Healthcare and Wellness: Jobs Landed

Family Health Center in Kalamazoo has named Dr. Carol Saffold as its new Chief Medical Officer.

Dr. Saffold is a graduate of Rush Medical College. She completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency in Chicago. She is a licensed physician and surgeon in the states of Illinois and Michigan and is a Diplomat of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

She has worked as the Senior Attending Physician at Provident Hospital of Cook County and has served as Assistant Professor at Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Her focus has been on reaching underserved populations with an emphasis on preventive health maintenance and patient education.

Dr. Saffold has been appointed to many national OB/GYN committees and is frequently an invited lecturer on women’s health and  quality improvement. She also has received numerous honors and awards. She travels annually to provide OB/GYN services in Africa and South America.

Kibwe Weaver, MD, has joined the medical staff at Bronson Methodist Hospital. He is now performing bariatric surgery with his partner, Stuart Verseman, MD.

Weaver is board eligible in surgery. His clinical interests include laparoscopic gastric bypass, vertical sleeve gastrectomy, adjustable gastric banding and adolescent obesity. He is board eligible in surgery.

His training includes a fellowship in minimally invasive and bariatric surgery at Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, and a surgery residency at the Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Ga.  He earned his Medical Doctorate from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn.

Dr. Weaver previously practiced at the Bariatric Metabolic Institute in Cleveland, Ohio.

Jonathan Nykamp has joined the staff of Borgess Lee Bone & Joint in Dowagiac.

Nykamp is an RN, MSN and family nurse practitioner.

Certified as an FNP by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, Nykamp previously worked at Spectrum Health Orthopedic and Total Joint Center.  He is currently on staff at Orthopedic Associates of Kalamazoo.

Nykamp received his bachelor’s degree in nursing from Calvin College and master’s degree in nursing from Grand Valley State University.

He is a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society of Nursing.

Nykamp joins Robert Schaefer, MD, and Tracy Smith, certified physician assistant.

John Howard, MD, Family Physician, is seeing patients with Drs. Rosa Johnson and Ellen Tambunan at Lakeland Family Care of Niles at 4 Longmeadow Village Drive, Suite 2.

He treats patients of all ages, from infants to senior citizens.

Dr. Howard earned his medical degree from St. Matthew’s University School of Medicine, Cayman Islands, Caribbean.

He completed a family medicine residency from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

Dr. Howard is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Joon-ha Ok, urologist, has joined Lakeside Urology and Continence Center, a Lakeland HealthCare Affiliate, in St. Joseph and Niles.

He has extensive research experience and treats a variety of urological diseases and conditions including: kidney stones; erectile dysfunction; urinary incontinence; and bladder, prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers.

Dr. Ok earned his medical degree and completed his urological and surgical residencies at the University of California, Davis, in Sacramento.

He is currently seeing patients at Lakeside Urology at 815 St. Joseph Drive in St. Joseph and at 24 N. St. Joseph Avenue, Suite F, in Niles. 

Brian A. Bucina, DO, has joined Lakeland HealthCare. He currently seeing patients at Lakeland General Surgery, Niles, located at 60 N. St. Joseph Avenue, Suite E, Niles.

Dr. Bucina recently completed his general surgery residency at Garden City Hospital in Michigan, where he served as Chief Resident.

Dr. Bucina is a member of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons and the American Osteopathic Association.

Yahya Bakdalieh, MD, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation, has joined Borgess Spine, a part of the Borgess Brain and Spine Institute. He provides intensive non-surgical treatments for conditions of the back and neck.  Dr. Bakdalieh's special interests include non-operative management of spine and musculoskeletal disorders, spasticity management and general rehabilitation disorders. He is board certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Board of Neuromuscular Medicine and American Board of Pain Medicine. His previous experience includes serving as director of the Inpatient Rehabilitation for Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center in Pittsburg, Kansas. Most recently, he served as chairman of the Neuro-Science Department of King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Saudi Arabia. 

Jeff Pirrone has been hired as procurement operations buyer for the packaging team at Perrigo. Pirrone will oversee strategic and day-to-day packaging component operations. Pirrone brings to Perrigo 15 years of experience in packaging, purchasing and logistics. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Management degree from Davenport University.

Family physician Lillian Jardine, MD, has joined the staff of Lakeland HouseCalls.

Dr. Jardine and previously worked for Lakeland Family Care of Niles. She is board-certified by the American Academy of Family Practice.

She also previously served as a general medicine officer at Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Ill. She completed her residency in Family Practice at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka, Ind.

Lakeland HouseCalls provides primary medical care to seniors and homebound patients throughout Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties.

Perrigo Co. has hired Dena Palasi as production engineer in tablet manufacturing for Plant 4. In this role, Palasik is responsible for improving flow and product quality in the Plant 4 mix area. Palasik most recently held a summer internship where she gained experience in a health and beauty products manufacturing environment. At her alma mater, Palasik served as vice president of the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering. Palasik earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering with a concentration in Biomedical Engineering from Michigan State University. She was an honors college member and she graduated with high honors

Cali Gregory, of St. Joseph, was named Manager of Performance Support and Central Staffing for Lakeland HealthCare.

Cali brings over 17 years of experience in quality management, operations improvement, change management compliance, risk management, and medical staff services.

She joined Lakeland in 2010 in market development for Lakeland HomeCare. Prior to that position, she served as director of quality and operations improvement at The Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Borgess Brain & Spine Institute has named Roger C. Gietzen, MD, Medical Director of the Borgess Stroke Center.

Dr. Gietzen oversees all inpatient neurological care and manages the day-to-day treatment and recovery of stroke patients hospitalized at Borgess Medical Center.

Most recently, Dr. Gietzen served as Stroke Program Director, Neurology Department Head and Neurophysiology Lab Director at Northern Michigan Hospital in Petoskey, Mich.

Dr. Gietzen is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

The Borgess Brain & Spine Institute provides prevention, diagnosis and treatment, including minimally invasive techniques, along with rehabilitation for disorders of the brain, neck, back, nerves, carotid artery, head and spine injury and stroke in an integrated model of care.

Cheslovas Rothschild, MD, PhD, neurosurgeon, has joined Lakeland Neurosurgery and is seeing patients at Lakeland Neurosurgery in St. Joseph., where he will treat many neurological conditions, including back and neck pain, herniated discs, and brain injuries.

I am is a specialist, an intensivist, who takes care of critically ill patients at Borgess Medical Center. I have joined Borgess Critical Care Services and the Borgess Medical Center Medical Staff.

As Vice President of Human Resources and Health Information Technology is responsible for administration of those departments for the two-hospital system in southwestern Michigan.