June/July 2005 Newsletter

Richard DiBella was born and raised in Greenwich, CT (no, he does not know Martha Stewart) and has been a Physicians Associate since 1996. He chose to become a Physician Associate because it seemed to be the best synthesis of in-depth medicine, patient-centered focus and the flexibility of changing one's specialization with minimum retraining. Since deciding to become Physicians Associate, he has been able to work in several different areas of medicine and has not regretted his decision yet. Richard received his PA degree at Springfield College with clinical training at Baystate Medical Center. Following his degree, he worked in New Haven, CT in hospital medicine.

Richard came to Boston in 2003 to pursue a Master's degree in Theology from Weston Jesuit School of Theology. He also sought to take advantage of the diverse opportunities that exist here in healthcare, particularly in the emerging field of Palliative Care, which Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s is a leader. His goal is to combine his interests in religion, spirituality and ethics with medical training for a more multidisciplinary and holistic approach to people in need. Richard believes that the consistent growth of the PA profession nationwide and locally is a clear indicator of its value as one answer to the constant challenge of delivering affordable and quality healthcare. It will likely continue to expand in the next decade as consumers and institutions continue to become familiar with the PA role.

The first few weeks at Brigham and Women's for Richard have been a mix of fun and a little frustration. When he is not at the hospital, fumbling with BICS, he enjoys ultimate frisbee and exploring New England through hiking and motorcycle trips.

Amanda Famolare

Amanda Famolare joined Brigham and Women’s Hospital in April after practicing internal medicine for the past year and a half at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey. Prior to her employment, she attended the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/Seton Hall University Physician Assistant program, where she obtained her Masters in Physician Assistant Studies. Amanda is a native of Avon, Massachusetts and earned an undergraduate degree in Biology from Union College in Schenectady, New York. While she always had an interest in medicine and patient care, Amanda was introduced to the PA profession by the pre-med office at Union College. After shadowing numerous physician assistants, she decided that the PA profession best suited her career and personal goals.

Amanda was recently married last fall and both she and her husband were eager to return to the Boston area. Desiring to continue her work in internal medicine, she was drawn to Brigham and Women’s Hospital because of the opportunity to work as a part of the new physician assistant service. Amanda’s first two months at the Brigham have been a wonderful experience. She believes that PAs can provide a valuable service in the ever-changing world of inpatient healthcare and that the profession will continue to grow as patient demands increase.

For fun, Amanda and her husband, Michael, enjoy traveling, cooking, and spending time with family and friends. They recently bought a house in Newton and look forward to their move.

Alicia Kelley

Alicia Kelley is originally from Eugene, Oregon. She attended college at the University of Colorado, Boulder where she developed interest in the biomedical sciences. She attended PA school at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences on Longwood Avenue here in Boston. Working at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in inpatient internal medicine is an opportunity for her to learn and grow within one of the world's leading health centers. She is enjoying being part of the Medicine Team and is excited to be a part of the new PA service. Within the next five years, Alicia sees the PA professional as a well recognized entity with the services of PAs being widely utilized as the patient population continues to age and expand and as financing health care continues to present with challenges. Outside of medicine, Alicia's interests include travel, outdoor activities, spending time with friends and family and eating out.

Maha Lund

Maha Lund grew up in Osnabrück, Germany, near the Dutch border. During high school she worked as a Nursing Aide at a local hospital. After high school, she started her training at the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, completing the equivalent of an American pre-med program. She then came to the US where she attended Brigham Young University, and received bachelors and masters degrees in German Literature. For several years, she worked as an accredited German-English translator and German instructor.

An experience helping a family member recovering from surgery inspired her to return to the medical field. She attended Chatham College in Pittsburgh, PA, where she received a Masters in Physician Assistant studies. After moving to the Boston area four years ago, she accepted a position as an Internal Medicine PA at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton. While at St. E’s she also enjoyed precepting PA students from the Mass College of Pharmacy, and was voted outstanding new preceptor.

Maha joined the Brigham this May and is looking forward to applying her skills and experience with the new PACE service. She is excited about the opportunity to continue to learn and grow as a PA.

Maha and her husband Mack have two daughters: Linda, age 12, and Nadia, age 9. Outside of work she is active in her church and enjoys family time, community service, hiking, and reading.

Kevin Pednault

Originally from central Connecticut, Kevin Pednault studied to become a Physicians’ Assistant just down the street, at Northeastern University. He says that this is the "perfect job" for him because he can practice his passion, medicine, but still have the flexibility to spend time with his family. He has found a place to blend family and medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital where he is eager to care for acutely ill medical patients in a top-notch research facility. He believes that due to the evolving health care trends and more strictly enforced resident work hour restrictions, Physician Assistants will become more widely utilized, as well as recognized and accepted as part of the fabric of inpatient medical staffs.

When Kevin is not tending to patients or spending time with his family, he enjoys to play with and his dog, Ms. Wrigley, as well as run, snowboard and experiment with cabbage.

All photographs taken by Brian Bator at Mainframe Photographics

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