Each year, the staff at Cottage Health System is asked to submit nominations for Physician of the Year at each of the system’s hospitals. The criteria for eligibility include:
» Exemplary performance in dedication to the profession and patients.
» Respect and courtesy (professionalism).
» Collaborative practice and the efficient use of resources
Four physicians recently were chosen and honored at the annual medical staff meeting at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara. The 2008 Physicians of the Year from each of the system’s hospitals are :
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital (two physicians honored)
Ronald Ungerer, M.D.
Specialty: pulmonary and critical care medicine
Began practice in Santa Barbara in 1984
Native of Buffalo, N.Y.
Undergraduate degree from Princeton University, and medical school at UCLA
Residency and Pulmonary fellowship at UCLA Medical Center for the Health Sciences
Andrew Gersoff, M.D.
Specialty: internal medicine
Joined SBCH medical staff in 1979
Native of New York City, N.Y.
Undergraduate degree from Yale University, and medical school at State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo
Internship and residency at Maricopa County General Hospital in Phoenix, Ariz.
Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital
Robin Knauss, M.D.
Specialty: emergency medicine
Joined GVCH medical staff in 1997
Native of San Francisco
Undergraduate degree from USC, Medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Internship and residency in emergency medicine at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda
Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital
Stanley Berman, M.D.
Specialty: emergency medicine
Joined SYVCH in 2001
Native of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Undergraduate degree from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., and medical school at New York University School of Medicine
Internship in surgery at NYU, Bellevue Hospital in New York City
Residency in surgery: two years at Bellevue, then two years at SUNY Buffalo
Maria Zate represents Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.