Lancaster General Health Physician named Vice Chair
of the Pennsylvania Medical Society Board of Trustees
HARRISBURG - The Pennsylvania Medical Society has named Karen A. Rizzo, MD, FACS, of Lancaster, vice chair of the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Board of Trustees. Dr. Rizzo replaces C. Richard Schott, MD, of Rose Valley. Dr. Schott completed his term as a board leader, but will continue to serve as a trustee.
Dr. Rizzo, an otolaryngologist at Lancaster General Health, was first elected to the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Board of Trustees in 2003, serving as a surgical specialty trustee. She has been a member of the medical society since 1985.
Dr. Rizzo graduated from Temple University School of Medicine. She completed her post-graduate training at Episcopal Hospital as a general surgery resident and at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital as a head and neck surgery resident.
Outside of medicine, she is a member of the Women’s Big Five Basketball Hall of Fame and Villanova University’s Varsity Club Hall of Fame.
Currently, Dr. Rizzo practices medicine at Otolaryngology Physicians of Lancaster, providing advanced ear, nose, and throat care. She is a member of the American Medical Association; the American Academy of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery; the Pennsylvania Academy of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery; and the Lancaster County Medical Society.
PHYSICIAN ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS -- During the annual LGH Medical and Dental Staff dinner at Bent Creek Country Club on July 8, three physicians were recognized by their peers for outstanding achievement.
From left, Jeffrey Cope, MD, Cardiothoracic Surgeons of Lancaster, received the Innovation Award for contributing creative and innovative thinking to the practice of medicine. Stephen Olin, MD, Associate Director, LGH Family Medicine Residency Program and Medical Quality Management Coordinator, was honored with the Quality Award for his exemplary commitment to quality improvement and process. William Adams, MD, Lancaster Emergency Associates, was recognized with the Teamwork Award, for fostering collegiality and promoting teamwork.
Another 119 physicians were honored for 25 years of service or more to Lancaster General Health.
Lancaster County physician wins
Pennsylvania Medical Society’s highest honor
Dr. Nikitas J. Zervanos receives top honor for lifetime of achievements
A semi-retired Lancaster doctor, who is hailed as a medical leader and educator, has been named the 2009 recipient of the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s Distinguished Service Award.
Nikitas J. Zervanos, MD, who first joined the Pennsylvania Medical Society in 1969, received a unanimous vote of the Medical Society’s Board of Trustees in winning the award. To qualify for the award, a physician must demonstrate a lifetime of significant achievement, as judged by peers.
Dr. Zervanos becomes only the 24th Pennsylvania physician to win this highly prestigious award since it was first introduced in 1956. He joins a distinguished list of past recipients, including Jonas E. Salk, MD, and C. Everett Koop, MD.
Nominated for the award by the Lancaster County Medical Society, Dr. Zervanos was described as the son of Greek immigrants, who through hard work and dedication became a successful physician upon graduating from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1962.
Shortly after graduating medical school, he served with the US Medical Corps’ 558th Artillery Group as a surgeon until 1966 at which point he fulfilled residency programs in Philadelphia as well as a fellowship at Harvard Medical School. Not long after that, he took a position with Lancaster General Hospital in 1969, and has remained in Central Pennsylvania since that time.
Dr. Zervanos, a family medicine physician, has held faculty positions at Temple University School of Medicine, Penn State College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
In the past, he has won numerous awards from various professional associations, honor societies, hospitals, and colleges. To his credit, he has written nearly 50 publications or scientific book reviews.
Dr. Zervanos has a love of history and speaks at the Lancaster County Historical Society on the role of Greek immigrants in the United States as well as their contributions to medicine. He has also given presentations about drug and alcohol abuse prevention, and served as chairman of the Commission on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse for the Lancaster City and County Medical Society. He has also served on the Governor’s Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse as well as other community organizations.
In addition to being a member of the Pennsylvania Medical Society, Dr. Zervanos is also a member of the American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians, Lancaster City and County Medical Society, The College of Physicians of Philadelphia, and the American Hellenic Education Progressive Association.
He and his wife of 51 years, Diana, currently reside in Lancaster.
Japanese Physicians Visit Lancaster General Health EP Lab
In April, Dr. Akira Maezato, Dr. Ichiro Chinen and Dr. Kayori Iha from Ryukyu University Hospital in Okinawa, Japan visited the Lancaster General Health Electrophysiology Laboratory to learn about the cutting-edge techniques and materials used in hospitals throughout the world, developed by Lancaster’s own Dr. Seth Worley.
The group observed Dr. Worley implant devices used for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), a revolutionary, minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of congestive heart failure. The Japanese physicians also visited the Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and Device Clinics at The Heart Group.
These physicians are just a few of numerous electrophysiologists from around the world who visit The Advanced CRT Program at Lancaster General Health, on a regular basis, to learn the groundbreaking techniques practiced daily by LGH’s internationally known physicians.
Out of over 500 hospitals in the United States that implant CRT devices, LGH is one of the leading facilities for treatment of congestive heart failure. Since the CRT program’s inception in 1998, over 1,700 CRT devices have been implanted at LGH, rivaling the top teaching institutions in the country.
Dr. Zervanos
A resolution was passed by the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians Board of Directors to honor Nikitas J Zervanos, M.D. with the establishment of a fund in his name which will be administered by the PAFP Foundation with “the express purpose of promoting medical student interest in careers in Family Medicine.”
Dr. Zervanos has also been elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society, Epsilon Chapter of Pennsylvania, Temple University School of Medicine.
Dr. Mazaheri
Dr. Mohammad Mazaheri has joined an international group of physicians who are helping to upgrade emergency healthcare services in his native country of Iran. A physician with the Lancaster Cleft Palate Clinic, Dr. Mazaheri has also visited Iran frequently since 1995 to treat cleft patients and teach Iranian doctors new related treatment techniques.
Dr. Polin & Dr. Doshi
David G. Polin, M.D. and Janak A. Doshi, M.D. received board certification in neuromuscular medicine, a subspecialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation and neurology. The examination is administered jointly by the Americal Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.