Family Medicine Residency Program

David N. Ambrose, M.D.
Program Director

Specialty: Family Medicine with Obstetrics
Medical School: Temple University School of Medicine, PA
Residency: The Williamsport Hospital & Medical Center, PA
Board Certification: American Board of Family Medicine

Prior to entering medical school, Dr. Ambrose was a corporate pilot where he logged 2,500 hours of flight time. Upon returning to college in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Dr. Ambrose completed his studies with a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Pittsburgh. He then entered the Temple University School of Medicine and subsequently did his training in Family Medicine at The Williamsport Hospital & Medical Center where he was Chief Resident. He entered private practice in a small community of 2,700 people, providing a full range of family medicine services, including obstetrics. After six years of solo practice, Dr. Ambrose began to pursue his interest in academic medicine and took a position at another family medicine residency program in central Pennsylvania. He taught there for two and a half years before returning to Williamsport and has been the Program Director at Williamsport since 1995. He has clinical interests in neurology and cardiology and continues to offer obstetrical care to his private patients.

In addition to enjoying his family, including four children and three grandchildren, Dr. Ambrose's personal interests show that he is a huge baseball fan. He also enjoys a round of golf when he can find the time. His love of baseball has led him to volunteer ten days of his time every August to provide medical services as the Medical Director of the Little League World Series with the assistance of the Family Medicine resident staff.

Bradley J Miller, D.O.
Director Osteopathic Medical Education

Medical School: Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
Internship: Frankford Hospital Bucks County
Residency: Geisinger Medical Center
Board Certifications: American Board of Family Medicine, American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians

Dr. Miller is the Director of Osteopathic Medical Education and Director of Osteopathic component of our dually-accredited Osteopathic Family Medicine Residency. Currently he sees his private patients at Loyalsock Family Practice. He teaches Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and precepts in the Family Medicine Center. His curriculum assignments at the residency program include Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, International Medicine, and Addiction Medicine.

Dr. Miller has particular interest in addiction medicine and supporting its role in the primary care setting. He is a key leader in office-based treatment of heroin addiction and serves nationally as a consultant for physicians, hospitals and communities interested in starting opiate addiction programs. His current research interests are incorporating comprehensive substance abuse training into primary care curricula. His interest in international medicine has included participation in medical

expeditions to Tibetan Buddhist refugee colonies in central India.

Elizabeth E. Anderson, M.D.
Assistant Director

Specialty: Family Medicine
Medical School: UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Residency: The Williamsport Hospital & Medical Center, PA
Board Certification: Family Medicine

After graduating from The Williamsport Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program in 1991, Dr. Anderson joined Loyalsock Family Practice. Currently, she sees her private patients at the Loyalsock [faculty practice] office and then spends one half-day each week precepting Family Medicine residents in the Family Medicine Residency Center, and one half-day each week teaching second-year residents colposcopy skills. She also frequently precepts medical students as they see patients together at Loyalsock. Residents rotate through the Loyalsock office while on Practice Management and GYN rotations. Dr. Anderson cares for patients of all ages, still seeing patients in nursing homes and making home visits. She also continues to deliver babies and to provide newborn nursery care, both of which are her very favorite parts of being a family doctor. She is especially interested in women's health issues and pediatrics and truly enjoys all aspects of family medicine.

When not at work, Dr. Anderson keeps very busy with her family. She and her husband have four children aged 15-19. Also very involved in her church, Dr. Anderson coordinates the health ministries department, teaches healthful cooking classes, teaches a Sabbath School class for children in the primary grades, and sings in her church choir.

David R. Finn, M.D.
Assistant Director/Internal Medicine Teaching Service

Specialty: Internal Medicine
Medical School: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, PA
Residency: Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, PA
Board Certifications: Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Disease

In addition to a long specialty practice in Pulmonology and Critical Care where he made many contributions to resident education, Dr. Finn is one of several medicine attendings for the Family Medicine Residency Program. On that service, residents hone their knowledge and skills in caring for adult medical inpatients, many of whom do not already have primary care physicians and so often present with as yet undifferentiated problems.

Outside of medicine, Dr. Finn and his wife, Dr. Marcie Finn, a nephrologist, enjoy their family of three grown children and many community activities.

Timothy M. Heilmann, M.D.
Associate Director

Specialty: Family Medicine with Obstetrics
Medical School: Jefferson Medical College, PA
Residency: Forbes Health System, PA
Board Certification: American Board of Family Medicine

Tim's initial practice experience was in a small town in northwestern Pennsylvania - in a setting so rural that they even had a hitching post behind their office for patients to tie their horses! That rural setting provided an opportunity to practice the full spectrum of Family Medicine, from delivering babies (some at home!) to fracture management, as well as making house calls, performing office surgery and visiting nursing homes.

Tim brings all of those experiences and skills to the residency program; many of his precepting sessions and mini-lectures begin with the words "Well, when I was back in private practice." Lest it be said that he is just an "old-fashioned country doctor", however, he also has a keen interest in evidence-based medicine, and coordinates the residency's Journal Club to teach and explore EBM principles and practices in detail. Tim has also been very active in designing computer programs for teaching and for automating various residency functions.

A '79 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, Tim is a die-hard Fighting Irish fan (is there any other kind???); experienced residents know to tread lightly around him on Fall Mondays if the Irish have had a bad Saturday on the gridiron. Tim also puts the "family" in Family Medicine; he and his wife Susie are the proud parents of seven (count 'em, seven!) children. He is an active leader in the Boy Scouts, president of the Loyalsock Summer Swim Team parents' board, and a lector, cantor, and choir member at St. Ann Church.

Tim has been very involved in organized medicine, having served for years on the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians board of directors and as chair of the Residents and Student Affairs Committee. He is a past president of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP).

Barbara E. Hemmendinger, M.S.S., ACSW
Associate Director/Behavioral Science Coordinator

Clinical Social Work
Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research

As a licensed clinical social worker, Barbara enjoys teaching behavioral medicine in the program and seeing a panel of psychotherapy patients. Clinically, she is also a generalist and provides counseling to individual children, adolescents and adults as well as to couples and families. She is interested in women's mental health issues. As an accredited Balint Group leader, Barbara co-facilitates a group experience for residents to maximize the effectiveness of their relationships with patients. She also coordinates the faculty's involvement in resident recruitment and directs the Community Medicine rotation.

Active in the community, Barbara is a past president of the Williamsport Civic Chorus. She is a twelve-year breast cancer survivor and serves on many American Cancer Society committees to bring prevention and early detection information to at-risk individuals in the community as well as to the attention of State and Federal legislators to fund improved access and research. She is married to Ross, an RN at Muncy Valley Hospital, and they have two grown children and three grandchildren.

William F. Keenan, Jr., M.D.
Associate Director

Specialty: Family Medicine
Medical School: University of Massachusetts Medical School, MA
Residency: Harrisburg Hospital, PA
Board Certification: Family Medicine

Dr. Keenan has a special interest in the care of older individuals, has a CAQ in Geriatrics and currently is the Medical Director for the Albright LIFE Center. He also has a special interest in dermatology as seen in primary care. As the physician for St. John Neumann Junior/Senior High School, he is also interested in sports medicine.

On a personal note, Dr. Keenan enjoys photography, computers, and being involved in his children's activities, which includes Special Olympics and competitive fencing.

Sarah Kent, M.D.
Specialty: Family Medicine
Medical School: Penn State College of Medicine, PA
Residency: University of Rochester Medical Center
Board Certification: American Board of Family Medicine

As a Pennsylvania native, Dr. Sarah Kent returned to the Pennsylvania countryside after training at the University of Rochester Family Medicine Residency program, where she also served as a fourth-year chief. When she initially arrived in Williamsport, she practiced full spectrum family medicine for two years prior to joining the faculty, where she has a more active role in teaching and clinical research. She also remains committed to a rural clinic in northern Guatemala where she volunteers once a year and provides phone consultation on a frequent basis. In her free time, she enjoys gardening in the summer, cross country skiing in the winter and providing a country refuge for family, friends and international guests throughout the year.

Thomas J. Martin, M.D.
Assistant Director/Pediatrics

Specialty: Pediatrics
Medical School: University of Pittsburgh, PA
Residency: University of Pittsburgh, PA
Board Certification: Pediatrics and Sports Medicine

Dr. Martin has been a consultative pediatrician for over 30 years. He has been chairman of Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital for 20 years and has been a team physician for Pennsylvania State University for seven years. He has now turned his attention to teaching pediatrics and sports medicine to residents at the Family Medicine Residency.

Janice L. Schifferli, D.O.
Assistant Director

Specialty: Family Medicine
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: The Williamsport Hospital & Medical Center, PA
Board Certification: American Board of Family Medicine, American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians

A graduate of the Williamsport Family Medicine Residency Program, Dr. Schifferli personally attests to the quality of education provided. Upon graduation, she felt confident enough with her knowledge base to practice both obstetrics and inpatient medicine. "With the incredibly supportive faculty and staff here at Williamsport, it's inevitable that you will succeed." Prior to entering the medical field, Dr. Schifferli spent most of her time on the softball field. She played Division I Softball during her undergraduate career, and was named NCAA Academic All American in 2001. Her love for athletics and respect for the human body guided her decision to pursue a career in osteopathic medicine. She currently plays an integral role in development and implementation of the osteopathic didactic lecture series and the OMM clinics offered within the residency program. Her goal is to teach residents the fundamental "bread and butter" OMM skills that are necessary to treat common office problems.

Dr. Schifferli also has a special interest in obstetrics and gynecology. In particular, she enjoys teaching gynecological procedures like colposcopy, endometrial biopsy, Implanon, and IUD insertion. She places an emphasis on preventative medicine and enjoys dealing with issues concerning women's health.

Outside of the hospital, she enjoys spending time with her husband Scott, and their two Swiss mountain dogs. On sunny days, one of her favorite things to do is ride her motorcycle with her husband through the scenic country roads of Lycoming County.

Jeffrey N. Verzella, M.D.
Senior Associate Director

Specialty: Family Medicine with Obstetrics
Medical School: SUNY Health Sciences Center at Syracuse, NY
Residency: Tripler Army Medical Center, HI
Board Certification: Family Medicine

"Ahhhh, Hawaii was NICE, but Williamsport wins HANDS-DOWN when it comes to Family Medicine education," states Dr. Verzella, who has been a full-time teacher since graduating from residency in 1985. He has been teaching here since 1989, after four years at Ft. Bragg, N.C., in the Army Family Medicine Residency program there. In addition to running the usual rotations, he is the clinical director of the Family Medicine Residency Center, and oversees most of the patient care operations, as well as residency education, in the Center. Of major interest is his development of clinical templates for patient care, documentation, billing, and coding. In his free time (what free time?), Dr. Verzella is an avid sports fan and amateur astronomer.