Team Members
Surgeons
 Matt
L. Kirkland, MD, FACS
Director, Bariatric Surgery at Pennsylvania
Hospital
Dr. Matt L. Kirkland is a clinical assistant
professor of surgery. He attended Thomas Jefferson
Medical College, and completed his surgical residency
at Pennsylvania Hospital. He specializes in
gastrointestinal surgery, as well as oncologic
surgery, specifically cancer of the breast,
colon, and pancreas. In addition, he maintains
a very busy bariatric surgery practice, is well
known in this field, and was the first surgeon
to perform bariatric surgery at Pennsylvania
Hospital. Dr. Kirkland is board-certified in
general surgery and is a fellow of the American
College of Surgeons.
 Alan
L. Schuricht, MD, FACS
Dr. Alan L. Schuricht is the residency program
director for Pennsylvania Hospital’s Department
of Surgery and is a clinical associate professor
of surgery. Board-certified in general surgery
and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons,
Dr. Schuricht has a strong clinical interest in
laparoscopic surgery for many disease states,
including weight loss surgery. He has written
numerous papers on cancer and laparoscopic issues,
and has lectured and trained surgeons in surgical
techniques locally, regionally and internationally.
 David
S. Wernsing, MD, FACS
Dr. David S. Wernsing is a clinical assistant
professor of surgery. He graduated from Robert
Wood Johnson Medical School and completed his
surgical residency at Pennsylvania Hospital. He
is one of the area leaders in promoting minimally
invasive surgery for the treatment of cancers
of the abdomen and in its use in general surgery.
Additionally, he maintains a busy bariatric practice
and has been instrumental in improving bariatric
(obesity) surgery at Pennsylvania Hospital. Dr.
Wernsing is board-certified in general surgery
and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
Program Coordinator
Japreet Kaur, MS, MHA
Japreet was named bariatric surgery program coordinator in June of 2006. Prior to joining the bariatric surgery team, she served as Pennsylvania Hospital's administrative fellow. She holds a Master's degree in healthcare administration from Houston Baptist University. As the program coordinator, Japreet works closely with the bariatric surgeons and Pennsylvania Hospital to develop a comprehensive, multifaceted, dynamic program to help our bariatric patients throughout their experience. She discusses, evaluates and educates patients and families about bariatric surgery and provides support and coordination in all phases of treatment.
Nurse
Educator
Ginny Nelson, BS, RN, MEd
Ginny has 17 years of health care industry experience,
which includes the last nine years as a Registered
Nurse. She has experience in cardiac, pulmonary
and general medical-surgical acute care and
has been with Pennsylvania Hospital for four
years. Ginny began working with the bariatric
surgery program in November 2005 as a Clinical
Nurse Educator in a collaborative effort to
provide the most comprehensive medical care
for our patients at Pennsylvania Hospital.
Nurse Practitioners
Cindy Naus, MSN, NP
Cindy Naus graduated from the University of Delaware
with her nursing degree, and then continued on
to become a nurse practitioner though the family
nurse practitioner program at Widener University.
She is credentialed via ANCC and works with the
busy surgical practice of Dr. Matt Kirkland and
Dr. David Wernsing at Pennsylvania Hospital. Cindy
is an experienced nurse in critical care medicine,
surgical transplant, and surgical nursing. She
has lectured within the University of Pennsylvania
health system on critical care nursing, (liver
disease, cardiac disease, and emergency nursing).
Theresa A. Brown, MSN,
CRNP, NP-C
Theresa Brown received her nursing degree from
Holy Family University and worked as a nurse in
the intensive care unit for 10 years caring for
surgical patients. She has an extensive critical
care nursing background, including neurosurgery,
trauma, liver and kidney transplant, and general
surgery. She then went on to earn her masters
degree in nursing with a focus in family nurse
practitioner at Thomas Jefferson University, and
is certified thought the AANP. She then worked
with the Department of Anesthesia evaluating and
preparing patients for surgery for two years.
Theresa joined the team at Pennsylvania Hospital
as the nurse practitioner for the busy surgical
practice of Dr. Matt Kirkland and Dr. David Wernsing,
providing inpatient care for their surgical patients.
Psychologists
- Michael
P. Kowitt, PhD, ABPP
- Jody
F. Foster, MD, MBA
- Pamela Becker, PsyD
(Inpatient Unit)
- Primary Interests: Psychodynamic psychotherapy,
adolescent, child/family and health psychology
- Reed Goldstein, PhD
(Inpatient Unit)
- Primary interests: Psychodynamic psychotherapy;
interpersonal therapy; neuropsychological
and psychological assessment; treatment
and research in the relationship between
depression and medical illness; research
in depression and personality disorder
- Geoffrey Margo, MD (Consult/Liaison
Service)
Clinical Associate Professor, University of
Pennsylvania
- Primary interests: Psychiatry-medicine
interface; psychodynamic psychotherapy
Clinical Nutrition Support
Jim Henry, BS, RD
Jim is a clinical dietitian and received his Bachelor
of Science Degree in Dietetics from Rutgers University,
Cook College. Jim also completed his dietetic
internship at Stony Brook University where he
gained a great interest in both out-patient and
in-patient nutrition therapy. Jim recently joined
the Bariatric Surgery Program at Pennsylvania
Hospital and provides comprehensive nutrition
education for the bariatric surgical patients.
Physical Therapy
Specially trained physical therapists are here
to help you. Your doctor or nurse will let the
physical therapists know if you need their help
moving around and getting out of bed.
Social Worker
Specially trained social workers are available
to help you if you have special needs relating
to your hospitalization. Some issues of concern
include:
- Assistance for the visually impaired while
in the hospital
- Coordination of home care services, medical
equipment or transportation
- Referrals to skilled or extended care facilities
- Other community resources
Social workers can help you determine what your
insurance benefits will cover, and help you obtain
necessary services.
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