Outstanding professionals who help ensure that health care in Westchester, and Fairfield Counties, and the Hudson Valley consistently meets the highest standards were honored May 20 during Westfair Communications’ Doctors of Distinction 2026 event, which took place at the venue Mansion on Broadway in White Plains.
After Westfair’s Events Director Natalie Holland welcomed those in attendance, Peter P. Semczuk, regional vice president for New York City and executive director, Moses Campus and Faculty Practice Group at Montefiore Einstein spoke.
Semczuk noted that when Montefiore was founded some 100 years ago its core mission was the take care of the poor.
“Here it is 100 years later,” Semczuk said “Despite the fact that Montefiore will soon be responsible for 16 hospitals we never lost sight of the mission to take care of poor people.”
He pointed out that as part of its expansion Montefiore is over the next several months welcoming the St. John’s Riverside Hospital System in Yonkers into its family and shortly thereafter Garnet Heath Medical Center, which has locations in Orange County and Sullivan County.
“The mission will remain the same: to teach, to heal and to advance discoveries of the patients that we care for,” Semszuk said.
A panel discussion followed featuring three medical professionals: Cara Pensabene, global medical director at Mastercard and a board member of the American Heart Association of Westchester and Fairfield Counties; Vanessa Reiser, an author who also is founder and CEO of Tell a Therapist, LLC; and Lori Solomon, chair of Family & Community Medicine and medical director of the Family Health Center at New York Medical College.
This year, there were 15 honorees who were cited not only for their outstanding contributions to the quality of care provided to patients but also for their contributions to health care as a whole.
The honorees were:
Michael DiGiorno, DO, MHSA, FASN, chief operating officer of St. John’s Riverside Hospital. He is the hospital’s chief of nephrology and director of the Joshi Center for Comprehensive Renal Care in Yonkers and medical director of the St. John’s Medical Group. To help secure the region’s future physicians, Dr. DiGiorno organized the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine education program for medical students and championed the implementation of ACGME-accredited residencies in internal medicine and emergency medicine at St. John’s Riverside Hospital.
Mill Etienne, chief of medicine and neurology at WMCHealth’s Good Samaritan Hospital. Dr. Etienne is a professor of neurology and medicine at New York Medical College, where he serves as vice chancellor and associate dean for student affairs. He is director of neurology and medicine at WMCHealth’s Good Samaritan Hospital and a past president of the New York State Neurological Society. Etienne has served in the U.S. Navy for more than 20 years and is currently executive officer of the reserve unit of the USNS Comfort. He is the founding director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and served as chief of ethics aboard the USNS Comfort during the response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
Daniel Gold, MD, CMIO, physician partner at ENT & Allergy Associates. He
trained at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University before completing his otolaryngology training at Tufts Medical Center. He returned to New York 17 years ago and has since served as a full-time private practice otolaryngologist caring for patients in both office and hospital settings. For the past 14 years, Gold has also served as a managing partner and board member of ENT and Allergy Associates. He currently serves as the group’s chief medical information officer, leading the digital transformation of patient care.
Adam Hammerman, EMT, Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance, vice president and chief financial officer at New York Medical College. He provides strategic financial leadership that has strengthened the institution’s fiscal health and operational transparency including a streamlined and transparent budgeting process and achieving a sustainable budget surplus, positioning the institution for long-term stability and growth. Hammerman has also dedicated more than 35 years to emergency medical service as a volunteer emergency medical technician with Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Corps, responding to emergencies across Westchester, Manhattan, Queens and Rockland County.
Christopher Iannuzzi, medical director radiation oncology at Saint Vincent’s Medical Center – Hartford Healthcare. Dr. Iannuzzi is a senior physician leader at Hartford HealthCare, serving as medical director of radiation oncology and chairman of the Department of Oncology. He also serves as MSK Care Partner Site Director, helping align clinical care, quality outcomes and innovation across the network in collaboration with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Adele El Kareh, MD, PhD, FACOG, board-certified obstetrician-gynecologist, Optum Medical Care. Dr. Kareh provides comprehensive women’s health care. She earned her master’s degree and doctorate from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and her medical degree from David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She completed her obstetrics and gynecology residency at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and a fellowship at Columbia University.
Julia Keltz, MD, FACOG, board-certified OB/GYN, associate vice-chair of education and residency program director OB/GYN at Westchester Medical Center. She specializes in minimally invasive gynecologic surgery and chronic pelvic pain. She regularly leads educational initiatives, including sessions focused on leadership and teamwork for health care teams.
Inna Lazar, O.D., founder of PRO EYECARE, a multi-location practice serving Greenwich and Darien, Connecticut. Dr. Lazar specializes in ocular surface disease, dry eye and myopia management, offering a technology-driven approach that focuses on treating underlying causes rather than symptoms. Lazar also is the founder of Eye Care from the Heart, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing comprehensive eye care and myopia management to children regardless of financial circumstances.
Anne Limowski, assistant director and attending psychologist at Montefiore Einstein Psychiatry Associates. She also serves as a supervisor and CBT curriculum director in the Montefiore Psychiatry Residency Program. She is focused on improving access to evidence-based care for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder and related conditions.
Mooyeon Oh-Park, MD, MHCM, chief physician, research and innovation at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and professor of rehabilitation medicine and neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System. Her work focuses on advancing wellness and healthy aging through collaboration among clinical care, academia and industry. She is board-certified in physical medicine and rehabilitation, sports medicine, lifestyle medicine and electrodiagnostic medicine. Her research focuses on delirium and frailty prevention, health care innovation, and preserving mobility and function in older adults.
Hande Omur, MD, associate medical director of interventional psychiatry services at Greenwich Hospital. Dr. Omur is a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in consultation-liaison and interventional psychiatry. In addition to her service at Greenwich Hospital, part of the Yale New Haven Health System, she is an assistant professor of behavioral sciences and psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine. She completed her psychiatry residency at Maimonides Medical Center and a fellowship in psychosomatic medicine and psycho-oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center.
David Raizen, president and volunteer leader of the Scarsdale Volunteer Ambulance Corps. During his 45 years as the organization has developed a pilot community paramedicine program that brings medical care into the home, including blood and urine testing, helping reduce hospital admissions and readmissions. The program also provides flu and RSV testing and vaccinations. He also launched an EMT training program that prepares individuals for New York state EMT certification, including specialized classes for Scarsdale High School students. Raizen also led the effort to build a new headquarters for SVAC at 5 Weaver St., in the village.
Robin Saide, associate vice chancellor, student mental health and wellness at New York Medical College. Saide also is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at New York Medical College, as well as an adjunct professor at Touro University Graduate School of Social Work. At NYMC, Saide provides operational, clinical and strategic leadership for the Office of Student Mental Health and Wellness, overseeing programs and services that support graduate students. She has co-created several wellness initiatives, including a mental health and safety app and a peer-led wellness ambassador program.
Kristine Sposato, DNP, MSN, FNP, senior director of occupational health services and employee wellness at White Plains Hospital. She began her career in 2000 as a registered nurse on the ICU step-down unit, caring for critically ill patients before moving into leadership as an assistant nurse manager, where she helped launch a medical-surgical and stroke program. She now oversees programs supporting the health and well-being of more than 6,000 employees across the hospital system and partner organizations.
Sherma G. Winchester-Penny, MD, cardiologist, Optum Medical Care. She is a board-certified cardiologist specializing in general cardiology, with additional board certifications in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and nuclear cardiology. She is affiliated with Garnet Health Medical Center, Garnet Health Medical Center – Catskills, Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital and St. Anthony Community Hospital.
The judges for Westfair’s 2026 Doctors of Distinction were Janine Miller and Gary Sastow. Miller is executive director of the Westchester County Medical Society and the Westchester Academy of Medicine. Sastow is a partner at the law firm of Danziger & Markhoff LLP.
The presenting sponsor of the event was Montefiore Einstein. Partner for the event was White Plains Hospital. Supporters were: Action Entertainment; Burke Rehabilitation; Crystal Run Healthcare, powered by Optum; Lucid; Sharc Creative; WMCHealth; Yale New Haven Health Greenwich Hospital.
