Two area residents have been named to key posts at Open Door Family Medical Center. Armonk resident Noi Sukaviriya has been named to the Open Door Foundation Board of Directors, while long-time Briarcliff Manor resident Marie Pennacchio has been named to Open Door’s Board of Directors.
Sukaviriya, a 17-year resident of the town and a long-time User Experience designer and researcher with IBM, plans to bring her corporate, design and technology expertise to the federally qualified health center. She is an expert in UX design, which focuses on the interaction between human users and everyday products and services. An extremely varied discipline, it combines aspects of psychology, business, research, design and technology. She presently leads an award-winning IBM Food Trust™ design team in providing food traceability solutions.
“Having spent many years in the corporate world, I’m really looking forward to working in the not-for-profit world and using my skills to support an organization like Open Door that plays such an important role in helping people who can’t afford health care,” she said. “I was impressed by how forward-thinking the organization is in terms of technology, and look forward to assisting in this new realm of telemedicine.”
Meanwhile, Pennachio, a 29-year resident of Briarcliff Manor, brings her experience as a nurse, corporate executive, entrepreneur, and artist to her new role. Pennacchio began her career as a hospital and private duty nurse before getting her MBA and entering the business world. She later opened a successful marketing firm. She also speaks Spanish, as do many of Open Door’s patients.
Pennacchio has been extremely active over the years in the community, serving as president of the Briarcliff Manor Public Library and spending many years as a family specialist volunteer in the Briarcliff Manor schools. She has served as a girl scout troop leader and taught religion classes at local churches.
The Open Door model of treating the whole patient by bringing in staff specialists, such as a behavior health expert or nutritionist to address their health and wellness needs, appealed to Pennacchio as both a one-time health professional and product manager.
“Open Door is the absolute embodiment of holistic care,” she said. “I was truly impressed with their collaborative care model, which I believe has a direct relationship on the success rates in patient compliance for the myriad health issues they address. In an age of uncertainty in many domains for the population they serve, this model restores control for the patient in countless ways.”
Open Door Family Medical Center’s mission has remained consistent since 1972: to provide high-quality health care that’s affordable, accessible and efficient.
Today, the federally qualified health center cares for over 60,000 adults and children every year in Westchester, Putnam and Ulster counties – with more than 300,000 patient visits and over 400 babies delivered annually – regardless of ability to pay. In addition to primary medical care, Open Door offers integrated dental care, pediatric care, women’s health care, behavioral health care, and wellness programs in its Ossining, Port Chester, Sleepy Hollow, Mount Kisco, Brewster, Mamaroneck locations, eight School-Based Health Centers in the Ossining and Port Chester school districts, dental van, and a dental practice is in Saugerties. For more information, visit www.opendoormedical.org.
