Care For All | Valley Health System

At Valley Health System, our healing environment is open to all, including our LGBTQ+ neighbors.

Delivering inclusive healthcare and employment opportunities is our lasting commitment and, simply, the right thing to do.

Your Partner in Health

As demonstrated by its perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Healthcare Equality Index survey, Valley goes beyond the basics when it comes to adopting policies and practices in LGBTQ+ care:

Our Patient Bill of Rights and Ambulatory Patient Bill of Rights make clear Valley’s belief that individuals of all backgrounds, including sexual orientation and gender identity, share indispensable and essential rights regarding all aspects of their healthcare.
Our Non-Discrimination Policy for employees clearly states that Valley will not tolerate discrimination of any kind in the workplace.
Our Patient and Family Centered Care approach welcomes family members, partners and other individuals identified by the patient as vital participants in a patient’s care.
Clinical programs and services at Valley, including our Center for LGBTQ+ Care, fertility services, emergency care, cancer care and bariatric surgery – as well as Valley Medical Group’s primary care and specialty providers – address the unique health needs of LGBTQ+ patients with respect and compassion.

Watch: At Valley, we pride ourselves on being a partner in your care, which includes your medical and well-being needs. To help us better understand how we can serve and care for you, we ask that you consider answering the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity questions asked upon registration. Your responses will help us develop a treatment plan, customized to your needs.

Need a Doctor?

In addition to the providers who practice at our Center for LGBTQ+ Care, many of our providers and practices support a care environment that is welcoming, affirming and inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community. Click on a specialty below to find a doctor for you or a loved one.

Allergy & Immunology

Jay Kashkin, MD

Bariatric Surgery

Connie Adamek, APN
Seema Dhorajia, DO
Tamar Joseph, PA
Edward J. Yatco, MD

Breast Surgery

Laura Klein, MD
Moira Christoudias, MD
Shanthie E. Koshy-Thomas, MD

Cardiology

Kariann Abbate, MD
Catherine Abreu, APN
Michael Anshelevich, MD
Stuart A. Barr, MD
Chelsea N. Benell, APN
Nikolay Bogush, MD
Paul Burns, MD
Gertrude P. Borja, APN
Beth A. Bosticco, PA
Gina Callocchia, FNP
Ernest Whanwook Chang, MD
Aalap Chokshi, MD
Omid Dardashti, MD
Mary E. D'Entremont, APN
Sheldon B. Eisenberg, MD
Nancy Elmann, APN
Brianne E. Flynn, PA
Jennifer E. Eskenasi, PA
Louisa Ghiberti-Toledo, APN
Arieh Greenbaum, MD
Himanshu Gupta, MD
Francis Y. Kim, MD
Joel S. Landzberg, MD
Christine Lissy, PA-C
Yonathan Litwok, MD
Joel D. Jacowitz, MD
Bonnie Matossian, APN
Melissa Matysiak, PA
Suneet Mittal, MD
David Montgomery, MD
Patricia L. Murphy, MD
Themistoklis J. Nissirios, MD
Carissa Pistilli, APN
Robert Saporito, MD
Daniel Serra, APN
Tina Sichrovsky, MD
Alan Simon, MD
Bruce Slolnick, MD
Mark Teicher, MD
Jeromane Tenido-NG, APN
Lilian Turano, APN
Elvira Usinowicz, APN
Isha Verma, MD
Debbie Yiu, APN

Cardiac Critical Care

Linda Romeo, DNP
Winston Wong, MD
Yi Checchio, PA

Critical Care

Joanne Payongayong, PhD, AGANCP, CCRN

Dermatology

Donna L. Fichera, APN

Endocrinology

Kate Breslin, APN
Katherin Heeren, FNP
Benjamin J. Cohen, MD

Fertility & Reproductive Endocrinology

Dehan Chen, MD

Keri Greenseid, MD

Ali Nasseri, MD, PhD

Gastroenterology

Sita S. Chokhavatia, MD
Robin M. Friedman, MD
Albert O. Kwon, MD
Jonathan Pinto, MD
George F. Protopapas, MD
Michael G. Rahmin, MD

General Surgery

Carl Winkler, MD

Thomas Ahlborn, MD
Paul Punla, PA

Igor Elyash, DO

Joseph Licata, MD

Chidambaram Raman, MD

Geriatric Medicine

Bennett Leifer, MD

Gynecologic Oncology

Alice Nagy, APN
Amanda Ukleja, PA-C
Nicole Vilardo, MD
Marie Welshinger, MD

Gynecology

Sami Ahmad, MD
Tia Demille Welsh , MD
Patricia M. Bouce , APN

Jeffrey Reinkraut, MD
Michelle Beloff, MD
Daying Zhang, MD
Jennifer Enrique, APN

Sandolsam Cha, MD

Jennifer Cabral, MD
Tia Demille Welsh , MD
Elizabeth A. Kowalski, APN

Kathlyn Kim, MD

Shelia Newman, MD

Hematology/Oncology

Ephraim Casper, MD
Jae R. Cho, MD
Elisa Dipierro, APN
Elena Fishman, ANP-BC, AOCNP-BC
Michele B. Frank, MD
Kristen Hartig, APN
Eli Kirshner, MD
Christy D. Morrissey, MD
Amanda J. Podolski, MD
Alysha Sewall, APN
Jason Suh, MD
Eleonora Teplinsky, MD
Rachel Tobin, APN
Kevin Wood, MD

Hospitalist Medicine

Kristina Woo, PA

Internal Medicine

Emmanuel A. Aydin, MD
Erhan Kucuk, MD

Susan Zeveloff, MD

Glen Berger, MD

Maria T. Scibetta, MD
Melissa Apriceno, APN

Henry Velez, MD

Liver Diseases

Joseph Odin, MD, PhD

Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery

Nicole M. Astill, MD
Howard H. Jones, MD

Neonatology

Christiana Farkouh-Karoleski, MD
Monika Reisenauer, APN

Obstetrics & Gynecology

Jennifer M. Amorosa, MD
Kajal Angras, DO
Pnina Y. Bargad, MD
Melissa Buddha, APN
Jennifer Cabral, MD
Jane Goldman, MD
Hunter A Gomez-Roberts, MD
Meg Hainer, MD
Jessica Kelmartin, FNP
Reut Moyal, MD
Hayley Norian, DO
Morenike Jegede, CM
Neelam Sharma, MD
Eugenia Kuo, MD
Savita Khosla, MD
Elizabeth Klimowicz, MD
Gail Sobel, MD
Amna Iftikhar, MD
Richard Levine, MD
Oscarina A. Contin-Mendoza, MD
Richa Pursnani, MD
Judith Pinto, MD
Maryanne Carrillo, MD
Veronica Garces, APN
Elina Zeldina, MD
Carolyn Zelop, MD

Ophthalmology

David Benderson, MD

Tanya Fooks, MD

Diane Hilal-Campo, MD

Melanie Sinatria, MD

Orthopedics

Lorraine C. Stern, MD
Peter H. DeNoble, MD

Ryan M. Dowling, MD

David F. Ratliff, MD

David P. Rudman, MD

James C. Mendler, MD

Pain Management

Carletta J. Lindie-Fowlkes, PA

Palliative Care

Puneeta Sharma, MD
Ayelet Spitzer, DO

Michael Muro, APN
Yusimi Sobrino-Bonilla, APN

Pediatrics

Cecilia A. Godoy, MD
Suzanne Bussetti, APN

Hakan C. Pehlivan, MD
Nancy J. Moontasri, MD
Avrum L. Joffe

Lauren Dankner, MD
J. Antonio Quiros, MD, PhD

Eric L. Lazar, MD
Linda Li, MD
Indrajit Majumdar, MD

Ellen Fasanaro, APN

Monika Reisenauer, DNP, APN, NNP-BC
Sherry L. Sakowitz-Sukkar, MD

Lewis J. Kass, MD

Tatiana Dea, APN

Barbara Jedlinksi, MD

Irene Shevelev, MD, FAAP
Claude Ligenza, MD, FAAP
Christopher Nicpon, MD, FAAP
Amy Leifer, MD, FAAP
Julia Lee, MD, FAAP

Susan Kushner, MD
Melissa Monaco, MD

Evan Weissman, DO, FAAP

Indrajit Majumdar, MD
Rachel A. Devine, APN

Lisa M. Nalven, MD
Marivic Santiago, MD
Kaitlin Tergesen, PA-C

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

Ryan K. Murphy, DO

Samuel S. Jacob, DO, FAAPMR
Zhi Cheng Chen, MD

Angela M. D'Allesandro, MD

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Aaron Capuano, MD

Jay Meisner, MD, FACS

Podiatry

Mina Hanna, DPM

Primary Care/Family Practice

Kathleen Connolly, APN
Ellen J. Fasanaro, APN
Mary T. Granholm, APN

Dina Dabaj, MD
Frishta Abawi, MD

Perel Schneid, DO

Nita J. Nair, MD

Rena M. Jaffe, APN
Ruth E. Perry, MD
Samantha Jean Salomon, MD

Erika Henry, FNP
Michelle T. Mesiano, APN

Simone G. Rubin, DO
James Chan, DO

Jaclyn Anne Sta.Maria, MD

Jeane Anthony, APN
Lisa A. Draucikas, DO
Jessica Anne Grace Lim, APN
Marielle Nasta, FNP
Taylor M. Shaker, MD
Seena Shekari, DO
Ayala Silverman, PA
Brianne M. Simpson, PA
Maria G. Williams, APN
Michael A. Williams-Healy, APN

Komal Yadav, MD

Psychiatry

Pulmonology

Reza Farhangfar, MD
Emma Nicholas, APN

Timothy O'Donnell, DO

Rakesh Sharma, MD

Brianna Tremblay, APN

Steven Jacoby, MD
Joseph P. Mathew, MD
Michael I. Bogart, MD

Radiation Oncology

Chad DeYoung, MD
Thomas Kole, MD, PhD
Michael Wesson, MD

Rheumatology

Arik Zaider, MD

Thoracic Surgery

Robert Korst, MD
Mark Shapiro, MD

Urogynecology

Patrick J. Culligan, MD
Cristina M. Saiz, MD
Nicolette Julson, PA

Urology

David T. Ahlborn

Hospitalists

Kristina D. Abanes, APN
John Angiolillo, MD
Seth I. Breitbart, MD
Nadine N. Clermont, MD
Giovanni S. Dugay, APN
Padmavathi Jonnalagadda, MD
Saritha Kartan, MD
Jyothi Kulkarni, MD
Maximo Gomez, MD
Hossam H. Hanna, MD
Lauren LoTurco, MD
Harini Mallipeddi, MD
Magdalena Panek, APN
Sharon S. Ventura, APN
Varad S. Vyas, MD
Ellen-Jane G. Tarife, APN
Susrut R. Usgaonker, DO
Ranjit C. Rana, MD
Majdouline Sabi, MD
Maria Salcedo, MD
Erik Svensson, MD

Watch: At Valley Health System, our LGBTQ+ Steering Committee works to ensure that our healthcare environment is a safe, welcoming space for our patients, employees, and community.

HEI

A Healthcare Equality High Performer

Valley is proud to be an LGBTQ+ Healthcare Equality High Performer, as designated by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation.

Valley Pride!

Valley Pride!

Valley Health System employees were excited to celebrate Pride Month in June!

Watch the Video

Related Programs

LGBTQ+ Care Weight Loss and Wellness Cancer Care Emergency Services Fertility Center LGBTQ Family Building Primary Care