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Message ..Achieving Excellence in Patient SafetyIt is with great honor that I share with you two signicant safety awards bestowed upon St. John’s Hospitals. We are proud to announce that St. John’s Hospital Camarillo has once again earned an “A” grade from The Leapfrog Group for hospital safety in Spring 2025! This marks sixth consecutive Leapfrog “A” grade, solidifying us among the safest hospitals in the nation, a testament to our ongoing commitment to patient safety. What makes this accomplishment even more remarkable is that 19 Dignity Health hospitals across California — including ours — earned an “A” this cycle, the highest number achieved by any health system in the state.In addition, Healthgrades has honored St. John’s Hospitals with the 2025 Patient Safety Excellence Award! Once again, our collective eorts are being recognized, as we continue to provide the highest quality care to our patients and communities. This award places St. John’s in the top 5% of hospitals nationwide for patient safety and marks the third consecutive year that we have received this recognition. Hospitals receiving this award consistently demonstrate superior clinical quality, while exceeding safety thresholds across numerous indicators and criteria, including the following:• Pressure Ulcer Rate• Postoperative Hemorrhage/Hematoma Rate• Postoperative Respiratory Failure Rate• Postoperative Sepsis RateAs with our previous Healthgrades honors, this is no small feat and truly represents the way our entire team continues to come together to put the safety of our patients above all else. Please know that each and every one of you plays an indispensable role in helping our hospitals receive these honors and making St. John’s a pillar of excellence.Patrick Caster President & CEO St. John’s HospitalsKEEPING PHYSICIANS ABREAST OF THE LATEST NEWS AND INFORMATION AT DIGNITY HEALTH – ST. JOHN’S HOSPITALSSUMMER 2025Medical Dialogue.Making Strides – 5 Races in 5 Days in 5 StatesThis past May, Guillermo Rios Rios, MD, Pediatrician, at St. John’s Regional Medical Center crossed a nish line ve times! Dr. Rios Rios completed ve marathon races in ve days in ve states: Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and Connecticut. Congratulations on this remarkable achievement.
2 St. John’s Medical Dialogue.Physicians’ SpotlightIn each issue of Medical Dialogue, we feature a Medical Executive Committee member so our physicians can get to know them better. In this issue, meet Niusha Damaghi, MD, Department Chair of Medicine.Dr. Damaghi is board certied in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine and neurocritical care. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada, West Indies, followed by an internal medicine residency from Drexel University College of Medicine and Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, and a pulmonary and critical care fellowship from Keck School of Medicine of USC in Los Angeles. He has utilized his skills and expertise to treat patients at St. John’s since 2018.I entered the medical field because…I was always drawn to the sciences, with particular interest in molecular biology, genetics/genomics, and pathophysiology. I was also interested in research and development and spent some time doing lab and clinical research with the goal of bringing “bench to bedside.” I like to ask questions and problem solve. Combined with my love of meeting and interacting with people, hearing their stories, and learning about them, I knew medicine was the right path for me. I consider myself very lucky to be doing something I love on a daily basis.The best thing about being in critical care is…the excitement, complexity of patient care, teamwork that is needed to treat patients, and day-to-day challenges that are unique in their own way. No patient is the same, and disease processes don’t always present like a textbook in the ICU. So it’s important to have the ability to apply certain sets of guidelines, while at the same time know when to pivot if they aren’t working. Ultimately, the ICU is humbling because no matter how much knowledge you have attained, there will always be something new to learn. At the end of the day though, you can feel certain that your work has impacted others, whether it’s the patient, their family or other sta members. And you can certainly expect to have been impacted by them. The best vacation I ever took was…to Maui. Exploring such a beautiful island was really special for my wife and I. We loved the golden Wailea Betach, the crystal blue waters, hiking Kapaula, and visiting the waterfalls. It was one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. When I’m not working… I love to spend time with my family. We love to travel and our goal is to visit a new place at least twice a year. I also like to golf, cook and otherwise stay active. The words I try to live by are…“Better is possible. It does not take genius. It takes diligence. It takes moral clarity. It takes ingenuity. And above all, it takes a willingness to try.”– Atul GawandeNiusha Damaghi, MD Department Chair of MedicineMedical Staff OfficersChief of Staff Stephen Evans, MDTreasurer Joseph LoPresti, MD, and Immediate Past Chief of StaffDepartment ChairsAnesthesiology Parvinjit Dhaliwal, DOEmergency Services Chris Chauhan, MD Medicine Niusha Damaghi, MDOB/GYN Peter Robilio, MDPathology Joanna Xie, MDPediatrics Guillermo Rios Rios, MDRadiology William Deruso, MDSurgery John Baber, MD“Let me tell you the secret that has led me to my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity.”– Louis Pasteur
St. John’s Medical Dialogue 3..Healing Hands AwardsHealing Hands Awards are presented each quarter to recognize physicians who demonstrate exceptional bedside manner, embody excellence in care and skill, and go above and beyond to touch the lives of our patients, their families and the communities we serve. Congratulations to our recent honorees.St. John’s Hospital Camarillo Elizabeth Nguyen, MD Internal MedicineDr. Nguyen’s recognition from a grateful patient reads in part:“I was never so excited to see a doctor as good as Dr. Nguyen. She was very knowledgeable and thoroughly explained my medicines and complications that could arise from my condition. She was also pleasant, inserted humor when appropriate, and I could relate to her easily. She was cheerful, extremely sharp and I have never liked a doctor more.”St. John’s Regional Medical CenterAkinwunmi Oni-Orisan, MD NeurosurgeryDr. Oni-Orisan’s recognition from several nurses he’s inspired read in part:“Dr. Oni has made groundbreaking strides at our hospital. Easygoing, ambitious, and driven by a tenacious desire to go bigger, he understands that new procedures and advancements come with their own challenges. Yet, his commitment to our nurses, patients and everyone involved in patient care remains unwavering. I truly admire how he always answers a call, no matter how busy he is. Plus, he maintains an exceptional bedside manner, creating a sense of trust and comfort for every patient while working seamlessly with the interdisciplinary team.” Welcome New Physicians to the St. John’s Hospital FamilyAnesthesiologyMark Richman, MDDiagnostic RadiologyStefan Franciosa, MDJennifer Kosek, MDEmergency Medicine Richard Alegre, DOCourtney Teague, PAFamily Medicine/ObstetricsEva R. Campos, DOInfectious DiseaseDena Werner, MDInternal MedicineMahyar Afrooz, MDBenjamin Capper, MDShashank Kailash, MDRachel Kim, DONabeel Najmuddin, MDAzmmohammad Naseem, DOIoan Puscas, DOBrian Sherman, MDNeurologyBrian Miremadi, MD PediatricsSonia E. Pinzon-Arellano, MDPodiatryOliver T. Wang, DPMRadiologyEmily Doran-McCoy, PA Tele-Child Neurology Emma Carter, MDAndrew Kim, MDTele-NeurologyShanti Thirumalai, MDTele-RadiologyBrian Ellison, MDPatrick Hammill, MD
4 St. John’s Medical Dialogue.CALL FOR ARTICLES: We encourage members of the St. John’s Hospital Camarillo and St. John’s Regional Medical Center Staff to submit information or articles for publication in the Medical Dialogue. We welcome your input! Please contact Tracie Gipson, Editor, at 818.522.4574 or tracie.cheesemangipson@CommonSpirit.org.EDITORIAL TEAMLynn Jeffers, MDCMO, St. John’s Regional Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital CamarilloRenee ShimitzSenior Director, Medical Staff ServicesChristina ZicklinMedical DialogueEditorial DirectorTracie GipsonMedical Dialogue EditorVisit St John’s CMO Information Website at bit.ly/sjdoctorsHappy Retirement Dr. Julian ChiangWe’d like to extend our best wishes to Julian Chiang, MD, OBGYN, as he pursues the next chapter in his life. Dr. Chiang has been an integral member of PHC’s St. John’s Regional Medical Center OBGYN Hospitalist Program since its inception in 2023. Prior to that, he was a part of the OB24 program for six years, and has been aliated with St. John’s for the last 46 years! We thank him for his long history of excellence in service to our patients in the Oxnard and Camarillo communities.Physicians’ Week WrapupThank you to all of our physicians who joined us for St. John’s Hospitals’ Physicians’ Week celebrations in March. Throughout the week, physicians at both campuses enjoyed a variety of daily oerings – including a specialty coee cart and cinnamon rolls, breakfasts, a taco bar, sushi bar and CommonSpirit windbreakers – all of which provided great opportunities to connect and build camaraderie. The week was followed by our Physician Appreciation Dinner in April. These events signify the hospital administration’s heartfelt appreciation for your dedication, compassion and everything you do for our patients 24/7/365!Physicians in the NewsWe’d like to thank and recognize the following physicians who were recently featured in the local media. Jeery Davies, MD, Medical Director of the ED, was featured in numerous media outlets to discuss the inux of respiratory viral illnesses that impacted emergency rooms regionwide, including ABC Channel 7 News, Becker’s Hospital Review, Pacic Coast Business News, Camarillo Acorn, Moorpark Acorn and the Ventura Acorn.Bradley Hiner, MD, Medical Director of Parkinson’s and Movement Disorders at St. John’s, joined the KTLA Channel 5 team to discuss the signs, symptoms and treatment options of Parkinson’s Disease. He was also featured on ABC Channel 7 News and KNX 1070 Newsradio on the same subject.Edwin Ramirez, MD, OB/GYN, joined the KCAL Channel 9 News team to discuss childbirth complications, after a reghter’s wife recently died during labor from a rare event known as an amniotic uid embolism.Terry Simpson, MD, Surgery, recently joined the Spectrum One team to discuss Governor Newsom’s executive order limiting ultra-processed foods and dyes. George Yu, MD, Pulmonology, was featured in the Thousand Oaks Acorn to discuss the impact that Daylight Savings Time has on our health.Physicians, L&D nurses, staff and friends recently came together to celebrate the retirement of Dr. Julian Chiang (pictured 2nd from left).