WESTCHESTER & FAIRFIELD COUNTY
BUSINESS JOURNALS IN BRIEF
WESTMED CONTINUES CONN. EXPANSION
ORTHOPAEDIC ASSOCIATES OF STAMFORD (OAS) is joining Westchester County-based Westmed Medical Group as part of the latter’s ongoing expansion into Connecticut. Headquartered in Purchase, Westmed – a multispecialty group medical practice with over 300 physicians in 12 locations in Westchester and Fairfield counties – touts its “one-stop shopping” approach to medical care, which allows patients to consult with a number of internists and specialists during a single office visit. “We’d spoken with Orthopaedic Associates off and on for a number of years,” said Richard Morel, Westmed’s co-medical director. “(OAS orthopedic surgeon) Andrew Haas is married to one of our internists, so they knew us well through that.” Still, moving into Connecticut was delayed for some time as Westmed went about agreeing to contracts with the state’s various insurance carriers. Since that process was completed, it has opened a pair of facilities in Greenwich and a satellite office in Darien.
“We felt that now was the time to move further up into Stamford,” Morel said, noting that Westmed’s attraction to Fairfield is due to the similarities between the two counties’ populations, hospital structures and the fact that there is “no large independent physician-owned and physician-run group there.” The 50-year-old Orthopaedic Associates will remain at 1281 East Main St. in Stamford, but patients will now benefit from the additional support that Westmed offers. That support includes on-staff operators working around the clock and access to the “My WESTMED” patient portal, which allows patients to schedule appointments, communicate with their physicians, view lab results, request referrals and renew prescriptions. The system is part of what Morel says is Westmed’s “unfractionated medical care,” which obviates the sometimes cumbersome back-and-forth needed via numerous phone calls, faxes and other activities, to streamline the entire process. “We are respectful of the patient’s time,” Morel said. “We offer a comprehensive level
of care and all the members of our care team communicate with each other regularly.” OAS officially joins Westmed on July 11. Morel said the group’s new Stamford foothold will likely lead to further expansion throughout Fairfield County.
MAMARONECK DOCTOR RE-ELECTED TO STATE MEDICAL SOCIETY POST
KIRA A. GERACI-CIARDULLO, AN ALLERGIST and immunologist in private practice in Mamaroneck, was re-elected speaker of the Medical Society of the State of New York at the organization’s 210th annual House of Delegates meeting this month in Tarrytown. She is only the second woman elected to two terms in the post, according to the medical society. In private practice for more than 30 years, Geraci-Ciardullo is on staff at NewYorkPresbyterian Hospital, Westchester Medical Center, Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital and White Plains Hospital, where she recently completed a five-year term as chief of allergy. She holds academic positions at both Weill Medical College of Cornell University and
New York Medical College. Geraci-Ciardullo earned her medical degree from the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and received her residency training in pediatrics at New York Hospital, where she then completed a twoyear fellowship in allergy/immunology. She earned a master’s degree in public health from the New York Medical College School of Public Health. In addition to her work for the state medical society, Geraci-Ciardullo has served as president of the Westchester County Medical Society, the Westchester Academy of Medicine and the Westchester Allergy Society. She has been part of the state medical society’s American Medical Association delegation for 11 years and serves on the AMA Council on Science and Public Health. Geraci-Ciardullo’s husband, plastic surgeon Robert Ciardullo, is also an active member of the Medical Society of the State of New York and served as a delegate to its recent annual meeting in Westchester. —Kevin Zimmerman and John Golden
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APRIL 25, 2016
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