Sweet Mercy!

People In The News

Dr. Kulwant S. Bhangoo, Chief of Plastic Surgery, was recently honored at the 56th Annual Conference of the Association of Plastic Surgeons of India, held in Amritsar, India in November.

Dr. Bhangoo was presented with the Award of Excellence for his contributions towards the training of Indian Plastic Surgeons. For many years, plastic surgeons from India have visited Mercy Hospital as fellows and observers, and many of them have gone on to become some of the leading plastic surgeons of India.

A warm welcome goes out to Dr. Michael Wilber who joined Trinity Medical Cardiology last fall. Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Echocardiography, he completed a fellowship in Interventional Cardiology at the University of Rochester Medical Center. He is also a member of Mercy Hospital’s Structural Heart and TAVR team.

Lori Dufresne, MS, RN, ANP-BC, was recently honored with the 2022 Registered Professional Nurse of Excellence Award by the New York State Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Council. The award recognizes her contributions and dedication to the EMS Community and special skills related to the pre-hospital environment. She currently serves as the Catholic Health System Director of Emergency and Acute Neuroscience Services.

Matthew Ferber joined the Mercy Hospital Facilities and Engineering team as the Facilities Manager last fall. He previously served as the Operations Manager at Darien Lake Theme Park, a position he held for 17 years. A native and resident of East Aurora, Matt holds an associate’s degree in Facilities Management from Mohawk Vally Community College.

Jessica Visser Named VP of Patient Care Services

Since joining Mercy Hospital in December as VP of Patient Care Services/Chief Nursing Officer, Jessica Visser, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, has been busy getting to know our hospital and its nursing team.

Jessica previously served as VP of Patient Care Services at Sisters Hospital since 2019, where she helped lead the transition of St. Joseph Campus into a dedicated COVID-19 Treatment Facility. She began her career at Catholic Health at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital, where she served as a Nursing Unit Manager, Supervisor and Director before being named VP of Patient Care Services in 2016.

“Jessica’s strong leadership skills and ability to guide her team in the midst of tremendous change is an asset to our hospital and helps ensure our patients receive the highest quality care as we continue to recover from the challenges of the past few years,” said Marty Boryszak, Catholic Health EVP of Acute Care and President of Mercy Hospital.

Jessica holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI, and a Master’s of Science in Nursing. She obtained her Nursing Executive Advanced Certification and is a Green Belt in Lean Six Sigma.

Congratulations to our LOVE Award Winners

Mercy Hospital hosted a special awards ceremony to honor the L.O.V.E. Award recipients for 2022.

Honorees included: Joseph Krolczyk, an equipment technician in MME, 1st Quarter Award; Lynn Williams, patient access specialist, 2nd Quarter Award; Sarah Ingersoll, nurse assistant in Float Pool, 3rd Quarter Award; and Susan Zawadski, immediate treatment assistant in ICU, 4th Quarter Award.

The dedicated associates were nominated by their co-workers for Living Our Values Effectively (L.O.V.E.) in their daily work and contributions to our hospital and patients.

Celebrating Birthdays at Mercy Hospital!

Mercy Hospital is pleased to announce our new monthly Associate Birthday Celebrations as another way to thank and recognize our dedicated hospital team. Each month, our birthday associates will be mailed an invitation to their homes to attend a FREE birthday lunch.

“We started these birthday luncheons as a way to have some casual conversation and get to know each other better,” said Christina Tobin, VP of Operations. Our next celebration will be held on March 28 from 11:30 am to 12:30 pm in conference rooms A & B.