Top Docs 2012 Guide

Franklin Medical Group, a multispecialty group affiliated with Saint Mary’s Health System, is composed of more than 50 physicians–primary-care physicians and pediatricians as well as specialists in cardiology, pulmonary and sleep medicine, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, gynecology, surgical oncology, and general, breast and bariatric surgery–at 12 offices in Waterbury, Naugatuck, Prospect, Southbury, Watertown and Wolcott. All are committed to providing excellent state-of-the-art clinical care in warm, patient-friendly settings and maintaining a keen clinical edge by teaching and mentoring physicians in training. We are proud to acknowledge the recognition of seven of our outstanding, dedicated physicians–Drs. Mitchel Chere, Aziz Richi, Donald Rosenthal, Stephen Rubenstein, Juan Sanchez, Michael Simms and Ronald Zlotoff–as Connecticut “Top Docs.”
DR. MITCHEL CHERE earned his medical degree from the University of Guadalajara, where he was first in a class of 500 American students. He completed an internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the UConn School of Medicine, is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and founded a successful ob/gyn practice in Waterbury 28 years ago. In 2010 he joined Saint Mary’s Health System, where he was among the first to do minimally invasive surgery and laparoscopic hysterectomies. Today he practices gynecology exclusively.
DR. A. AZIZ RICHI interned at Worcester City Hospital after graduating from Damascus University in Syria. He completed residencies in general surgery at Saint Mary’s Hospital, in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and in cardiothoracic surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina. Board-certified in general, cardiothoracic and critical-care surgery, he does a variety of minimally invasive procedures in vascular, thoracic, oncological and bariatric surgery. He attributes his excellent results to paying strict “attention to detail, never cutting a corner and always being focused.”
DR. MICHAEL F. SIMMS III is a graduate of New York Medical College. He did his internship and residency at Stamford Hospital and a fellowship in infectious diseases at Brown University School of Medicine. He believes many infections can be treated by a patient’s own doctor and accepts new patients by physician referral only. “There is no set threshold for sickness” before seeing a patient, he says, but he is often referred cases that are difficult to diagnose or consulted for opinions on treatment. He is a widely sought-after speaker.
DR. JUAN SANCHEZ heads the Department of Surgery at Saint Mary’s Hospital. He received his M.D. from the University of Florida College of Medicine and a master’s from Harvard; he later completed an internship and residency in surgery at Georgetown University and a cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Board-certified in general and cardiothoracic surgery and a former heart and lung transplant surgeon, he embraces the latest techniques, including videoscopic lobectomy. He is also trained in the newest bronchoscopic equipment, which uses ultrasound to diagnose and stage lung cancer.
DR. STEPHEN R. RUBENSTEIN earned his undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis and his medical degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He completed his internship and residency at Waterbury Hospital, and a fellowship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. Board-certified in internal medicine, he also has a special interest in adult ADHD and Alzheimer’s disease. He believes that traditional internal medicine offers the comprehensive, personalized services that produce the best patient outcomes.
DR. RONALD A. ZLOTOFF earned his medical degree at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society. He remains committed to AOA’s goal, to be “worthy to serve the suffering.” Board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology, he gets many physician referrals to see “patients with symptoms no one seems able to figure out.” He adds that “while some patients with digestive disorders will get better on their own, sometimes it takes trained ears, eyes and hands to make a definite diagnosis.”