Our burgeoning medical staff is advancing the care and treatment of patients throughout our service area. Milford Regional Medical Center and Milford Regional Physician Group (MRPG) strive to address the needs of the healthcare community by continuing to recruit excellent physicians. In FY 2019, a concerted effort to bolster specialty care was successful with the addition of a distinguished group of physicians whose expertise is now conveniently located to benefit the healthcare needs of patients within our service area.
New Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) Team
Otolaryngology is the oldest medical specialty in the United States, focusing on the medical and surgical management and treatment of patients with diseases and disorders of the ear, nose and throat. In FY 2019, Milford Regional was pleased to welcome a strong, new ENT team led by Christopher Barañano, MD, FAAP, FACS, at Milford Ear, Nose, Throat Surgery in Milford, MA.
After graduating from Yale, Dr. Barañano received his medical degree from UAB Hospital in Alabama and started his career in Boston at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in 2009. He pursued accredited fellowship training in pediatric otolaryngology and went on to teach the discipline at University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, where he also developed and co-directed the pediatric thyroid tumor board. Dr. Barañano has been recognized by the American Academy of Otolaryngology / Head and Neck Surgery with the Foundation Honor Award and the Legislative Advocacy Award for leadership of the surgical sub-specialty at the national level. He is a fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr. Barañano specializes in the treatment of children of all ages with any complication or complexity, including newborns. He practices comprehensive ear, nose and throat surgical care for adults as well, and takes particular interest in treating patients with thyroid and parathyroid disease. Dr. Barañano is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery.
Joining Dr. Barañano are Ameer Shah, MD, and Kimberly Russell, MD. Dr. Shah has a distinguished scientific career. He graduated with honors from Tufts University with degrees in Spanish and Biomedical Engineering, then attended Boston University School of Medicine, earning his master’s degree in Medical Science, with a thesis on MRI technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He then went on to earn his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, graduating with Honors. Dr. Shah completed his residency training at Tufts Medical Center in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. His medical interests include head and neck cancer, thyroid and parathyroid surgery, and pediatric ENT. Dr. Shah is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery.
Kimberly Russell, MD, received her medical degree from Louisiana State University School of Medicine, and she completed her residency in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at Boston University Medical Center. Dr. Russell is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and has a special interest in laryngoscopy, for which she is recognized in several journal articles.
Medical Director of The Breast Center
Patients at Milford Regional have benefited this past year from the outstanding leadership and expertise of Diana Caragacianu, MD, FACS, who assumed the role as the new Medical Director of The Breast Center at Milford Regional in December of 2018. Dr. Caragacianu is not only a respected breast and endocrine surgeon from the prestigious Georgetown University Hospital, where she served as the Site Director of the breast program at MedStar Lafayette Center in Washington, DC, she is also a leader in high-risk screening and genetics. Her advanced training includes fellowships in surgical oncology at the National Cancer Institute and breast surgery at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School. She further enhanced her skills with specialized international training in intraoperative radiation for breast cancer and oncoplastic surgery from which Milford Regional patients have already benefited.
Dr. Caragacianu’s approach to breast health has always been to build relationships with her patients and earn their trust. She is passionate about sharing her expertise and knowledge of breast and endocrine health with patients to help them proactively take part in deciding what is best for them. During FY 2019, Dr. Caragacianu has built a strong breast center team whose roles from nurse practitioner to PA/patient navigator are designed to ensure that every patient receives the individualized care they need.
Milford Regional Infectious Disease Specialist
Milford Regional further enhanced its specialty care with the addition of Infectious Disease Specialist Dost Sarpel, MD. Board certified in Infectious Disease, Dr. Sarpel completed a Viral Hepatology Fellowship at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, department of liver diseases, in New York under the mentorship of the world-renowned Hepatologist Douglas Dieterich, MD. Dr. Sarpel first became interested in viral hepatitis during his residency and pursued the fellowship with Dr. Dieterich as the advances in hepatitis treatment captured his attention. Dr. Sarpel sees patients for outpatient visits in his hospital-based office and also performs inpatient consultations.
New Milford Regional Medical Center Physicians
Milford Regional Medical Staff Recognitions and Awards
Kate Burke, MD, was the first recipient in 2019 to receive an award created in her name by The Massachusetts College of Emergency Physicians (MACEP) Board of Directors. The Kate Burke, MD, Distinguished Councillor Award was created in her honor to be presented to a member of MACEP who has served as a councillor for at least five years and who, in that capacity, has represented the needs of Massachusetts emergency physicians and our patients in resolution development and debate at the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Council meeting.
Eric Matthews, DO, received the UMass Internal Medicine—Milford Regional Medical Center Teacher of the Year Award.
Patrick McSweeney, MD, received recognition in Boston Magazine for Top Doctors in Greater Boston 2019.
William Muller, MD, FACP, (retired in 2019 after 40 dedicated years on the medical staff) was honored with the Dr. A. Jane Fitzpatrick Community Service Award for his many years of service— first as a member of the United States Public Health Service; establishing Tri-River Family Health Center; serving in multiple leadership roles from Associate Dean of Medical Education to Vice President of Medical Affairs at Milford Regional and for teaching and mentoring countless new physicians.
Elena Smagina, MD, was recognized as a MATopDocs 2019.
Milford Regional Physician Group
President Selected for Milford Regional Physician Group
Patrick McSweeney, MD, was selected to assume the role as President of Milford Regional Physician Group (MRPG) following the retirement of outgoing president Philip Ciaramicoli in September 2019. Having grown up in Medway, Dr. McSweeney’s ties and commitment to the area have always been strong. He attended Providence College and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, serving as chief resident during his residency at the Brown University Family Medicine program (at Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island). He joined Milford Regional Physician Group as a practicing physician in 2000 and has cared for thousands of patients in his Medway practice, Family Medicine Associates. Dr. McSweeny has served in numerous leadership roles for our organization, including as MRPG Medical Director for 12 years and as a member of the Milford Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees for nine years. With his combined leadership and clinical experience, the community can look forward to Dr. McSweeney continuing to develop and improve our system to ensure a positive experience for patients and physicians alike.
Welcome to Our New Physicians and Advanced Practitioners
Milford Regional Physician Group has continued to expand access to care throughout our region by recruiting many new providers over the past year.
Primary Care Providers
- A few primary care providers became members of our group this year. Olga Kuzina, MD, and Jessica Carroll, NP, started together at Franklin Family Practice in January 2019. In August, Meghan Brigham, NP, joined Blackstone Valley Family Physicians.
Specialist Providers
- The Breast Center welcomed Diana Caragacianu, MD, as well as Monique Burchard, NP.
- Thanh-Tam Huynh, NP, joined Pediatric Behavioral Health of Milford in December 2018.
- Our Obstetrics and Gynecology service expanded with the addition of Bailoo Rohatgi, MD, at Blackstone Valley OBGYN as well as Elaine Hulteng, MD, and Mary Kay Myers, MD, at our newest practice Women’s Health of Franklin. We also welcomed Katie Brown, NP, back to Partners in Women’s Health.
- Christopher Barañano, MD, joined Milford Ear, Nose & Throat Surgery in July 2019. We have also contracted with Kimberly Russell. MD, and Ameer Shah, MD, to provide service to patients in this practice.
- A new practice, Milford Regional Infectious Disease, was formed with the addition of Dost Sarpel, MD. He sees patients for outpatient visits in his hospital-based office and also performs inpatient consults.
- Misagh Sadat-Aalaee, MD, and Jennifer Braley, MD, joined the hospitalist program.
- Rebecca Elstad, NP, started on the Palliative Care team.
Urgent Care
- Milford Regional Urgent Care continues to grow. A number of providers were added to accommodate existing volume as well as expansion with the new site in Franklin: Tonya Bowzer, NP; Christine Cimoch, PA; Steven Flood, MD; Lisa Macknair, PA; Nancy Shaffer, NP; and Samuel Snyder, PA.
Milford Regional Physician Group Honors
Reader’s Choice Awards Franklin Pediatric & Adolescent Care was awarded Reader’s Choice Regional Gold Award in 2019, the highest honor provided through Wicked Local’s community awards.Community Pediatrics of Medway as well as Patrick McSweeney, MD, earned Reader’s Choice Regional Silver Awards. Thorley Cook, MD, was recognized with a Reader’s Choice Regional Bronze Award. A number of other sites and individual physicians also received recognition.
Patient-Centered Medical Homes Hopkinton Internal Medicine & Pediatrics earned NCQA recognition as Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) in 2019. As our newest primary care practice, this site was the only one who hadn’t previously applied for this designation. PCMH is the primary care physician’s team caring for patients in a “whole person approach,” proactively managing their care and reminding them about important health screenings. Primary Care offices are evaluated on an extensive set of criteria in order to obtain this certification.
Best of the Best Hopkinton Family Practice was recognized as one of MetroWest’s Best Physician Practices.
Success on Quality Measures Milford Regional Physician Group continues to excel in quality. We regularly monitor our performance on quality measures which were designed by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a gauge for clinical performance and rank high against national and local benchmarks. Our physicians and their teams make every effort to ensure that patients get the screening they need and manage their care in a way that achieves positive health outcomes.
Harvard Pilgrim Honor Roll Milford Regional Physician Group was named to the Harvard Pilgrim Honor Roll. Harvard Pilgrim selects Honor Roll practices based on their points earned on 15 quality measures across three domains of clinical care affecting both adult and pediatric patients: acute, chronic and preventative care.
High Marks on Patient Experience Surveys Milford Regional Physician Group is also rated highly by patients in the Massachusetts Health Quality Partners (MHQP) annual patient experience survey. 93% of adult patients and 98% of pediatric patients report that they would be willing to recommend their MRPG physician to family and friends. This measure is a true testament to the positive experiences patients have at our sites. In addition to our consistently high results across the group, in 2019 Community Pediatrics of Milford earned special recognition as an outstanding performer on this survey compared to peers across the state.
MRPG Technology Advancements
In March 2019, Milford Regional Physician Group transitioned to Epic, a new electronic medical record (EMR) and billing system. This intensive project will allow our physicians to better track patients through their medical history and seamlessly collaborate with other providers to ensure quality health. MRPG recently obtained a Joy of Medicine grant from Partners Healthcare, which will enable us to schedule additional at-the-elbow training and support for our physicians to optimize their use of the system.
Milford Regional Medical Center 2019 Report to the Community 