Faculty
Hannah Robinson, DO, MPH
Program Director
Dr. Hannah Robinson is the Program Director of the Internal Medicine Residency
at Community Memorial Healthcare. She grew up in the Appalachian Mountains
of Virginia and attended college at Virginia Tech, where she earned a
B.S. in Psychology and a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies with emphases
in gender studies and religious studies.
Looking for a change of scenery, she moved to the Bay Area to attend Touro University – California, where she earned a Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine as well as a Master of Public Health, with an emphasis in global health. During this time, she fell in love with West Coast weather and culture.
She completed her residency at Community Memorial Healthcare, including a year as Chief Resident. She works as a Hospitalist for Pacific Inpatient Physicians. Outside of work, she enjoys cycling, golf, live music, and good food.
Ian Cahatol, DO
Associate Program Director
Dr. Ian Cahatol is the Associate Program Director of the Internal Medicine
Residency at Community Memorial Healthcare. He was born and raised in
Ventura County. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley,
before attending medical school at Western University of Health Sciences
in Pomona, California. He returned to Ventura to complete his internal
medicine residency at Community Memorial Healthcare and also completed
a year as Chief Resident.
Dr. Cahatol now works as a hospitalist for Pacific Inpatient Physicians. He is thrilled to remain involved with graduate medical education, viewing this as an opportunity to give back to his training program and to his home community. During his time off, Dr. Cahatol enjoys travel, photography, and running.
Starleen Frousiakis, MD
Associate Program Director
Dr. Starleen Frousiakis is the Associate Program Director of the Internal
Medicine Residency at Community Memorial Healthcare. She completed her
undergraduate studies at University of Southern California. After completing
a post-baccalaureate premedical program, Dr. Frousiakis pursued her medical
education at USC Keck School of Medicine, where she participated in the
Dean’s Research Scholars Program.
She completed residency training in Internal Medicine at Huntington Memorial Hospital prior to entering her hospitalist practice with Pacific Inpatient Physicians in Ventura. Dr. Frousiakis has a special interest in graduate medical education, evidence-based teaching models, and mentorship in medicine.
Dr. Frousiakis and her husband, Dr. Petros Frousiakis, have three children, George, Vernon, and Stella Rae; together they enjoy cooking at home, paddle boarding, and spending time at the beach.
Amir Arfaei, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Pulmonology
Dr. Amir Arfaei received his medical degree from Tehran University of
Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran in 1994. He completed his internal medicine
residency at St Luke’s- Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York. Dr.
Arfaei completed his fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine
at State University of New York (SUNY) downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn
in 2004. He joined Ventura Pulmonary and Critical Care Medical Group in
2008. Dr. Arfaei is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal medicine,
Pulmonary Diseases, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine. He has a special
interest in treating patients with obstructive sleep apnea. Dr. Arfaei
is a Fellow of American College of Chest Physicians. Together with his
wife and two sons, they live in Camarillo. He enjoys playing tennis, hiking
and skiing.
Pardis Dana, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Nephrology
Dr. Pardis Dana received his medical degree from the Iran University of
Medical Sciences in Tehran. Dr. Dana worked as a research associate at
the Endocrine and Diabetes Center in Vienna, VA before going on to complete
his internal medicine residency and nephrology fellowship at the University
of Florida in Gainesville.
Christopher Fernandez, DO
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Addiction Medicine
Dr. Christopher Fernandez is a board certified family medicine physician
with fellowship training in addiction medicine. He received his medical
degree from Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences and completed
his residency training at Comanche County Memorial Hospital Family Medicine
Residency Program in Lawton, Oklahoma. He recently completed his fellowship
training at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Dr. Fernandez has always had a passion for chronic disease and helping patients improve their quality of life. After seeing the need for addiction medicine treatment, Dr. Fernandez was able to establish an Opioid Use Disorder curriculum for his residency. After which, he continued with fellowship training in addiction medicine to further his expertise.
Mostafa Hammoudi, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Neurology
Dr. Mostafa Hammoudi received his medical degree from Damascus University
of Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency at University
of Damascus, a neurology residency at Creighton University, and a neurophysiology
epilepsy track fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dr.
Hammoudi is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
for neurology, neurophysiology and epilepsy.
Lukasz Iwanczyk, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Geriatrics
Dr. Lukasz Iwanczyk completed his residency in internal medicine at the
UCLA San Fernando Valley Program, and then a fellowship in geriatric medicine
at UCLA. He has worked as a hospitalist and geriatrician in the Conejo
Valley area since his fellowship, and has been at Community Memorial Hospital
since 2004 and more recently at Ojai Valley Community Hospital. He was
the Chief Hospitalist of the CMH inpatient program for eight years and
has interests in information technology as it relates to hospital medicine.
He is currently the CMIO of the Community Memorial Health System. He enjoys
surfing and lives with his wife, son and two dogs in Somis.
Lynn Kong, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Hematology-Oncology
Dr. Lynn Kong completed her undergraduate studies at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Kong pursued her medical education at Northwestern
University Medical School. She then completed Internal Medicine residency,
Fellowship training in Medical Oncology and Hematology at Northwestern
University. In 1997, she moved to Ventura with her husband Dr. Thomas
Kong and two children. She joined Ventura County Hematology Oncology Specialists.
Dr. Kong is board certified in Medical Oncology and Hematology. Dr Kong
is also Medical Director for the Commission on Cancer certified Comprehensive
Community Cancer Program at Community Memorial.
Kip Lyche, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Gastroenterology
Dr. Kip Lyche attended Thousand Oaks High School before he earned his
Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry graduating Magna Cum Laude in 1982
from UCLA. He went to the University of California, San Diego and received
his M.D. in 1986. His internship and residency were completed in 1989
at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and he was named Outstanding
Intern for 1986-1987. He completed his fellowship training in Gastroenterology
at UCSD in 1991.
Colin Scibetta, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Palliative Care
Dr. Colin Scibetta is board-certified in both internal medicine and hospice and palliative care. He attended medical school at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) where he developed an interest in the psychosocial determinants of health and enjoyed working with patients from the diverse populations of the San Francisco Bay area. He completed a 3-year internal medicine residency at University of California San Francisco, and subsequently remained there for a clinical fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine where his research focused on measuring the quality improvement impact of early Palliative Care consultation in patients with advanced cancer. Dr. Scibetta joined the Community Memorial Healthcare Medical Staff in 2018 where his practice focuses on caring for seriously ill patients and their families. He enjoys working closely with medical students and resident physicians to teach palliative care best practices with a focus on communication in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Angelica Shepard, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Rheumatology
Dr. Angelica Shepard specializes in rheumatology. She received her medical
degree from St. George's University School of Medicine in Grenada, West
Indies, completed a residency in categorical internal medicine at East
Carolina University, and a rheumatology fellowship at Cedars Sinai Medical Center.
Dr. Shepard is board certified and is a member of the American College of Rheumatology.
Tricia Westhoff-Pankratz, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Endocrinology
Dr. Tricia Westhoff-Pankratz attended UCLA for her undergraduate work
and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelors of Science degree in 1993.
She attended University of Southern California Medical School and graduated
with Highest Distinction in 1997 in the top 5% of her class. She was awarded
the Janet M. Glasgow Award given to the top two female medical students
in the graduating class. She did her residency in Internal Medicine at
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center 1997-2000 and a combined fellowship in Adult
and Pediatric Endocrinology at Harbor-UCLA from 2000-2002. She is board
certified in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. Dr. Tricia Westhoff-Pankratz
has been in private practice in Endocrinology in Ventura County since
2002. She is the Endocrinology attending physician at Community Memorial
Hospital in Ventura , teaching and supervising medical students and resident
physicians in the field of Endocrinology. She is highly regarded in her
field and has participated in clinical research, co-authored and published
medical papers, and has spoken at numerous speaking engagements. She has
over 20 years of experience treating complex endocrine disorders, including
performing over 6,000 ultrasound-guided thyroid biopsies in the office.
She is highly respected by her peers and known for an exceptional bedside
manner. She is bilingual in Spanish and delivers patient care with integrity,
enthusiasm and genuine caring.
Byungwoo Choi, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Infectious Diseases
Omid Fatemi, MD
Subspecialty Education Coordinator, Cardiology
Christina Desai, MD
Core Faculty
Dr. Christina Desai attended Albert Einstein College of Medicine and then
completed her Internal Medicine residency at Montefiore Medical Center
in New York. After graduation, she worked as a hospitalist in Omaha, Nebraska
and at UT Southwestern Dallas until she started working at Community Memorial
Health System in 2012. Dr. Desai is the CMO of the Pacific Inpatient Physician
and also enjoys her roles in CMH Medical Staff. She especially enjoys
improving workflow and physician autonomy. In her spare time, Dr. Desai
is an avid traveler, foodie, and recreational tennis player.
Robert Bernstein, MD
Core Faculty
Dr. Robert Bernstein graduated cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham
Massachusetts. He is a native of the Philadelphia area and was awarded
his medical degree with honors from Temple University School of Medicine
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He distinguished himself in medical school
and received awards for achieving the highest grade point average in his
medical school class as well as awards in internal medicine, neurology,
and medical microbiology. He completed his internal medicine internship
and residency at the University of California at Los Angeles. He continued
his postgraduate training at the University of California at San Diego
where he was a Will Rogers Fellow and completed a pulmonary and critical
care medicine fellowship. He was mentored by Kenneth Moser and performed
research in pulmonary vascular diseases including original investigation
in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary arterial
hypertension. Dr. Bernstein is board-certified by the American Board of
Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Diseases, and Critical
Care Medicine and continues to maintain his certification status. He is
a fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and holds memberships
in the American Thoracic Society and California Thoracic Society. Dr.
Bernstein is married and has three sons and one grandson. His interests
include exercise, music, snow skiing, hiking, and mountain biking.
Amanda Frugoli, DO
Core Faculty
Dr. Mandy Frugoli received her bachelor’s degree with honors from
Idaho State University. She attended Western University of Health Sciences
College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific and graduated with honors
in the top 1% of her class. She earned recognition for academic excellence
from the American Women’s Medical Association (AMWA) Glasgow-Rubin
Certificates of Commendation for Academic Achievement and the San Miguel
Association Medical Scholarship. During her medical school training, she
was based at Community Memorial Healthcare for many of her clerkship rotations.
She completed her residency in internal medicine at Community Memorial
Healthcare.
Dr. Frugoli is a compassionate and empathetic physician with over ten years
of experience in the ambulatory and inpatient setting. She is recognized
as a Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Internists. Dr. Frugoli
is passionate about providing exceptional patient care, teaching, and
advancing medical knowledge through rigorous research. She has published
over thirty journal articles. She oversees research initiatives and quality
improvement projects in the Internal and Family Medicine residency programs.
She also identifies as an evidence enthusiast, professional nerd, and
NORD huntress.
Alexandra Morath-Shap, DO
Core Faculty
Dr. Alexandra Morath-Shap grew up in Minnesota before moving to California
to become a photographer. She attended Brooks Institute of Photography
and worked in the industry for several years before pursuing her ultimate
dream of becoming a physician. She did a post-baccalaureate program in
Biology at the University of Minnesota and then returned to California
to attend Western University of Health Sciences for medical school. She
first joined CMH in her third year of medical school and went on to match
into their Internal Medicine Residency two years later. Given her love
of the community she has remained as a hospitalist with Pacific Inpatient
Physicians at Community Memorial and is proud to be a part of the graduate
medical education program in both a teaching and mentoring capacity.
Outside of the hospital, Dr. Morath-Shap enjoys travelling and spending time with her two sons.
Gordon Pelegrin, MD
Core Faculty
Dr. Gordon Pelegrin was born and raised in Northern Virginia. He attended the University of Virginia where he earned a bachelor of science degree before completing his master’s degree in physiology at Georgetown University. For medical school, he matriculated at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, graduating in 2016. He stayed on for another three years at the Georgetown University Hospital for his Internal Medicine residency. Looking to further his education, he underwent fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx during the height of the COVID19 pandemic, graduating from the program in 2022. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine. Following fellowship, he moved to Ventura to join the practice. In his free time, he enjoys reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, spending time at the beach, and touring local breweries.
