Bethany Picker, M.D. (She/Hers)
Program Director
Women’s Health
Faculty
PickerBe@cmhc.org
Medical School: University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Residency: University of Colorado Rose Family Medicine
Fellowship: Duke University Faculty Development
What I like most about working with medical learners is the privilege and honor of watching learners develop their competence, their style, and their identities as physicians. It is an amazing journey that residents take and to be part of it feels like such a gift. Residents consistently question both “how” and “why” we do things (both clinical care and curriculum) which drives reflection and innovation. I cannot imagine a more dynamic aspect of medicine.
My husband and I have raised our two daughters in Maine and continue to enjoy the woods, the water, and the wonder. We have two dogs who bring their own brand of crazy to our family. In addition to the typical outdoor Maine adventures, I play French Horn in a community band.
Clinical Areas of Interest: I always find it difficult to state my clinical area of interest. I started as a rural family physician doing inpatient, outpatient, OB and house calls and even though I have been teaching for a long time, that breadth of care has influenced my clinical identity.
Scholarly Work: Presentations at Residency Leadership Summit:
Sprint to Improvement (2022)
Leadership
Council on Academic Family Medicine, AFMRD Representative CAFM
Physician Leadership Accelerator Program
Starfield Summit Representative for Rural Residencies
National Innovation/Research Projects
Length of Training Study
Clinic First/FM Innovation in Continuity Clinical Experience
Annie Derthick, Ph.D. (She/Her)
Associate Academic Program Director
Director, Behavioral Science
Faculty
derthian@cmhc.org
Graduate School: University of Alaska
Area of Study: Clinical Community Psychology with a Rural and Indigenous emphasis
I fell in love with resident education when I completed my own clinical training in a residency clinic. There is no better place to do the work I want to do, which is to be engaged with the community to solve the problems that matter most. Primary care is the hub of community health and wellbeing in so many underserved communities, and residency clinics are perfectly situated to partner with patients, families, and communities to create innovative, lasting change. I consider it a privilege to educate family medicine residents. I love being a part of the journey of residents consolidating their identity as a family physician and agent of change in their community. My favorite moment is somewhere in the middle of third year when the picture finally comes into focus, and this learner, who I’ve been watching grow over the last couple of years, takes shape as the physician they were meant to be. They are confident, grounded, and ready to make a difference.
Outside of work, my absolute favorite thing in the entire world is my 7-year-old goldendoodle, Moxie. I have a 1-year-old poodle, Cricket, who is worming her way into my heart as well. I like to spend time with them, and my partner, Kris, outside in our backyard, especially in the fall. I love to read. And I love to laugh. Feel free to stop by any time if you have a good story to tell or want to hear one.
Clinical Areas of Interest: Integrated Behavioral Health, Supervision and Mentorship. Psychological Assessment, Motivational Interviewing, Health Behavior Change, and Structural Racism as a Social Determinant of Health.
Scholarly Work:
DISSERTATION
Derthick. A. O. The Sexist MESS: Development and initial validation of the Sexist Microaggressions Experiences and Stress Scale and the relationship of sexist microaggressions and women’s mental health (Doctoral dissertation). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global (No. 3470179).
BOOKS
David, E. J. R., & Derthick, A. O. (2017). The psychology of oppression. New York, NY: Sage.
PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL ARTICLES
Brown, S. R., Friedman, R., McDermott, S., Oliveri, M., Derthick, A. O., & Picker, B. (2021). Highlights of the innovation showcase. Annals of Family Medicine, 19(4), 375-376. PMID#34264849
Genesis Juat, MD, Medical Director
Faculty
Juatge@cmhc.org
I have a deep-seated belief that everyone should have access to healthcare—it’s a right, not a privilege. And having primary care as the heart of it all is vital for keeping our communities healthy and thriving.
My own curiosity has taken me on a journey through a variety of healthcare settings, from Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) as far west as Seattle to rural clinics in Maine, and eventually into leadership roles in hospital systems. These experiences have given me a broad perspective and allowed me to keep my practice diverse and dynamic. Moving into resident education felt like a natural step, sharing my experiences, and learning together as we adapt to the ever-changing world of medicine.
My interests include dermatology within primary care, behavioral health integration, international medicine, substance use disorder treatment, and the exciting ways technology enhances our practice. Yet, despite all the tech advancements, I still have a soft spot for my trusty old stethoscope from med school—it’s been with me through thick and thin.
My spouse is a local Mainer, and together we have 2 strong-willed kids and 2 Seattleite golden retrievers who have made an impressive transition from the urban sidewalks of Seattle to enjoying the open fields and cold Atlantic waters of Maine.
Medical School: A.U.A. College of Medicine
Residency: Central Maine Medical Center Family Medicine Residency
Patricia (Patty) Collins, D.O., OMM (She/Her/Hers)
Faculty
collinpa1@cmhc.org
Medical School: University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Central Maine Medical Center Family Medicine Residency
After completing my residency and serving as chief resident at CMMC, I was excited to be staying on as faculty. The culture at the residency was one that strives towards growth and commitment to quality education and patient care. Being a faculty member has allowed me to continue to practice medicine across both the outpatient and inpatient settings while incorporating my passion for medical education and teaching. I love working alongside residents and medical students, I find myself not only teaching but learning from our learners. It is a privilege to be a part of their individual growth as physicians.
Outside of work, I enjoy spending time outdoors. My husband and I love to take our daughter and dog hiking. I also enjoy biking, cooking, and attempting to garden.
Clinical Areas of Interest:
Inpatient Medicine
Family Planning
Breastfeeding Medicine
Scholarly Work:
Optimizing Graduate Medical Education during Early Residency
Society of Teachers of Family Medicine Residency Faculty Fundamentals Certificate
Chris Decker, D.O., OMM, DAAMA, DABOIM (He/Him)
Director of Integrative Medicine
Faculty
deckerch1@cmhc.org
Medical School: Touro University California
Residency: Central Maine Medical Center Family Medicine Residency
Fellowship: Integrative Medicine University of Arizona/ Maine Medical Center
I love being in an environment of active learners as it keeps me engaged, up to date, and provides unique perspectives that I don’t think I would be as exposed to otherwise.
There is an excitement and zest that I find energizing and motivating.
As faculty, I like to stress both the technical side of being a doctor but more importantly the healer/ humanistic side to build therapeutic relationships and individually tailored plans based on a person’s cultural background and personal values.
Outside of medicine, I enjoy being active whether it being playing soccer, frisbee or going on a hike and spending time with my wife, son, and dog.
Clinical Areas of Interest: Addiction, Integrative, Acupuncture, Homeless Youth
Scholarly Work:
Review of Effectiveness of Psilocybin for Depression. Integrative Medicine. 2022
Integrative Approach to Long Covid Seminar at Family Medicine Education Consortium. 2022
Creator and instructor for Intro to Integrative Medicine Course at Maine College of Healthcare Professionals 2021
Thomas Hattan, M.D.
Board Certified Palliative Care Medicine
Faculty
hattanth@cmhc.org
Medical School: Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Residency: Madigan Army Medical Center, Internal Medicine
Fellowship: Geriatrics, VA Madigan Army Medical Center
At the age of twelve I decided that I would be a Doctor and not a history teacher; thankfully my career has allowed me to create a medical practice but also share the joys of teaching. I have worked with the community of Lewiston/Auburn and the family medicine residency to provide care for in area Nursing Homes and Assisted Livings. Sharing that work living space with teammates, medical students, residents, nurse practitioners, and colleagues: I am proud of the home-based collaborative care we provide. In my work with medical learners, I strive to provide a community-based perspective that stresses the natural processes of the life, aging, and dying; how medicine can interfere and aid in these processes.
Teaching, learning, growing, the open exchange of ideas and practice: working with a Geriatric Team to provide as safe and comfortable place as we can is a rich challenge.
I live with my wife Robin and three dogs in Yarmouth, Maine. Three adult children enrich our world with adventures and growth. Seasons, travel, walks, gardening, sitting by the fire with a novel, I am proud and blessed with Yarmouth’s warm comfort.
Clinical Areas of Interest: Geriatrics and Palliative Care medicine and teaching. Helping medical learners understand the necessity of self, their individual perspective and voice as it impacts their practice of medicine. Understand and improve my own practice and team skill set. Build a Geriatric Team at the Family Medicine Residency.
Scholarly Work: My practice is that of a clinical provider. I am proud that five medical learners that I have shared my practice with have furthered their Geriatric and Palliative Care practice and education and of all the students and graduates that enrich our community.
Hannah Kazal MD, ScM
Faculty
Fellowship: Addiction Medicine Fellowship, Maine Medical Center
Residency: Sutter Santa Rosa–UCSF Family Medicine Residency
Medical School: Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Dual degree: M.D., Sc.M. (Master of Science in Population Medicine)
She graduated from Brown University Medical School with dual MD and Master of Science in Population Medicine degrees. Residency pulled her to the West Coast, where she graduated from Sutter Santa Rosa-UCSF Family Medicine Residency as an HIV specialist and CREATE (Continuing Reproductive Education for Advanced Training Efficacy) trainee with advanced reproductive health skills. Through residency as a third-year running the inpatient medicine, obstetrical, and outpatient services, she discovered her enthusiasm for medical education and decided to pursue an academic fellowship in Addiction Medicine.
Clinical Areas of Interest: She is passionate about dismantling health inequities and expanding access for marginalized populations such as those living with SUDs, HIV, unhoused communities, and carceral histories. She is an advocate for the integration of harm reduction into clinical care and enjoys providing education on this evidence-based practice to colleagues, medical trainees, and patients. As a Family Physician, Dr. Kazal maintains a broad practice in comprehensive reproductive health, HIV/HCV prevention/treatment, and procedures with general primary care of patients and families through peripartum, childhood, and aging, from the acute hospital to community settings.
Lauren Nadkarni, M.D., CAQSM (She/Her/Hers)
Assistant Regional Dean, UNECOM, Family Medicine Residency
Sports Medicine
Faculty
nadkarla@cmhc.org
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Residency: Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME
Fellowship: Sports Medicine, Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME
I believe in promoting health and supporting preventative care efforts through physical activity based on the belief that ‘exercise is medicine.’ I work with patients using shared decision-making to provide creative solutions to their unique healthcare needs.
I enjoy working with underrepresented populations, and when the opportunity to create a new sports medicine program within the residency appeared, I was excited to step into the role. I enjoy combining my interests in sports medicine, point of care ultrasound (POCUS), and public health in a teaching environment, and look forward to continuing to learn from and teach residents and medical students for years to come.
When I’m not working, I enjoy traveling and being active outdoors, hiking, playing sports, tending my vegetable garden, and spending time with my family and my dogs.
Clinical Areas of Interest: Sports medicine, adolescent medicine, collegiate health, pediatrics, preventive care
I organize and teach a bi-annual CMHC Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) course for the system.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Nadkarni L, Haskins A, Holt C, Dexter W. Reduction of High School Ice Hockey
Injuries With Implementation of New Checking/Boarding Rules. Clin J Sport Med.
2021;31(6):e420-e424. doi:10.1097/JSM.0000000000000846
Book Chapters/Invited Reviews
Nadkarni, L, Gillespie, HM, & Dexter, WW. (2019). Anterior Shoulder Instability in
M.D. Miller, et. al (Eds.), Essential Orthopaedics, Second Edition.
Case Reports
Nadkarni, L, Quinn, K, & Gillespie, H. (May, 2019). Knee Pain – Swimming in
Dangerous Waters. Presented at: American College of Sports Medicine
(ACSM) Annual Meeting; Orlando, FL, USA
Published Abstracts:
Nadkarni, L, Dexter, W, Holt, C, & Haskins, A. (April 2019). High School Ice
Hockey Concussion Rates Reduced with Implementation of New
Checking/Boarding Rule. Presented at: American Medical Society for Sports
Medicine (AMSSM) Annual Meeting; Houston, TX, USA
Non-print Scholarship:
Conte, J, Nadkarni, L, Derthick, A, Lucas, J, & Corbett, I. (October 2020). It’s Not
All In Your Head. Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC) Annual
Meeting; virtual.
Paige Picard, D.O. (She/Her)
Adolescent and Collegiate Health, Lifestyle Medicine
Medical Director, Health Services at Bates College
picardpa1@cmhc.org
Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM), Erie PA
Residency: Maine Medical Center Portland, ME
One of the reasons I went to medical school was to “stay in school” which I later realized was a passion for the pursuit of knowledge and lifelong learning. I love that through academic medicine I can learn and teach individuals with varying skill levels from medical students to seasoned colleagues. One of my primary clinical interests is in lifestyle medicine, with a focus on preventing and reversing chronic disease through holistic approaches. Through my clinical work at Bates College, I now have the opportunity to grow, learn, share, and teach with college students and college administration. When not immersed in academia, I live just 30 minutes from Lewiston on a small tree farm with my husband and 4 children. We spend our time managing a wood lot, tending to a small garden, keeping bees, and cooking from scratch.
Scholarly Work: I am focused on lectures and presentations which have included both National and State annual conferences at Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC), Maine Osteopathic Association (MOA). I also serve on the Raising Readers Committee, a group dedicated to providing books free of charge at every well child visit from age birth to 5.
Jerry Pomeranz M.D. (Him/His)
Faculty
Jerome.Pomeranz@cmhc.org
Medical School: Frank H. Netter School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University
Residency: Memorial Hospital of South Bend
I chose to work in resident education because teaching the next generation of family medicine doctors is incredibly meaningful to me and multiplies my impact as a physician. What I like most about working with medical learners is the different perspectives they bring to the table, and the joy they experience when they learn a new skill. What excites me about the clinical learning environment is there is always new ideas to discuss. There are also so much flexibility in how to practice medicine in that setting. When I’m not at work you can find me at the disc golf course, playing my harmonica, listening to country music, and spending time with my family near Boston.
Clinical Areas of Interest: Wilderness/International Medicine, Obstetrics, Point-of-Care Ultrasound, Mental Health, and Procedures.
Scholarly Work: Baliunas, A.J., Pomeranz, J.E., & Zimmer, D.F. (2021, December). Vasculitis after COVID-19 Vaccination. Emergency Physician Monthly. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://epmonthly.com/article/vasculitis-after-covid-19-vaccination/.
Heidi Walls, M.D. (She/Her/Hers)
Sports Medicine
Faculty
wallshe1@cmhc.org
Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine
Residency: Maine Medical Center
Fellowship: Sports Medicine, Maine Medical Center
A career in medicine is inevitably a commitment to lifelong learning, which totally excites me. The academic environment and the opportunity to educate the next generation of doctors truly fosters that growth. It’s a privilege to share my knowledge with our residents, and I get to learn from them as well. Working at the Central Maine Family Medicine Residency is just the best.
When I’m not working, I find joy in movement and the outdoors. If I didn’t choose a career in medicine, I would have become a carpenter or a coach.
Clinical areas of interest: Sports medicine, ultrasound, metabolic health, and conditions of the female athlete
CMMC Family Medicine Residency
76 High Street
Lewiston, ME 04240
Tel. 207-795-2184
Fax. 207-795-2190