PNHP

Judith Albert, MD

Judith Albert, MD

OB/GYN and reproductive endocrinology

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Dr. Judy Albert is a reproductive endocrinologist and medical director at Reproductive Health Specialists. She is also a clinical assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh and a leader of Physicians for a National Health Program’s Pittsburgh chapter.

Dr. Albert received her medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, completed her residency training in OB/GYN at Magee-Womens Hospital, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and her fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI) at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Albert’s experience includes practicing and teaching at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Magee-Womens Hospital, where she served as medical director of the in vitro fertilization program and as a medical executive committee member). She is currently involved in several research projects investigating patient fertility evaluation.

In addition to membership with the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dr. Albert is a member of the Society of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART) validation committee. She holds current board certifications in both OB/GYN and REI.

Dr. Albert and several other physicians chartered the new Pittsburgh chapter of PNHP in 2017 and also attended the PNHP Leadership Training Institute in Atlanta in the same year. She participated in numerous forums and presentations in 2018.

Deb Richter, MD

Deb Richter, MD

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Dr. Richter practices in Montpelier, Vermont. She is a former President of PNHP. She has spoken extensively to both community and medical groups. She’s a frequent spokesperson in the print, TV, and radio media, and is active in coalition building on the need for universal access to health care.

Peter Steinglass, MD, DLFAPA, FAAAP

Peter Steinglass, MD, DLFAPA, FAAAP

Psychiatry

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Dr. Peter Steinglass is president emeritus and director of the Ackerman Center for Substance Abuse and the Family. A graduate of Harvard Medical School, he is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He is also a member of the Physicians for a National Health Program New York Metro chapter’s board of directors.

Dr. Steinglass has received many honors for his work in academic psychiatry as well as for his clinical and research collaborations with medical and mental health institutions, including the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy’s Cumulative Contribution to Family Therapy Research Award, and the Distinguished Contribution to Family Therapy Research Award from the American Family Therapy Academy. He is also a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a Fellow of the American Academy for Addiction Psychiatry.

Most recently, Dr. Steinglass was the recipient of the 2009 Mona Mansell Award from New York’s Freedom Institute, signifying his contributions to the substance abuse treatment field. His research on alcoholism and on chronic medical illness as they affect family life has provided vital information for the clinical community. Dr. Steinglass has written more than 90 articles, book chapters, and books on these subjects.

Gordon Schiff, MD

Gordon Schiff, MD

Internal Medicine

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Dr. Gordy Schiff is associate director of the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is a founding member and past president of Physicians for a National Health Program, and he is an author of PNHP’s JAMA paper on quality health care reform. He was previously professor of medicine at Rush University and a senior attending physician at Cook County Hospital, where he worked for more than 30 years as director of clinical quality research and improvement for the Department of Medicine.

Dr. Schiff is currently the clinical and research director of a 3-year AHRQ-funded Massachusetts statewide malpractice and patient safety improvement initiative. He is a member of the editorial boards of Medical Care and the Journal of Public Health Policy, and author of numerous articles on patient safety, diagnosis error, and medication quality improvement. He is past chair of the medical care section of the American Public Health Association (APHA), recipient of the 2005 Institute of Medicine Chicago (IOMC) Patient Safety Leader of the Year award, and the Institute for Safe Medical Practices (ISMP) 2006 Lifetime Achievement award. In 2006 he was selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the “30 People for the Future”—national leaders most “likely to continue to shape health care in the years and decades ahead,” and the 2010 Rx for Excellence in Quality Award from the Massachusetts Medical Law Report.

Elizabeth R. Rosenthal, MD

Elizabeth R. Rosenthal, MD

Dermatology

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Dr. Elizabeth Rosenthal is a retired dermatologist residing in Westchester County, where she practiced for 31 years. She continues to serve on the volunteer faculty of Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she supervises residents and students in the pediatric dermatology clinic. Dr. Rosenthal comes from a family of doctors and graduated from NYU Medical School. She completed her postgraduate training in Syracuse, Detroit, and Boston. Dr. Rosenthal is a member of the executive committee of the New York Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.

Deborah Richter, MD

Deborah Richter, MD

Family Medicine

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Dr. Deb Richter is a family practitioner in Montpelier, Vt. A former president of Physicians for a National Health Program, she is currently involved with Vermont Health Care for All and is an outspoken advocate and coalition-builder for universal access to health care.

Dr. Richter frequently appears in print and on television and radio to advocate for single-payer issues. Her years of experience caring for the uninsured and extensive knowledge of the Canadian health system make her an outstanding spokesperson, being described as “a force of nature” for her tremendous energy and organizing ability.

Mary E. O'Brien, MD

Mary E. O’Brien, MD

Primary Care

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Dr. Mary O’Brien has been a practicing primary care physician in New York City for the past 35 years – first as associate director of an urban emergency department for 10 years and now as a primary care physician at Columbia. She is double-boarded in internal medicine and emergency medicine. For several summers she has volunteered at a rural clinic in the Mississippi while the medical director takes vacation time. She currently precepts fourth-year medical students at Columbia in their primary care rotation. A member of the board of directors of Physicians for a National Health Program, Dr. O’Brien is also a member of the New York Metro chapter’s executive committee.

Donald E. Moore, MD, MPH

Donald E. Moore, MD, MPH

General Medicine

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Dr. Donald Moore runs a full-time general medicine practice in Brooklyn and has distinguished himself through service to his community and his profession. He is also an attending physician at New York Methodist Hospital and teaches medicine students at Weill Cornell Medical College and nurse practitioner students at NYU and Hunter College. He is a board member of the New York Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.

Dr. Moore has served as president of the Association of Yale Alumni in Medicine (AYAM) and president of the Medical Society of the County of Kings. He had received numerous awards including the Distinguished Alumni Service Award from AYAM and awards for teaching excellence from Weill Cornell. He has been recognized for his humanitarian efforts in health care delivery by the New York State Senate and U.S. Congress.

Adam Gaffney, MD, MPH

Adam Gaffney, MD, MPH

Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

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Dr. Adam Gaffney is president of Physicians for a National Health Program, chair of the Massachusetts chapter of PNHP, and a co-chair of the Working Group on Single-Payer Program Design, which developed the “Physicians’ Proposal for Single-Payer Health Care Reform,” recently published in the American Journal of Public Health. Dr. Gaffney is a prolific writer and blogger on health policy and also frequently appears on radio.

Dr. Gaffney is a pulmonary specialist at Cambridge Health Alliance / Harvard Medical School. He received his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine and completed residency training at Columbia University Medical Center. He recently completed a clinical and research fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Margaret Flowers, MD

Margaret Flowers, MD

Pediatrics

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Dr. Margaret Flowers is a pediatrician and currently serves as a national board adviser for Physicians for a National Health Program.

Dr. Flowers, a mother of three teens, graduated cum laude and AOA from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed residency training in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

She was director of the pediatric hospitalist program and chief of pediatrics at Carroll County General Hospital, a rural hospital in Maryland. While at CCGH, she oversaw the opening of a level II nursery. She has taught Pediatric Advanced Life Support for the Johns Hopkins H.O.P.E. program and served on the Fetus and Newborn Committee of the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Subsequently, she practiced primary pediatrics in a small community practice and then at an all-girl boarding high school.

Dr. Flowers left practice in May 2007 to work on health care reform full-time. In November 2008 she joined the steering committee of the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care. Dr. Flowers is a national board member of Healthcare Now, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to popularizing the single-payer perspective.

After multiple meetings with and requests to members of Congress to include single payer in the health care debate were unsuccessful, she joined seven other physicians and advocates in an action in the Senate Finance Committee in May 2009 and was arrested. She testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in June 2009.

Sherif Emil, MD,CM, FRCSC, FACS, FAAP

Sherif Emil, MD,CM, FRCSC, FACS, FAAP

Pediatric Surgery

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Dr. Sherif Emil is director of the division of pediatric general and thoracic surgery at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, associate chair for education and departmental citizenship in the Department of Pediatric Surgery, and professor of pediatric surgery, surgery, and pediatrics at McGill University. He also co-directs Canada’s first multidisciplinary Chest Wall Anomalies Clinic at the Shriners Hospital for Children.

Dr. Emil received his medical degree from McGill University and completed a residency in general surgery at Loma Linda University. During his residency, he spent two years in laboratory research at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Following residency, he lectured at Loma Linda and completed a fellowship in pediatric surgery at McGill. Dr. Emil returned to California to join the surgical faculty at the University of California, Irvine, serving as chief of pediatric surgery until his move to Montreal Children’s.

Dr. Emil has published more than 90 manuscripts and several book chapters on many topics in pediatric surgery. He also has a passion for teaching and has been honored with several teaching awards. His article, “The Quest for Significance,” based on his 2010 School of Medicine commencement address at UC Irvine, was published in the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons and gained wide traction within the surgical community.

Dr. Emil is active in numerous professional organizations and has served as program chair for the surgical section of the American Academy of Pediatrics and chair of the workforce committee of the Canadian Association of Pediatric Surgeons. His many accomplishments led to his selection as one of America’s Best Doctors in 2007 and one of Canada’s Best Doctors for the years 2009 to 2014. Dr. Emil also serves on the board of Mercy Ships Canada. In 2012, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Governor General of Canada for his service to children around the world and his academic accomplishments in pediatric surgery.

Andrew D. Coates, MD, FACP

Andrew D. Coates, MD, FACP

Internal Medicine

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Dr. Andy Coates is a past president of Physicians for a National Health Program, chief of hospital medicine at Samaritan Hospital in Troy, New York, and an assistant professor of medicine and psychiatry at Albany Medical College. Board certified in internal medicine as well as hospice and palliative care medicine, Dr. Coates graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Dr. Coates is a co-founder of the Capital District chapter of PNHP and founder of Single Payer New York. He previously served on the statewide executive board of the Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO. He provides commentary on WAMC Northeast Public Radio.