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OUR SENIOR ADVISORS:

Joseph F. Anderson

Joseph began his career in Financial Services working for Nathan & Lewis Securities.  He remained there for 17 years, as the Managing Director of Trading. As a testament to his innovativeness in the financial field, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Wealth Management when Met Life took over. Joseph was a pioneer in Independent Wealth Management Sector creating investment solution for High Net-Worth Individuals, Practice Management, Mentoring, Sales, and Marketing.  He retired from Financial Services after 30 years as an Executive with both Nationwide and Genworth Financial as the Wealth Management National Sales & Relationship Manager to pursue his passion in Emergency Management. 

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Joseph began his EMS career in 1986.  He was one of the founders of the EMS Special Operations Team and assisted in the development of the first comprehensive Emergency Management & Preparedness plan for the City of Jersey City.  Joseph has been a volunteer with North Brunswick First Aid and Rescue Squad for over 24 years and held the position as CFO & Captain of Rescue and Special Operations for over 20 years.  Joseph remains very active in EMS as a Rescue and Special Operations Instructor and he is one of the original founding members of the New Jersey EMS Task Force.  Joseph the Treasure and Board Member with the New Jersey EMS Task Force and continues his work keeping the people of New Jersey Safe.

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He joined CarePoint Health in 2014 as the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator and was promoted to Director of Network Operations in 2017. CarePoint Health is comprised of 3 Community Hospitals, 75 Medical Offices, and Urgent Care Centers making it one of the largest hospital systems in the region. In this role, Joseph was responsible for the Life Safety and Environment of Care programs. Additionally, he served as the Hospital Chairperson for the NJ UASI Northern NJ Chapter. Joseph was a key member of the New Jersey Hospital Association and the New Jersey Department of Health’s response to COVID-19. 

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Dr James R. Clemens, MD

Dr. James Clemens finished residency in Otolaryngology, Head and Neck surgery at the University of Cincinnati in 1997. 

 

After residency, Dr Clemens moved to Green Bay, WI and joined Prevea Clinic, a multispecialty clinic affiliated with HSHS, a Catholic health care system based in Springfield, IL. For the last 24 years he has had full time practice and served in senior leadership roles including Chair of Surgery, Compensation Committee, Prevea's Board, and presently serves on the Board of St Clare's Hospital in Oconto Falls, WI. 

 

He is also currently the surgical director of the OR for St. Mary's and St. Vincent Hospitals.  In this role he is the liaison between surgeons, and Operating Room staff, and Hospital Administration. 

 

With the recent pandemic he has witnessed the stress and fatigue that many healthcare and human services colleagues have experienced.

Mike Freedman

Michael is senior healthcare professional with over 20 years of experience supporting Learning & Development, Education, and Corporate Training initiatives for Johnson & Johnson. 

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Most recently Michael served as the J&J Global Lead for Change Management, Communications and Training supporting HR related projects. Prior to that, Michael served as the head of the J&J North American Training Center of Excellence where he was responsible for setting strategic direction and execution of tactical deliverables in support of the J&J North American Supply Chain.

 

Michael is passionate about helping people inflicted with Cancer and Alzheimer’s, having recently lost his brother to cancer and both parents to Alzheimer’s. His sister is a two-time breast cancer survivor.

Michael is an Eagle Scout and active supporter of the Boy Scouts of America, in addition to being an active member of the NJ EMS Task Force Technology & Communications Team.

Dr Elizabeth Higgins, MD

Dr. Elizabeth Higgins is originally from Upstate New York and completed her medical degree at Upstate Medical Center.

 

After completing a residency in internal medicine and pediatrics, she joined the Albany Medical Center where she practiced primary care. She came to Medical University of South Carolina after completing a fellowship in palliative care at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

 

Her interests include providing patient centered care and symptom management especially at the end of life.  As an important ongoing professional interest Liz works with medical students, nursing students, residents and fellows on building resiliency skills to avoid burnout.

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Dr William Novick, MD MS

Dr William Novick is a graduate of University of Alabama School of Medicine and completed his General Surgical Residency at the Graduate Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania before entering the Cardiothoracic Residency at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He completed the cardiothoracic program and remained for 2 years as Congenital Cardiac Fellow.

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After 2 years as the sole pediatric cardiac surgeon at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Women and Children he joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee as a pediatric cardiac surgeon where he was made the Paul Nemir Professor of Surgery and International Child Health in 1999.

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In 1993 Dr Novick Founded and then lead the International Children’s Heart Foundation until October 2014 when he resigned to create the Novick Cardiac Alliance. Dr Novick is a member of the STS, EACTS, STSA, WSPCHS and serves on the Executive Committee of the IQIC.

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Over the past twenty-four years, his non-profit medical teams have performed over 7,400 pediatric heart surgeries in more than 30 countries worldwide including in places like Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Morocco, and Russia. 

He has authored multiple papers on congenital heart disease, contributed to several books on pediatric heart disease, intensive care and thoracic trauma, as well as co-authored “Healing the Heart of Croatia”.

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Dr Novick lives in Memphis with his wife Elizabeth and two sons, Nicholas and Jackson, his older children are enrolled in University of Alabama (Celena), University of Alabama-Birmingham (Bryant) and his oldest is an artist living in Birmingham (Alessandra).

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Here is a great video of Dr Novick and the work he is doing:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btIVBEwqJJk

Sarah Savoia PA-C

Sarah is a Physician Assistant and research scientist at the University of Texas, Austin  in Neurology. Her primary area of practice is Cognitive and Behavioral neurology.

 

Sarah focuses on expanding the University’s clinical services in the areas of cognition, optimization of clinical operations, and patient care. Prior to her position at the University of Texas, Sarah was a research scientist at Yale University School of Medicine in addition to working in various capacities in mental health care.

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Recently, her paper, “ Wernekinck Commissure Syndrome: Sequela of a Caudal Paramedian Midbrain Infarction,” was published in the journal Neurology. 

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Contact: Dave Duplay

Email: DDuplay@VitalOptions.org

Office: 800-518-2354
Address: Vital Options International, 203 Main Street No 179,  Flemington, NJ  08822

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