Active Aging: Wellness

August 16, 2024

Active Aging: Wellness
The four dynamic talks given by Sonoma Valley Hospital community health experts provide insights on the importance of overall wellness through the lens of Active Aging.

Register at Active Aging: Wellness. Early RSVP is encouraged for all talks as seating is limited.

Master of Ceremony:  Dawn Kuwahara, RN, Chief Ancillary Officer for Sonoma Valley Hospital will welcome guests and introduce each speaker. Dawn is a native to Sonoma Valley and her executive leadership and nursing career spans more than 25 years serving our community.  

SEPTEMBER 6:
ISOLATION IN OLDER ADULTS with The Community Mental Health Hub at Hanna
Noeli Cardenas Zamora is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with many years of clinical experience providing treatment to children and adults in various sectors of the mental health community in both Southern and Northern California. As a licensed clinical supervisor, she has overseen the administration of treatment programs that facilitate clinical services for at risk children, families, and adults. Noeli is a bilingual/bicultural provider with specialized training in the areas of trauma, grief and loss, behavioral analysis, intimate partner relations and Latinx women. Noeli has been an invited speaker in the areas of clinical treatment of children, professional development, and overcoming barriers to mental health recovery. She is a distinguished graduate of Pepperdine University where she received specialized training in the areas of assessment and treatment of Latinx clients. She was also appointed as adjunct faculty at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology.

Kristie Walthard is an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist and an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor. She specializes in Health Psychology and has experience in grief counseling, domestic violence support, and school-based programs serving individuals, couples, and families of all ages. She received advanced training in trauma studies from the Trauma Research Foundation. Kristie’s expertise includes working with trauma, grief, chronic illness, disability, addiction, and codependency. Her approach is trauma-informed, incorporating attachment theory and client-centered practices to create a safe, supportive environment for clients

SEPTEMBER 13:
MEN’S HEALTH with UCSF Dr. Peter Carroll (View Dr. Carroll’s talk)
Peter R. Carroll, MD, MPH, is Professor in the Department of Urology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), which is consistently ranked as one of the top urology departments in the country and as one of the leading recipients of National Institutes of Health funding for urology. He received his undergraduate training at the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating with honors from Georgetown University School of Medicine, he completed his general surgery training and urology residency at UCSF, followed by a fellowship in urologic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He joined the faculty of the UCSF Department of Urology in 1986. Dr Carroll, who holds the Ken and Donna Derr-Chevron Distinguished Professorships in Urology, added an MPH degree from University of California, Berkeley, to his academic credentials in 2008. He organized the Urologic Oncology Service, one of the most active multidisciplinary programs at UCSF. He assumed the position of chair of the UCSF Department of Urology in 1996 and stepped down recently from this position and maintains a busy clinical practice and research program.

Dr. Carroll has authored or coauthored more than 700 publications and is an active member of numerous professional medical societies. He is now past president of the American Board of Urology (2006-2008). He is currently the principal investigator or coinvestigator for numerous scientific studies. His major professional interests are focused on the study and management of urologic cancers, innovative methods of urinary tract reconstruction, health services research, health policy, and the impact of cancer detection and treatment on quality of life. In 2010, Dr Carroll was awarded the Eugene Fuller Triennial Prostate Award and the SUO Medal from the American Urological Association and the Society of Urologic Oncology, respectively. In 2014, he was awarded the coveted Barringer Medal from the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, in 2019, he received the Société Internationale d’Urologie SIU Mostafa M. Elhilali Award and most recently, in 2023, the Ramon Guiteras Award from the American Urology Association as well as The Exceptional Physician Award from UCSF, in 2024. He is recognized as one of the top Prostate Cancer Surgeons in the US by Newsweek.

SEPTEMBER 20
BALANCE-FOCUSED GENTLE MOVEMENTS with Sonoma Valley Hospital’s Marek Grzybowski
Marek Grzybowski, a Physical Therapist and Outpatient Rehabilitation Manager for Sonoma Valley Hospital with a Masters in Physical Rehabilitation. He regularly works with Sonoma Valley seniors to help them with balance issues and encourage a more active lifestyle, and is quick to advise, “If you don’t move, you rust.”

SEPTEMBER 27
ED STROKE READINESS/UCSF NEUROLOGY with Sonoma Valley Hospital’s Dr. Seric Cusick
Seric Cusick, MD, is a board-certified emergency physician and is the current medical director of the Emergency Department at Sonoma Valley Hospital. He grew up in the Valley of the Moon, meeting his future wife at Sonoma Valley High School. He graduated with highest honors from UC Santa Barbara with degrees in Biology and Exercise Science, also becoming a licensed Emergency Medical Technician. He then worked as an EMT in Sonoma County, before heading off to UC San Francisco School of Medicine, receiving his medical degree and spending an additional year as a fellow in medical education and curriculum design. He completed his residency at Harvard, within the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Following his training, he completed a fellowship in emergency ultrasound at UC Irvine Medical Center, becoming a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. Thereafter, as faculty at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Emergency Medicine Residency he developed his own Fellowship in Emergency Ultrasound, training emergency medicine physicians, residents and medical students. Following this, he relocated to Southern California to become the Chief of Service of Emergency Medicine at Hoag Hospital Irvine. Finally, in 2016, he and his family returned home to Sonoma – at which time he joined Napa Valley Emergency Medical Group in their practice at Queen of the Valley Medical Center.

Email us at community@sonomavalleyhospital.org for more information.