After a successful inaugural event in October, the Fairfield County Business Journal will once again present the annual Doctors of Distinction awards ceremony to honor five of Fairfield County”™s most influential medical personnel.
This year, Doctors of Distinction 2015, “Saluting those who go beyond the diagnosis,” is May 12, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum, 295 West Ave., in Norwalk. The event is open to the public.
Accounting firm Citrin Cooperman is event co-sponsor with the Business Journal.
“Citrin Cooperman is looking forward to the second annual Fairfield County Doctors of Distinction Awards,” said John P. Bryan, firm partner and healthcare practice co-leader. “All of the winners and nominees exemplify the highest standard of excellence in the Fairfield County medical community ”” congratulations to all.”
Joining the Business Journal and Citrin Cooperman as sponsors are Quinnipiac University”™s Frank H. Netter School of Medicine; Mercedes-Benz of Greenwich; The Bristal; Danziger & Markhoff LLP; and Orthopaedic & Neurosurgery Specialists. The Darien and Wilton chambers of commerce are serving as partners for the event.
The five Doctors of Distinction categories and six winners include:
- Dr. Sohel Islam
- Dr. Robert Herzlinger
- Dr. Joseph Feuerstein
Humanitarian Award: Dr. Sohel Islam, plastic surgery, Danbury;
Lifetime Achievement: Dr. Robert Herzlinger, neonatology, Bridgeport;
Leadership in Medical Advocacy: Dr. Albert Burke, family medicine, Norwalk;
Community Service: Dr. Steven Heffer, emergency medicine, Greenwich;
Excellence in Medical Research: Dr. Joseph Feuerstein, family medicine, Stamford; and
- Dr. Mark Vitale
- Dr. Albert Burke
- Dr. Steven Heffer
Excellence in Medical Research: Dr. Mark Vitale, orthopaedics, Greenwich.
“Doctors truly are unsung heroes,” said Dee DelBello, publisher of the Fairfield County Business Journal and of its parent company, Westfair Communications. “Some of the stories you hear from them and about them are just remarkable.”
Nominations for the awards were submitted online and winners were selected by a panel of judges.
Islam, who practices within Western Connecticut Health Network, specializes in plastic surgery and hand surgery. A graduate of Cornell University Medical School, Islam is affiliated with both Danbury and New Milford hospitals.
Herzlinger, a practicing neonatologist and pediatrics specialist of 39 years, is the leader of the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Bridgeport Hospital. He is a graduate of New York Medical College.
Burke, a retired doctor, operated a family medicine private practice in Norwalk from 1957-2000. A graduate of Georgetown University Medical School, he was Chief of Staff of Norwalk Hospital from 1986-1992 and a former president of the Norwalk Medical Society.
Heffer is the medical director and owner of AFC/Doctors Express Urgent Care on Boston Avenue in Bridgeport. Heffer, an emergency room physician of 20 years, opened AFC/Doctors Express Urgent Care in March 2014.
Feuerstein is the Director of Integrative Medicine at Stamford Hospital. He is also certified in Clinical Hypnosis and Clinical Acupuncture and Homeopathy and is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University.
Vitale is a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and a member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand. He is a practicing surgeon with Orthopaedic & Neurosurgery Surgeons in Greenwich.
Darcy I. Lowell, founder and executive director of Child First and an associate clinical professor in the Yale Department of Pediatrics and Child Study Center at the Yale University School of Medicine, will serve as the ev ent”™s keynote speaker. Lowell won the Doctor of Distinction”™s Community Service Award last fall.
To attend, visit westfaironline.com or contact Westfair Communications events manager Holly DeBartolo at 914-358-0743.
