Board of Directors
Lynn Bassini, MA, OTR, CHT
coFounder
Originally from Guatemala City, Lynn graduated from University of Pennsylvania in 1977 with a BS in Occupational Therapy and in 1982 a Masters in Biomechanics and Ergonomics from New York University. She has been a hand therapist since the foundation of the American Society of Hand Therapists in 1977. From 1979 to 1982 she was a therapist and chief at Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. Since 1981 Lynn has been in private practice. She passed the first certification in hand therapy offered in 1991 and later became an item writer for the Hand Certification Exam.
She has presented at many conferences and published several research papers co-authored with hand surgeon. In 1998 she became the recipient of the Vargas Award and traveled with Dr. Alan Freeland to Venezuela. In 2001 she was asked to serve a three year term in the Board of Directors for the AAHS and in 2004 organized and led the Vargas mission to Guatemala. Lynn was awarded the 2006 Paul Brand Award and the American Association for Hand Surgery Humanitarian Award in 2016.
Sharon Andruskiwec, PT, CHT
Ms. Andruskiwec has she has practiced as an Orthopedic Physical Therapist for over 30 years. She has been certified as a Hand Therapist since 1999. Presently she is responsible for providing hand and upper extremity therapy as well as development and supervision of the hand programs for Orthopedic Specialty Group in Fairfield Connecticut. Sharon was the AAHS 2004 Vargas Award recipient which brought her to Guatemala on the teaching and medical mission that resulted in the establishment of GHHF. She is active in American Society of Hand Therapists, American Association for Hand Surgery, and on the board of the Orthopedic Specialty Group Education Foundation.
Gretchen Bachman, OTD, OTR/L, MBA, CHT
Dr. Gretchen Bachman is an Assistant Clinical Professor for the Occupational Therapy Program at Northern Arizona University, located on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. Gretchen served as an adjunct faculty member while working in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area until 2018, and is currently full-time faculty within the Occupational Therapy Department. Dr. Bachman teaches a variety of courses in the Program related to leadership and management, physical disabilities, evaluation and outcome measures, scholarship, and the upper extremity. Further, she serves on various committees within the University and is a preceptor with Street Medicine Phoenix, a student-driven interprofessional health care and social justice team consisting of students and faculty primarily from the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University.
Dr. Bachman has served on both the Board of Directors for the American Society of Hand Therapists (ASHT) and the American Association of Hand Surgery. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors for the American Hand Therapy Foundation. She has served on research, education and international committees with both the International Federations of Societies for Hand Therapy and the American Society of Hand Therapists. She continues to be actively involved with various divisions and committees with ASHT. Dr. Bachman currently serves on the Editorial Board for the peer-reviewed journal, HAND, and is a peer reviewer for the Open Journal of Occupational Therapy.
Rebecca Neiduski, PhD, OTR/L, CHT
Dr. Rebecca Neiduski was announced as the 18th president of Wartburg College on Monday, March 21. President Neiduski comes to Wartburg from Elon University where she served as the dean of the School of Health Sciences. As the academic and financial leader of the School of Health Sciences, she led efforts to establish the first undergraduate majors in the School of Health Sciences and an accelerated pathways program that dovetails undergraduate and graduate curricula; helped execute Elon’s most recent strategic plan and served as co-chair of one of the plan’s working groups; and advanced diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the School of Health Sciences by championing the establishment of committees who engage students, faculty, and staff in monthly educational events, empowering structural change in hiring and admissions processes, and building curricular and co-curricular opportunities dedicated to advancing health equity.
Prior to her work at Elon, President Neiduski was the chair and program director for the Department of Occupational Therapy and a professor of occupational therapy at Concordia University Wisconsin from 2013 to 2017 and an associate professor of occupational therapy with tenure at Maryville University from 2002 to 2013.
Miguel Pirela-Cruz, MD
Dr. Pirela-Cruz is currently the Chairman and Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at The Paul L. Foster School of Medicine /Texas Tech University in El Paso, Texas. He is also a President of the Thomas Jefferson Hand Club, Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Pirela-Cruz is also a member of many professional organizations including the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, American Association for Hand Surgery, American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and ASHT. He has received research and educational grants, published many articles, and has been involved in community service around the world. He is a talented artist and musician. Dr. Pirela-Cruz was the co-leader and accompanying physician on the Vargas 2004 mission.
Vipul Patel, MD
Dr. Patel is a board-certified Orthopedic surgeon currently practicing in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY. He also serves as Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at New York University's Langone Hospital for Joint Diseases. He also teaches orthopedic surgery residents at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center. Dr. Patel’s expertise is in complex hand and upper extremity problems with a focused approach in both nonsurgical and surgical solutions. He has extensive experience in the surgical and non-surgical care of: General orthopedic conditions, fractures of the elbow, forearm, wrist and hand; arthritis of the wrist, thumb and fingers; flexor and extensor tendon injuries; chronic and acute wrist pain and tendonitis problems; nerve lacerations and compression syndromes (cubital, carpal tunnel); tumors, and infections and reconstruction of arthritic conditions.
Trained at Harvard Medical School, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, and SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Dr. Patel is sub-specialized in Hand, Upper Extremity and Microvascular Surgery. Through his residency training at in NYU/ Hospital for Joint Diseases, one of the nation’s top orthopedic surgery residency programs, and his subsequent fellowship at Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Patel has become one of the few hand surgeons in the nation to have extensive experience in complex hand and upper extremity conditions. Dr. Patel has also obtained additional microsurgery training at the Microsurgery Training and Research Laboratory at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and also completed a fellowship in Orthopedic Biomechanics at the Musculoskeletal Research Center at Hospital for Joint Diseases.
Mona B. Lipson, MPA
Cofounder,
Director of Development & Operations
Mona cofounded the Guatemala Healing Hands Foundation in 2004 and continues to lead volunteer groups to Guatemala today.
Mona is a determined, agile, and resourceful community builder with a unique breadth of experience across the nonprofit and corporate social impact sectors. Some may say she’s a “serial connector” with expertise in account management, cross-sector collaboration, and business development. She’s been responsible for both securing and managing partnerships and accounts across Fortune 500 companies, global brands, and national nonprofit organizations and launching her own entrepreneurial endeavors. From a grassroots international healthcare organization to uniting hundreds of ice cream makers fighting for racial justice, to securing millions of dollars for girls’ STEM education, Mona has spent the last 18 years working to drive sustainable lasting change and use business as a force for good. Mona holds a Master of Administration in Nonprofit Management from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at NYU and a Bachelor of Science from Boston University.
Jay Talsania, MD
A native of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Dr. Talsania was the first fellowship-trained hand surgeon in the Lehigh Valley and joined OAA in 1997. His practice is devoted to the management of the hand and upper extremities. He has extensive experience in the surgical and non-surgical care of: fractures of the elbow, forearm, wrist and hand; arthritis of the wrist, thumb and fingers; flexor and extensor tendon injuries; chronic and acute wrist pain and tendonitis problems; nerve compression syndromes (cubital, carpal and radial tunnel); tumors, infections, and reconstruction of arthritic conditions. Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Talsania received an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering. This combination of engineering and medicine gives him a unique perspective in the treatment of his patients because he has such a strong understanding of the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system.
Dr. Talsania is committed to research and education and has published several articles on hand surgery topics. His research has also been published in peer review journals. Most importantly, Dr. Talsania is committed to patient education, as well as educating the community, physicians and therapists in the recognition and treatment of hand disorders.