Originally appeared in the September 18, 2017 Philadelphia Inquirer

To provide you with the timely, credible, in-depth resources you need to eat healthy, get fit, raise a family and be a smart health consumer, we have a panel of experts from around the Philadelphia region, who include these regular contributors.

Health Care Experts

Sarah Levin Allen, PhD, CBIS, is assistant professor of psychology at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and the executive director of neuropsychology at the Brain Behavior Bridge. She also directs the Neuro-Behavioral Intervention and Prevention (n-BIP) initiative at PCOM. Allen is a licensed neuropsychologist, a certified brain injury specialist, and a New Jersey certified school psychologist. She specializes in making brain-based research accessible and usable to families and schools. She lives outside of Philadelphia with her husband and two young children, who are a constant source of inspiration.

David Becker, MD, is a board-certified cardiologist with Chestnut Hill Temple Cardiology in Flourtown, Pa. He has been in practice for 25 years. In 1993, after extensive research, he launched Healthy Change of Heart™, an innovative 10-week program designed to reverse heart disease and improve quality of life through diet, exercise, and stress management. Since then, thousands of patients have participated in the program, achieving significant results in improving cardiac wellness.

Peter Bidey, DO, is medical director of family medicine at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He also is clinical instructor of family medicine, precepting fourth-year medical students and rotating interns at PCOM’s City Ave. Community Health Care Center. He received his B.S. in biology from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and his DO from PCOM. He is board certified in family practice and osteopathic manipulative treatment from the American College of Osteopathic Physicians.

Stacey C. Cahn, PhD, is a licensed psychologist and clinical associate professor of psychology at Rowan University, where she specializes in eating disorders and coordinates their Eating Disorder Treatment Program.

Brian Cammarota, ATC, PT, DPT, CSCS, is a certified athletic trainer, licensed physical therapist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and corrective exercise specialist. He currently works as a physical therapist and athletic trainer, focusing on Sports Medicine injuries with Good Shepard Penn Partners at Penn Therapy and Fitness in Radnor, Pa. He is also a partner with Symetrix Sports Performance where he specializes in injury prevention. His experience includes 12 years with the Philadelphia Phillies where he was the Rehabilitation and Minor League Athletic Training Coordinator. He presents frequently on sports medicine, movement dysfunction, and throwing injuries.

Katie Cavuto, MS, RD, is a Philadelphia-based registered dietitian, chef and wellness advocate. She has been the dietitian for the Philadelphia Phillies since 2009 and has worked with the Philadelphia Flyers for more than two seasons. Previously, she owned Healthy Bites to Go, a locally sourced cafe and meal delivery service for eight years. She also teaches an applied nutrition class at the Drexel School of Medicine and previously taught nutrition at West Chester University and The Restaurant School. Her first book, Whole Cooking and Nutrition is available now.

Christopher C. Chang, MD, PhD,  is a clinical professor of medicine in the division of rheumatology, allergy and clinical immunology at the University of California at Davis. He was previously a professor of pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University.  He has a particular interest in food and environmental allergies and bone immunology.

Katherine K. Dahlsgaard, PhD, is lead psychologist at the Anxiety Behaviors Clinic at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Pennsylvania and New York with expertise in cognitive-behavioral therapy for children, adolescents, and young adults. She specializes in the evaluation and treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly selective mutism, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and phobias. A recipient of a National Science Foundation Fellowship award, she is a frequent lecturer and guest speaker and has published widely in scientific journals and books.

Magee DeFelice, MD, is division chief of allergy and immunology at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and director of the allergy and immunology fellowship program at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. She is board certified in allergy and immunology and in pediatrics. She is a member of the Primary Immune Deficiency Diseases Committee and the Core Curriculum, Education & Residency Review Subcommittee of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Her academic interests include immune dysfunction, food allergy, stinging insect allergy, and anaphylaxis.

Rachel DeHaven, an exercise physiologist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has worked in obesity treatment as a physical activity specialist within the Healthy Weight Program for the past five years. As a clinician in outpatient weight management she works with children ranging from 2-18 years of age where she performs exercise testing, prescriptions and goal setting in individual sessions as well as group sessions. She is also the community outreach coordinator within the Healthy Weight Program, where she helps develop partnerships with local nonprofits relating to childhood wellness in the Philadelphia community.

Elise Deming, RDN, LDN, is a registered retail dietitian-nutritionist in New Jersey.

Gary A. Emmett, MD, FAAP, has been a primary care pediatrician in Philadelphia since 1979. He is currently a professor of pediatrics at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. Previously, he was an attending pediatrician at Nemours Pediatrics and director of hospital pediatrics at Jefferson University Hospital. He has been president of the Philadelphia Pediatric Society and is on the board of Pennsylvania Asthma Partnership and many professional organizations. His many writings include a textbook for the hospital well-baby nursery, called Field Guide to the Normal Newborn. He is married to Marianne Ruby, a gynecologist, and has four adult children, and several grandchildren.

Joel H. Fish, PhD, is the director of The Center For Sport Psychology in Philadelphia and a nationally recognized expert for his work with athletes of all ages and skills levels. He has been a sport psychology consultant for the Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia 76ers, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Philadelphia Charge. He has spoken nationwide on sport psychology at over 200 universities and is a popular presenter at a variety of athletic functions. He is also the author of 101 Ways to Be A Terrific Sports Parent.

John Goldthorp, ACE-CPT, RRCA, is a certified running coach, certified personal trainer and founder of Fix Your Run, a specialized coaching business that helps runners become faster and less prone to injury. He holds many other certifications including Functional Movement Screen, Neurokinetic Therapy, and Precision Nutrition. He currently works with clients at Optimal Sport Health Club in Washington Square, and leads weekly group speed training sessions at PhillySurgeRunning.com.

Ashley B. Greenblatt, ACE-CPT, is an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer. She trains her clients at The Sporting Club at The Bellevue. She is also a fitness contributor for local publications such as Philly Current; her site is ashleyblakefitness.com.

Hazel Guinto-Ocampo, MD, is the chief of pediatric emergency services at Bryn Mawr Hospital, and is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric emergency medicine and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Previously, she served as the director of the pediatric emergency department at Temple University Children’s Medical Center and as a member of the pediatric emergency medicine faculty at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children. She has authored chapters in pediatric emergency medicine textbooks and is a regular speaker at emergency medicine conferences. She has three children.

Kerri Link Heckert, MS, RD, is a registered dietitian at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She provides medical nutrition therapy for children and adolescents with malnutrition and eating disorders. She is also a yoga instructor (RYT-200), an ACSM-certified health fitness specialist, and a certified personal trainer.

Rima Himelstein, MD, is a Crozer-Keystone Health System pediatrician and adolescent medicine specialist. She is one of the founders of Crozer-Keystone’s “Tots to Teens” program, which focuses on gynecologic health for teen and preteen girls. She also operates a school-based health center within the Chester Upland School District in Chester and has been involved with Crozer-Keystone’s award-winning Wellness Center program, which oversees a range of youth development programs within the district.

Jessica Glass Kendorski, PhD, NCSP, BCBA-D, is an Associate Professor and Director of the MS program in School Psychology/Applied Behavior Analysis at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). She is a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania, and maintains certifications as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and School Psychologist nationally (NCSP) and in New Jersey. She also works with school districts to improve systems through the reform of school and district-wide academic and behavioral policies and practices. She has two children.

Anita Kulick is president & CEO of Educating Communities for Parenting and a founding member of the Pennsylvania Parenting Coalition. She has worked in the field of education and parenting for over 40 years. She is an IFP certified parenting facilitator and a certified trauma-competent family professional. She also has Certificate from the Drexel University Goodwin College of Professional Studies in Positive Psychology. Follow her personal blog here.

Brian Maher, BS, CSCS, is the owner of Philly Personal Training, a Philadelphia-based studio offering one-on-one personal training, physical therapy, and nutrition counseling. He says his is the only personal training studio or gym in Philadelphia that requires its personal trainers to possess a college degree in an exercise-related field.

Heather Moore, PT, DPT, CKTP, is the owner of Total Performance Physical Therapy in North Wales and Hatfield, Pa. She is a  physical therapist who has spent her career in outpatient orthopedics. She has worked with athletes of all abilities, including golfers on the PGA and LPGA Tours. She has lectured all over the country and wrote the Orthopedic Physical Therapy textbook, which is widely used in physical therapy programs.

Paul A. Offit, MD, is the director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and a professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also the author of the forthcoming book Bad Advice: Or Why Celebrities, Politicians, and Activists Aren’t Your Best Source of Health Information (Columbia University Press, June 2018).

Megan Robinson, MS, RD, CDE, LDN, a registered dietitian at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has more than 20 years of experience in nutrition care for adolescents and children, specializing in diabetes, heart health, and sports nutrition. She has worked as a nutrition expert with Disney Type 1 Diabetes Every Day Magic website and has published articles in peer-reviewed journals on topics such as double diabetes and managing Type 1 Diabetes and hyperlipidemia. She currently serves on the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Evidence Analysis Library workgroup and is a reviewer for the Diabetes Care and Education and the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Dietetic Practice groups.

Janet Rosenzweig, MS, PhD, MPA, is the vice president for programs and research for Prevent Child Abuse America, and is a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania. She managed public and non-profit child welfare programs in Tennessee, Texas, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and was the Mercer County, NJ Director of Human Services for nine years. She drew on her experiences as a sex educator working with child abuse prevention to write The Sex-Wise Parent: The Parent’s Guide Protecting Your Child, Strengthening Your Family, and Talking to Kids about Sex, Abuse, and Bullying, (Skyhorse Publishing, 2012).

Justin Shaginaw, MPT, ATC, is a physical therapist and athletic trainer who has worked with athletes at all levels including the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, MLS, WPS, MLL, ATP, and WTA.  His clinical practice is at Aria 3B Orthopaedic Institute. He is also an assistant athletic trainer for the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team, and was a member of its medical staff for the 2010 World Cup.

Theresa Shank, RD, LDN, is a Philadelphia-based registered dietitian and the founder of Philly Dietitian. She provides nutritional counseling to individuals with varying needs such as weight loss, disease prevention and management, sports nutrition, women’s health, child/adolescent weight management and food allergies and intolerance.

Emiliano Tatar, MD, is a pediatrician at Einstein in Roxborough. After a stint at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, he worked at practices in Northwest and Northeast Philly. He lives with his wife and two young children in suburban Philadelphia.

Daniel Taylor, DO, is an associate professor at Drexel University College of Medicine and director of community pediatrics and child advocacy at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. He founded the web-based Children’s Advocacy Project known as Cap4Kids, which has been replicated in 12 communities across the country, and is the administrator of the Philadelphia site.

Jeanette Trella, PharmD, BCPPS, is the managing director at The Poison Control Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She is an adjunct assistant professor at Wilkes University and serves as a preceptor for the Philadelphia-Area Collaboration of Toxicologists (PACT). She is an active participant on the hospital’s Adverse Drug Reaction, Drug Utilization Evaluation, Formulary Review, and Therapeutic Standards Committees and is a member of the American Association of Poison Control Centers (AAPCC), American Academy of Clinical Toxicology (AACT), American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP), and the Pediatric Pharmacy Advocacy Group (PPAG). She is a reviewer for American Journal of Health System Pharmacists, Journal of Pediatric Pharmacology and Therapeutics, and the Journal of Clinical Toxicology.

Also contributing are her colleagues at the Poison Control Center: Dr. Kevin Osterhoudt, Medical Director, Dr. Fred Henretig, Associate Medical Director, and Blair Thornley, PharmD, CSPI, a Specialist in Poison Information.

Thomas Trojian, MD, CAQSM, FACSM, is a professor and chief of the division of sports medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine, where he also directs the sports medicine fellowship. He is board certified in sports medicine and family medicine, with a special interest in injury prevention (especially anterior cruciate ligament injuries), sports ultrasound use in the guided treatment of injuries, and concussion prevention. He is the lead physician for Drexel Athletics. He sees patients at Drexel Medicine locations in Manayunk and University City.

Douglas Tynan, PhD, is director of integrated health care for the American Psychological Association in Washington D.C. and professor of pediatrics at Jefferson Medical College. He is a licensed psychologist in Delaware and Pennsylvania, and past president of the American Academy of Health Psychology. He served on the Committee for the Evaluation of Head Start 2003-2007. He is the co-editor of Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology, and one of the co-authors of the recent APA book, “Gun Violence: Prediction, Prevention and Policy.”

Evan J. Weiner, MD, is the director of the department of emergency medicine at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. He trains future emergency medicine professionals as assistant professor of pediatrics and emergency medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine and clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Temple University School of Medicine. He is an active member of the American College of Emergency Physicians, American Academy of Emergency Medicine and American Academy of Pediatrics.

Robyn Weisman, BS, ACE-CPT, is an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist with over eight years of experience in the health and fitness industry. She provides in-home, private and semi-private fitness and lifestyle coaching services in the Philadelphia area. Visit resultsbyrw.com for more information.

Flaura Koplin Winston, MD, PhD, is the scientific director of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention. She is a board-certified pediatrician, a doctorally trained engineer and a public health researcher who investigates the interface of child and adolescent health, injury, engineering and behavioral science. She is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania and is director of the Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies (CChIPS), and a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates site. She also is an Associate Editor of Injury Prevention, and has served on multiple U.S. and international committees and advisory panels. Among evidence-based websites that highlight her work: teendriversource.org, chop.edu/carseat and AfterTheInjury.org.

 

Health Policy Experts

Robert I. Field, PhD, JD, MPH,  founder and editor of Health Cents blog, is a professor of law at the Kline School of Law and professor of health management and policy at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University. He is the author of Mother of Invention: How the Government Created ‘Free-Market’ Health Care, which explores the government programs that created our health care system, and of Health Care Regulation in America: Complexity, Confrontation and Compromise, a comprehensive overview of the government’s oversight of health care, both published by Oxford University Press.

Andy Carter has been president and CEO of the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania since 2012, representing more than 240 acute and specialty care hospitals and health systems across the state providing care for 12.7 million Pennsylvanians. He works with a 25-member board of directors and a team of 75 staff to lead the advocacy, policy planning, communications, and member service initiatives of one of the nation’s largest statewide health care advocacy organizations.

Anthony V. Coletta, MD, MBA, is executive vice president and president of Facilitated Health Networks at Independence Blue Cross. He leads the development of Independence’s strategic relationships with physicians and health systems, innovative provider contracts, and sophisticated informatics and predictive analytics capabilities to drive improvements in health care quality and costs for Independence’s members. Previously, he served as the CEO of Tandigm Health, executive vice president and chief medical officer of Holy Redeemer Health System in Huntingdon Valley, and was an attending general surgeon for more than two decades at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

Robert B. Doherty is senior vice president of governmental affairs and public policy for the American College of Physicians (ACP), the largest physician specialty society and second largest medical organization in the United States. He has more than 33 years of health policy experience and is an accomplished presenter at health conferences. He has authored several papers for the Annals of Internal Medicine, ACP’s flagship peer-reviewed journal.

David Grande, MD, is an assistant professor of medicine, a senior fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, and an associate program director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program, all at the University of Pennsylvania. He is a founding board member of Healthy Philadelphia, focused on improving quality of care in the health care safety net. He is a member of the Advisory Committee on Public Health Law for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Tine Hansen-Turton is president and CEO of Woods Services Leadership. She has more than 20 years of experience in health and human services senior management, executive leadership and consulting. She serves as the founding executive administrator for the Convenient Care Association (CCA), the national trade association.  She also teaches public and social innovations, leading nonprofits, health policy and the social innovations lab at University of Pennsylvania Fels Institute of Government and School of Nursing.

Drew Harris, DPM, MPH, is program director for the master of science in health policy program at the Jefferson College of Population Health. He is the founding chair of the New Jersey Public Health Institute and currently serves on the executive board of the American Public Health Association. He is also a former radio talk show host for HouseCalls, a program focusing on health care and public health.

Antoinette Kraus is director of the Pennsylvania Health Access Network, the state’s largest statewide health coalition and a leader in providing education on health care reform and the implementation process in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Health Access Network currently has over 60 participating organizations representing over one million Pennsylvanians from the faith, labor, small business, disability and nonprofit community.

David B. Nash, MD, MBA, is the Founding Dean of the Jefferson College of Population Health where he is the Dr. Raymond C. and Doris N. Grandon Professor of Health Policy. He is a board certified internist and is internationally recognized for his work in outcomes management, medical staff development and quality-of-care. He has authored more than 100 articles in major journals, edited 22 books, and is editor-in-chief of four major national journals.

Mark V. Pauly, PhD, is Bendheim Professor in the Department of Health Care Management, Professor of Health Care Management, and Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at The Wharton School, and Professor of Economics in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. He co-founded the Roy and Diana Vagelos Life Sciences and Management Program at the University of Pennsylvania in 2005, and has served as Faculty Co-Director since its inception. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics, an associate editor of the Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, and Co-Editor of the Handbook of Health Economics, Volume 2 (published in 2012 by Elsevier).

Howard J. Peterson, MHA, is the founder and managing partner of TRG Healthcare. He has more than 30 years of experience leading complex healthcare transactions, developing progressive strategic, financial and operational solutions for a broad range of healthcare clients. His consulting expertise includes: strategic transactions, strategic and financial positioning, operational and financial performance improvement. He also served for 15 years as a hospital executive, including seven years as CEO of Penn State University Hospital / Hershey Medical Center and eight years in various executive positions including COO of the University of Michigan Medical Center.

David Rubin MD, MSCE, is the director of PolicyLab at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He is responsible for a center of emphasis that includes 20 faculty and more than 60 staff conducting population health and community-partnered research. He is also a professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and serves as the medical director of population health at CHOP.

Paula L. Stillman, MD, is director of community engagement at the Institute of Emerging Health Professions, Jefferson University. She was previously the vice president of health services and director of Institute for Population Health at Temple University Health System. She also served previously as senior vice president for special projects at Christiana Care Health System in Newark, DE, and as senior vice president of quality and care management at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health System.