Faculty

All of our Family Medicine physician faculty members are residency trained and board certified in Family Medicine.

Full-Time Family Medicine Faculty:

Scott Ippolito, MD
Chair, Department of Family Medicine

Dr. Ippolito completed his Family Medicine Residency at Jamaica hospital in Queens, New York. He subsequently completed fellowships in both Obstetrics / Gynecology and Faculty Development at the State University of New York Downstate Medical School. After spending time in private practice, Dr. Ippolito returned to academic medicine. He soon became the Associate Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, where he created and directed a Family Medicine residency program. He then served as Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockway, New York, where he created both a clinical department and a Family Medicine residency program. Dr. Ippolito is also an Assistant Professor at the State University of New York Downstate Medical School and an Associate Dean of Clinical Sciences at Ross University School of Medicine. He is an active teacher to the residents, participates in office-based precepting and inpatient care, and has published several textbook and review book chapters.

Samuel A Sandowski, MD
Director, Family Medicine Residency Program

Dr. Sandowski graduated Cum Laude from the Technion Faculty of Medicine in Israel. He completed his residency in Family Medicine at South Nassau Communities Hospital, and subsequently did a faculty development fellowship at the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn. Dr. Sandowski remained there and became the Medical Director of the Family Medicine Center. Dr. Sandowski is interested in faculty development and academic medicine. He has published several articles and chapters, and is the co-editor of the textbook, Primary Care. He takes pride in teaching as well as providing direct patient care. He is boarded in both Family Medicine and Adolescent Medicine. 

Emad Hanna, MD, MSC
Family Medicine Faculty Physician

Prior to his training in Family Medicine at South Nassau Communities Hospital, Dr. Hanna completed residency training in Preventive Medicine through the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. As a valued teacher he was awarded the Resident Teaching Award from the Society of Teachers of Family Medicine. Dr. Hanna has more than 10 years of experience as a general surgeon prior to becoming a family physician. Dr. Hanna’s areas of focus are office procedures, preventive medicine, occupational health, epidemiology and community research. 

Linda Roethel, MD
Coordinator, Women's Health

Dr. Roethel is a graduate of Universidad del Noreste and St. Joseph's Medical Center of Yonkers Family Medicine Residency Program. After residency, Dr. Roethel completed a fellowship in OB/GYN at Montefiore Medical Center / North Central Bronx Hospital. She is an active preceptor for inpatient medicine and in the Family Medicine Center. Additionally, Dr. Roethel is the coordinator of Women's Health and provides obstetrical care and teaching in the Family Medicine Center and in labor and delivery.

Lawrence Sokolsky, MD
Coordinator, Graduate Medical Education

Dr. Sokolsky is a graduate of the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and the St. Joseph's Medical Center of Syracuse's Family Medicine Residency Program. In addition to organizing the residency's didactic curricula, his responsibilities also include teaching rounds and precepting in the Family Medicine Center. He has special interests in Sports Medicine and the care of patients with HIV disease. 

Thomas G. Zimmerman, D.O.
Osteopathic Director of Medical Education

After earning a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Cornell University, Dr. Zimmerman graduated from the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM). He then completed his residency in Family Practice and Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, NY. After working in private practice for several years, he joined the full-time faculty at NYCOM as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine. Dr. Zimmerman served as Medical Director of the school’s Academic Health Centers, and received NYCOM’s Standard of Excellence award in 2006 for his leadership, planning, and implementation of an electronic medical records system. Dr. Zimmerman has lectured both locally and nationally on the subject of EMRs and health information technology. Dr. Zimmerman is actively involved in inpatient and outpatient precepting as well as direct patient care. He has a particular interest in practicing and teaching osteopathic manipulative treatment. Dr. Zimmerman continues to teach doctor-patient relations and physical diagnosis as a Clinical Assistant Professor at NYCOM. 

Part-Time Family Medicine Faculty

Paul Moglia, PhD
Associate Residency Director

Dr. Paul Moglia received his MA and PhD in counseling psychology from Boston College and has completed several assistantships and fellowships including a Clinical Fellowship sponsored by Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry and a Faculty Development Fellowship sponsored by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. A peer reviewer for Family Medicine and The Journal of Family Medicine, he is a member of the Networking Resource Line, a network of experts who provide consultation and assistance to residencies throughout the country. He is author of numerous articles and has also made dozens of presentations at national and regional conferences. In addition to his responsibilities as Director of Behavioral and Faculty Education he maintains a full-time private Medicine.

Shepard B. Gorman, PhD
Psychologist
Professor of Psychology, Nassau Community College

Dr. Gorman is a graduate of Hofstra University. He maintains a private practice in psychotherapy and has special interests in health psychology, cognitive-behavioral therapy, other short-term therapies, and the use of technology in medical education.

Russell W. Porter, MD
Clinical Instructor/Preceptor

Dr. Russell Porter is a family physician with over 20 years of professional private Medicine experience in Rockville Centre, He has been an active staff physician at South Nassau Communities Hospital during this time. In addition to his Board Certification in Family Medicine, he holds broad certification in both Geriatric Medicine and Sports Medicine. He is a Clinical Instructor, part-time, in the Family Medicine Center as well as in In-Patient Medicine.