Newswise — Four residents and two fellows have graduated from the Hackensack Meridian JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute’s highly rated Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program. 

JFK Johnson offers a Residency Program in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In addition, there are two ACGME (Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education) subspecialty fellowships, one in pain medicine and another in brain injury medicine. 

The Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Residency Program receives Five Stars — the highest rating — from Doximity’s Residency Navigator, which provides information about residency programs to medical school graduates. Doximity is the leading professional network for American physicians. 

The subspecialty fellow graduates are:

  • Kathryn Altonji, M.D., brain injury 

  • Thomas Salazar, M.D., pain medicine 

The residency graduates are:

  •  Gabrielle Abissi, M.D. 

  •  Elisa Chiu, D.O. 

  •  David Lee, M.D. 

  •  Roy Taborda, M.D. 

“We’re incredibly proud of each and every one of our graduates,” said Sara J. Cuccurullo, M.D., chair and medical director of JFK Johnson. “We know they will contribute to the advancement of the specialty of physical medicine and rehabilitation around the nation — and provide the highest quality care for patients.”

The residency and fellowship program has vibrant and engaged alumni, including many who now work as medical directors, chairs, and residency directors in hospitals and rehabilitation institutes across the nation. The residency and fellowship program is fully accredited by ACGME. 

The program, based in Edison at JFK Johnson, is a joint program with Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. More than 200 residents have completed the program since it began more than 30 years ago.