisp and AliveBlending clinical expertise with awarm, supportive manner, Dr. AndreaN. Cotler oversees Eye Care servicesand provides care for residents ofNYC Health Hospitals/Gouverneur.She is known as a dedicated doctorwho will rearrange her scheduleto meet residents’ needs includingurgent, serious and unresolved eyeissues.at American Academy of Optometrymeetings and academic venues.The day she walked out of heroptometrist’s office “wearing contactlenses for the first time” inspiredDr. Cotler to become a doctor. “Theworld appeared crisp and alive,”she says. “Becoming aware of whatI had been missing before thatmoment inspired me to help othersexperience that same joy.”“I am proud to say that we nowprovide same-day access for all ofour diagnostic imaging equipmentand have dramatically reduced timeto next available visual field exam.”Dr. Cotler earned her B.S. atUniversity of North Carolina ChapelHill and her Doctor of Optometryat SUNY College of Optometry. Shedid her residency in Ocular Disease/Primary Care Optometry at U.S.Department of Veterans Affairs - NewYork Harbor Health Care System, andworked in private practice. She haspresented on eye disease subjectsShe has worked at Gouverneursince 2016 and counts as one ofher proudest accomplishments,improvements to patient access toophthalmic diagnostic equipmentused to screen for and manage sightthreatening diseases like glaucomaand macular degeneration.Dr. Cotler finds it particularlysatisfying to help patients “solveproblems.” She is fortunate, she says,“to work with amazing optometryinterns each day, and each patientencounter is an opportunity to sharemy experience.”“Interacting with my patientsand students is rewarding andenergizing,” she says.

CLARICIODECASTRO, MDAttending AnesthesiologistDirector, Pain Management ServiceNYC HEALTH HOSPITALS/HARLEMEasing Pain, Building TrustLauded as an outstanding clinicianwho treats patients with respect andis widely admired by colleagues,Dr. Claricio DeCastro is Director ofthe Pain Management Service atHarlem. He considers creation of theService, which treats acute, chronicand cancer pain conditions, one ofhis proudest accomplishments. The“highest honor” he has received, hesays, is his patients’ trust.Dr. DeCastro is in the pain clinic fivedays a week, responds to in-houseconsults, performs pain procedures inthe operating room, and works withmedical and psychiatry residents.He was instrumental in developingHarlem’s hospital-wide Policy andProcedure for Pain Management.His own childhood health issuesincluding asthma, chronic bronchitisand surgeries, combined with theexample of his older sister – a publichospital physician in the DominicanRepublic who came home after longhours to treat local patients for free– solidified Dr. DeCastro’s desireto pursue medicine. He earned hismedical degree at the AutonomousUniversity of Santo Domingo, thencame to Harlem Hospital for twoyears as a surgical resident.He completed a residency inanesthesiology at Albert EinsteinCollege of Medicine and was a fellowin Pain Management at MemorialSloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr.DeCastro’s extensive

Motivated by Her Patients Dr. Yelena Suler joined NYC Health Hospitals in 2000 when she was recruited for the Cardiac Rehabilitation program at Coler-Goldwater Memorial Hospital. She was quickly recognized for her expertise, compassion and putting the needs of patients first. Her re