Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series on October 27 Focuses on Alzheimer’s Disease
Posted by: Elizabeth Richardson on October 4, 2022, No Comments
Yvonne Troiani-Sweeney ’78 always had passion for the well-being of her patients. She dedicated her life to her nursing career that spanned 30 years after earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (ESU) and a graduate degree in nursing from Villanova. Her colleagues and patients became her second family. Nursing led her to leadership roles at what is now the Lehigh Valley Health Network, Franklin Square Hospital in Maryland, Albert Einstein Medical Center, and the Geisinger Health System. Wherever her occupation led her, she became an inspiration to others for the incredible level of care she delivered every day.
All of that changed 11 years ago for Sweeney and her family, who live in Mountain Top, Pa. Diagnosed with a form of early onset dementia called posterior cortical atrophy, she set aside her career and focused her energy on the daily challenges she faced, alongside her loving husband, Chris, and her two sons, Christopher III and Michael.
Support came in many ways from Sweeney’s family. Her sister, Linda Niedbala ’83, with the help of her husband, Sam Niedbala ’82, started the Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series at ESU, which kicked off in March 2014. The Niedbalas wanted this initiative to be a lasting tribute to Sweeney’s devotion to others while making a significant contribution to the education of health care professionals and the community-at-large about the cognitive impairment associated with dementia and other diseases of a similar nature.
The lecture series will continue, for the 10th year, on Thursday, October 27 with a keynote address by Neti Nilesh Vora, MD FACP, titled “Alzheimer’s Disease: Innovations and New Directions.”
Dr. Vora joined Lehigh Valley Health Network, Geriatric Medicine in the Department of Medicine in 2015. She was recently appointed the Chief of Division in 2022. Dr. Vora completed her medical education at KJ Somaiya Medical School, Mumbai India in 2003. She completed her United States Medical Licensing Exams in 2006 and her internal medicine residency in 2009 at Eastern Virginia Medical School. In addition, she completed a geriatric fellowship in 2010 from Glennan Center of Geriatrics and Gerontology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. Dr. Vora worked as a hospitalist at St Joseph Medical Center, Reading from 2010-2015, prior to joining LVHN.
Dr. Vora is very passionate about care for the elderly and continues to work tirelessly for improving overall health care and outcomes in the elderly. She works with patients living with dementia and their caregivers/families through Fleming Memory Center. One of her focus areas includes improving acute care for the elderly, especially those suffering from dementia. She has been the physician lead for an education grant through administration of community living (ACL). She also served as sub-investigator for the MIND study sponsored by the National Institute of Health. Dr. Vora additionally serves as assistant professor for the University of South Florida Medical School and works with medical students on research, education, mentoring and fostering their interest in the field of geriatrics. She has been awarded “Top Teacher” in the department of internal medicine at LVHN the last three consecutive years for educating internal medicine residents. Dr. Vora has regularly lectured on geriatric medicine and care at grand rounds for St. Joseph Medical Center, the Geriatric Trauma Conference at LVHN, and other conferences.
The Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture will take place in the Niedbala Auditorium located inside Warren E. ’55 & Sandra Hoeffner Science and Technology Center at 6 p.m. A reception will follow the presentation. The event is open to the general public at no cost.
“This endowed lecture series is a tremendous gift to the university and to our medical community,” said ESU Interim President Kenneth Long.
To register for the event, please visit www.esufoundation.org/troiani-sweeney-lecture-series-2022, or call (570) 422-3332. Space is limited for this event. For more information about the lecture series, please contact the College of Health Sciences at (570) 422-3425 or swerkheis4@esu.edu. Those interested in making a gift to the Troiani-Sweeney Endowed Fund Lecture Series may contact the ESU Foundation at www.esufoundation.org/givenow or call (570) 422-3333.
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