New Medical Director Joins Regional Hospice
We are excited to welcome Dr. Randy Michelle Seewald as the new Medical Director of Regional Hospice and Home Care (RHHC). Dr. Seewald will be overseeing the hospice care provided by the Center for Comfort Care and Healing, while also directing RHCC’s clinical team as we expand our services in New Haven and Lower Fairfield Counties. She is up for the task as a lifelong learner with a love for community and a drive to advance quality in the often underserved fields of hospice and palliative care.
A Wealth of Education & Experience
Dr. Seewald possesses a broad range of real world experience and formal medical training. Born in New York, Randy was raised in England. She received her medical degree from the University of London before returning to New York City where she completed a residency training program in Internal Medicine. At that time the city was in the midst of the AIDS epidemic and Randy witnessed people in need of palliative care and adequate symptom management. Helping to alleviate suffering became a driving force for her as she founded a clinic for substance users at Greenwich House in the West Village, which she ran for 10 years. Dr. Seewald went on to serve as the Medical Director for the Methadone Maintenance Treatment program at Beth Israel Medical Center, managing 18 clinics throughout New York City.
Expertise in Hospice & Palliative Care
Randy was on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and was promoted to Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry. She completed a mid-career fellowship with Dr. Russell Portenoy at Beth Israel Medical Center in Hospice and Palliative Care, a program that was funded by her mentor, Dr. Robert Newman. Prior to coming to Regional Hospice she was Chief of Addiction Medicine at Lincoln Hospital, providing inpatient palliative care consultations and outpatient palliative care in the oncology clinic. Dr. Seewald is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Hospice and Palliative Care, Pain Medicine and Addiction Medicine.
A Love of Teamwork
Working in community as part of an interdisciplinary care team is very important to Randy, who concedes, “I can’t do this alone. We support each other.” She is happy to be joining our existing medical staff of Robert Kloss, MD; Robert Fitton, MD; and Geeta Geroud, MD, along with the many other clinical and social support members that are so vital to the quality of our hospice care. “I like treating patients, seeing the quality of life improve,” she said, further explaining that in hospice, “you walk into people’s lives at a unique time.”
A Plan Comes Full Circle
Dr. Seewald first met with RHHC’s President & CEO, Cynthia Emiry Roy, three years ago. At that time, Seewald was astounded by Roy’s plans for the first of its kind, private-suite, hospice center in Connecticut. It seemed hard to believe, yet as Seewald now explains, “Cynthia has done everything she said she would,” emphasizing that the resulting Center for Comfort Care and Healing is, “really an extraordinary place.”
Extraordinary Patient Care
The care we provide at our Center and throughout the community is poised to become even more extraordinary given Dr. Seewald’s expertise and passion for patient care. Her ultimate goal is to ensure that a patient’s quality of life is improved as he/she approaches the end of life – a beautiful fit with our mission. Likewise, Randy is excited about overseeing and growing the Medicare Care Choices Model program which enables patients to seek treatment options even while receiving hospice care – an option that Seewald believes, “feels better” in terms of genuinely supporting patient’s needs. We are fortunate to have Dr. Seewald’s knowledge and compassion enhancing our clinical services and supporting us as we grow.