Local doctors to join NEOUCOM board

The governor had announced plans to revamp the medical school’s board.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — Two local physicians have been appointed to the new board of trustees at the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rootstown.

Dr. Dianne Bitonte Miladore of Canfield and Dr. Chander M. Kohli of Liberty are among eight appointees announced by Gov. Ted Strickland on Friday. A ninth appointee will be named later.

“I thank Governor Strickland for the appointment of these accomplished individuals,” said Dr. Lois Margaret Nora, NEOUCOM president and dean of its College of Medicine. “This diverse group represents people who not only have strong ties to NEOUCOM, but also bring additional expertise and leadership in legal, financial, corporate and health care management — all vital to the governance of the colleges.”

Bitonte Miladore, a lifelong resident of the Youngstown area, received her B.S. degree summa cum laude from Youngstown State University and her medical degree as a member of the Charter Class of NEOUCOM. She completed residencies in emergency medicine at Akron General Medical Center and St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Toledo and has worked as an emergency room attending physician at The Medical College of Ohio at Toledo, St. Elizabeth Health Center and Beeghly Urgent Care Center.

She has been a member of the YSU board of trustees since May 2005 and YSU’s representative on the NEOUCOM board the past year.

She has served as a clinical faculty member at NEOUCOM, a member of the Admissions Committee, the Academic Review Committee and the Clinical Competency Assessment Medical Advisory Board and is an adviser to medical students.

At YSU, she is an active member of the President’s Council, the College of Health and Human Services Board of Visitors, the Penguin Club and the YSU Housing Corporation Board.

“In my opinion, local representation on the NEOUCOM Board is critical to YSU and to the Mahoning Valley,” Dr. Bitonte Miladore said. “I will work to make sure that this Valley continues to be an equal partner in the NEOUCOM consortium, and plays an essential role in the further development of this institution.”

She is married to Dr. Michael J. Miladore, an orthopedic surgeon in Youngstown, and they have three sons, Michael and Nicholas, enrolled at NEOUCOM, and Joseph, a Canfield senior honor student selected as a member of the YSU/NEOUCOM consortium class of 2015.

Kohli, a native of India, received pre-medical education from Hindu College, New Delhi, India, and graduated from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

After serving in the armed forces of India as a general-duty medical officer for more than three years, he came to the United States in 1966 and began an internship and surgical residency at the Elyria, Ohio, Memorial Hospital. He performed neurosurgical residencies at the University Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh.

He has operated a private neurosurgical practice in Youngstown since 1972.

Dr. Kohli is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a fellow of the American College of International Physicians, the director of neurological surgery at St. Elizabeth Heatlh Center, a clinical professor of neurological surgery at Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy and a member of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

He is also a member of the American Medical Association, Ohio State Medical Association, Ohio State Neurosurgical Society, Mahoning County Medical Society, the Pain Section of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, World Spine Society, Indian Neurosurgical Society and the founding president of the American Association of Neurosurgeons from South East Asia.

The other new board members are: Gary Shamis of Solon, a managing partner for SS&G Financial Service since 1988; Steven Schmidt of Akron, system director of research and the director of the division of surgical research for Summa Health System; Dr. Anil Pirikh of Akron, a psychiatrist in private practice; Atty. Judith Lancaster of Massillon, special counsel to the Ohio attorney general; Eric Kodish of Shaker Heights, chairman of the department of bioethics at the Cleveland Clinic, executive director of the Cleveland Fellowship in Advanced Bioethics, and a professor of pediatrics at the Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University; and Steven Cress of Canton, president of Mid’s Pasta Sauces.