Honored for dedication to patients, clinical excellence and volunteer work
RUTLAND – Rutland Regional Medical Center announced Feb. 25 that critical care physician Harvey S. Reich, M.D., FACP, FCCP, has been named the hospital’s 2016 Physician of the Year, and Laura M. Cohen, ACNP, ANP-BC, has been named its inaugural Advanced Practitioner of the Year.
The annual announcement is one of the community’s most prestigious honors bestowed upon providers because of its acknowledgment from colleagues and medical peers.
Harvey S. Reich, M.D., FACP, FCCP
Dr. Reich, a critical care physician, was named the medical staff member who best personifies the hospital’s core values and patient-centered model of care.
Dr. Reich began his career at Rutland Regional in 1994 and serves as a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Vermont, providing students with in-depth clinical knowledge of the intensive care unit. As the former medical director of the Rutland Free Clinic, Dr. Reich provided countless hours of medical care to patients unable to pay for services.
Throughout his career, Dr. Reich has established himself as a highly respected, clinically adept and dependable source of care for thousands of patients.
“It is an honor to recognize Dr. Reich,” said Tom Huebner, CEO, Rutland Regional Medical Center. “Over and over again, Dr. Reich was recognized by his peers and staff for his inspired leadership and his commitment to his patients. We are fortunate to have physicians of his caliber at Rutland Regional and are proud to recognize such an outstanding physician.”
Colleagues’ nominations praised Dr. Reich for his compassion. “Whether practicing at Rutland Regional or at the Free Clinic, his humanity is apparent in his dealings with all people– whether they are patients, their families, medical and nursing colleagues, housekeeping or volunteers,” noted one colleague. “For the patients and families he has met, often at the most difficult times, they have expressed tremendous respect and confidence in his treatments, his bedside manner, his clinical abilities and his tenacity in finding an answer.”
Dr. Reich received his medical degree at the New Jersey Medical Center in Newark, N.J., completed his residency in internal medicine at Berkshire Medical Center, Pittsfield, Mass., and was a fellow in critical care at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, in Pittsburgh, Penn. Dr. Reich is a fellow of both the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians.
Laura M. Cohen ACNP, ANP-BC
Laura M. Cohen was selected as the inaugural Advanced Practitioner of the Year. The award was created to honor and recognize the increasingly important role of advanced degree nurses and physician assistants.
Cohen, a nurse practitioner with the Rutland Heart Center, was nominated by a physician for her excellence in patient care and education, expertise in her field and her dedication to continuing her education. Cohen is enrolled in a doctorate of nurse practitioner program at Chatham University, with an anticipated completion in spring 2016.
The nomination praised Cohen for her clinically excellent care. “Since many of Laura’s patients have significant disease, it is not uncommon that they are admitted to the intensive care unit,” noted Harvey Reich, M.D. and medical director of the critical care unit. “Laura’s clinical notes are detailed, complete and display an in-depth knowledge of the patient’s disease. She is a role-model for her profession, respects physicians and is respected by them.”
Cohen, part of the team at the Rutland Heart Center since 2013, is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, American Association of Heart Failure Nurses and American College of Nurse Practitioners. She has extensive education and experience in caring for critically ill inpatients and outpatient cardiac patients. Cohen volunteers at the Rutland Free Clinic and the American Lung Association and is a member of the Community Collaboration Committee at Rutland Regional.
“Advanced practice nurses contribute greatly to the way we deliver high quality, patient-centered care at Rutland Regional,” says Tom Huebner, CEO, Rutland Regional Medical Center. “We are honored to have such dedicated professionals like Laura practicing here.”
Cohen received her BSN from Norwich University and her Adult, NP-BC and Acute Care NP-BBC from Sage Graduate School in New York.
The Physician of the Year Award
The Emelie Munson Perkins Physician of the Year Award was created in 2004 in memory of the late Dr. Perkins, who served the community in a variety of roles. Past recipients include: Allan Eisemann, M.D.; David A. Austin, M.D.; Peter D. Upton, M.D.; John F. Dick, M.D.; David Keller, M.D.; Gordon R. Kelly, M.D.; Kirk Dufty, M.D.; Michael Robertello, M.D.; Daniel Foley, M.D.; Victor J. Pisanelli, M.D.; W. Gordon Frankle, M.D.; Todd Gregory, M.D.; Roshan Siva, M.D.; and Henry DiMuzio, M.D.
