Atrius Health Welcomes Three New Clinicians to its Board of Trustees

January 2020 – Atrius Health is pleased to welcome Dr. Karen DaSilva, Dr. Bonnie Hersh and Dr. Kathy Niknejad as new members to its Board of Trustees, and announce the re-election of Dr. Joo Kim to the Board. Atrius Health physicians elect physician Trustees to the Board, representing Atrius Health’s commitment to the strength of provider-patient relationships and providing the right clinical care.

“Our incoming Board members exemplify the compassionate and coordinated care we strive to deliver each of our patients. They also offer impressive clinical leadership in primary and specialty care across our practice,” said Dr. Steve Strongwater, President & CEO of Atrius Health. “We are pleased to welcome new and existing members to the Board, and we look forward to working together to advance our mission to provide high-quality, patient-centered, and cost-effective care to everyone we serve.”

Karen DaSilva, MD – Dr. DaSilva has served as a primary care internist at Atrius Health’s Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates Chelmsford practice since 1994. Over the years, she has taken on several leadership roles including Vice President of Innovation at Atrius Health. In this role, Dr. DaSilva was a driving force in developing improved care delivery models to meet the low-cost, high-quality care demands of the current healthcare environment. In addition, she served as the organization’s Specialty Director for Internal Medicine, where she oversaw the delivery of primary care across more than 20 practice sites.

Dr. DaSilva also served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, where she led the development of a new geriatric care model and several disease management programs. She spearheaded the practice’s early work in the development of a patient-centered medical home program, which ultimately led to Atrius Health’s primary care practices receiving Level 3 Patient-Centered Medical Homes from The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), the highest possible national certification. She received her medical degree from Albany Medical College and completed her internship and residency at Albany Medical Center Hospital in New York. Dr. DaSilva is board-certified in internal medicine and hematology. 

Bonnie Hersh, MD – As Chief of Neurology at Atrius Health, Dr. Hersh leads Atrius Health’s Neurology Department, which provides a complete range of general and subspecialty neurological care including comprehensive diagnosis, management and follow-up for the full spectrum of neurological needs. Dr. Hersh has worked at Atrius Health since 2000 when she joined its Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates practice. Dr. Hersh has a subspecialty interest in movement disorders and practices at the practice’s Boston Kenmore and Chelmsford sites. She is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Dr. Hersh attended medical school at McGill University in Montreal and did her internship at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA. She completed her neurology residency at Harvard Medical School’s Harvard-Longwood Neurology Training Program. She then completed fellowship training in movement disorders at Boston Medical Center and neurophysiology/EMG at Massachusetts General Hospital. Prior to joining to Atrius Health, Dr. Hersh was on the neurology staff at Boston Medical Center.

Kathy Niknejad, MD – As Chief of Urology at Atrius Health, Dr. Niknejad leads Atrius Health’s Urology Department, which is devoted to treating a wide range of urologic conditions and strives to provide all patients with excellent and compassionate care. Dr. Niknejad has worked at Atrius Health since 2004 when she joined Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates’ Chestnut Hill / West Roxbury and Kenmore practices. After joining Harvard Vanguard, she served as its Surgical Specialties Medical Director for four years. During that time, she also served as the practice’s Chief of General Surgery and Urology.

Dr. Niknejad is a board-certified urologist. She received her undergraduate degree from San Diego State University in CA, and she graduated from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Niknejad completed her internship and residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is an instructor in surgery at Harvard Medical School. 

Joo Kim, MD – Dr. Kim serves as Associate Chair of Atrius Health’s internal medicine service line and has worked as a primary care internist at Atrius Health’s Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates’ practice in Watertown, MA since 2003. She enters her second term as a Board clinician trustee.

Dr. Kim received her medical degree from The Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at The University of Vermont, and completed her undergraduate education at Brown University. She completed her internship and residency at Cambridge Hospital in Massachusetts and is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.