Faculty

Message from the Program Director

Greetings,

The mission of the Eisenhower Medical Center (EMC) Emergency Medicine (EM) Residency Training Program is to provide you with a broad-based learning program in a highly supportive environment of inquiry to prepare you for independent practice in the specialty. The residency program is designed to guide you in developing competencies necessary to become outstanding clinicians, capable of managing diverse, high-acuity patient populations, and for you to become a leader and advocate for your community.

The EM residency is a three-year training program, which became accredited in 2018. The inaugural intern class began in July 2019. We started small with 6 residents for our first 3 classes, but have since expanded our complement, initially to 8 and now to 10 positions per year. The EM training is primarily based at EMC emergency department (ED), one of the busiest, highest acuity and top-rated hospitals in California with over 85,000 visits per year. We are a stroke and STEMI cardiac receiving center, with a full complement of on-call specialty physicians. The nursing and ancillary support staff is truly outstanding. The support for GME starts at the highest level of hospital leadership and provides for a superlative educational experience. Eisenhower Health is the premier medical institution providing lifesaving and community care to the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California.

The EM residency is a three-year training program, which became accredited in 2018. The inaugural intern class began in July 2019. We started small with 6 residents for our first 3 classes, but have since expanded our complement, initially to 8 and now to 10 positions per year. The EM training is primarily based at EMC emergency department (ED), one of the busiest, highest acuity and top-rated hospitals in California with over 85,000 visits per year. We are a stroke and STEMI cardiac receiving center, with a full complement of on-call specialty physicians. The nursing and ancillary support staff is truly outstanding. Our EM faculty comes from an extremely diverse training background, from medical schools, residencies, and fellowships throughout the country. You will gain from this broad training background by learning many different practice management perspectives. All of the attending providers are extremely supportive of our training program. We have an amazing team of faculty, including experts in ultrasound, social emergency medicine, EMS, toxicology, education, simulation, quality and informatics. We have EM fellowships in Ultrasound and Education, and host Medical Students for sub-I EM clerkships, EM ultrasound rotations, and now Toxicology as well.

The top-notch clinical experience you will gain at our busy community site is augmented by rotations at a premier pediatric tertiary care center, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Our residents spend one month each year rotating there for pediatric emergency medicine, as well as a rotation in the pediatric ICU and pediatric cardiac care unit. All housing and logistical needs for this time away are covered by the program.

One of the unique features of the program is the balance it provides between a very busy community hospital ED, but also with a firmly established and developed graduate medical education infrastructure. The support for GME starts at the highest level of hospital leadership and provides for a superlative educational experience. Our GME department manages over 100 learners each year, including from additional residencies in Family Medicine and Internal Medicine as well as additional fellowships in Infectious Disease, Pulmonology , Sports Medicine, Geriatrics and Addiction Medicine.

Our practice environment is ideal for EM residents to gain experience working with highly trained attending physicians from many different specialities, while still primarily managing patients on their own, given the lack of extensive in-house specialty consultant residency services. Our EM program is “unopposed”, with no other procedurally focused residencies in the hospital. Not only do EM residents get access to extensive procedural experience in the department, they also respond to the rest of the hospital for many procedures as well. Our residents cover all airway codes throughout the hospital, and also cover for critical venous access procedures such as central venous access, ultrasound guided peripheral lines, and emergent temporary hemodialysis catheter placement overnight.

At EMC you will become highly trained in performing all lifesaving critical ED procedures, you will participate in one of the best point-of-care ultrasound training programs in the country and you will have an extremely engaging EM high-fidelity simulation of real patient cases tailored to your training level. We have a balanced mixture of experienced community attending physicians highly motivated to teach residents with several physicians with extensive university-based teaching experience. By training at EMC, you will benefit from the best of both perspectives.

We know residency is a critical time in your development. We believe it should be the most memorable time in your professional life. We strive to provide the highest quality education, while maintaining your wellness and personal health.

I look forward to meeting you and getting to know you.

Matthias Barden, MD FACEP

Program Director

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Matthias Barden, MD FACEP

Professional Details

Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine*
Years in Practice: 10 years
Years on Staff: 10 years
Languages: English, Spanish

Professional Education

Medical School: KECK – University of Southern California
Internship: Loma Linda University Medical Center
Residency: Loma Linda University Medical Center

Board Certification

American Board of Emergency Medicine

*Board Certified Specialty

Faculty

Associate Program Directors

Andrea Hladik, MD, FACEP
Andrea J. Hladik, MD

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Andrea Hladik, MD, FACEP

Andrea J. Hladik, MD

Professional Details:

Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine*
Years Practicing: 26 years
Years On Staff: 24 years
Languages: English

Professional Education:

Medical School: Georgetown University School of Medicine
Internship: Eastern Virginia Medical School
Residency: Eastern Virginia Medical School

Board Certification

Authority: American Board of Emergency Medicine

*Indicates Board Certified in this Specialty

Wirachin Hoonpongsimanont, MD, MS, FACEP
Wirachin Hoonpongsimanont, MD, MS, FACEP

Director of Education Fellowship

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Wirachin Hoonpongsimanont, MD, MS, FACEP

Wirachin Hoonpongsimanont, MD

Professional Details

Primary Specialties: Emergency Medicine*
Years in Practice: 13 years
Years on Staff: 4 years
Languages: English

Professional Education

Medical School: Siriraj Hospital
Mahidol University
Residency: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Board Certification

American Board of Emergency Medicine

Core Faculty

Victor Cisneros, MD, MPH
Victor Cisneros, MD, MPH

Diversity Equity Inclusion Director

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Victor Cisneros, MD, MPH

Victor Cisneros, MD, MPH

Professional Details

Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine
Languages: Spanish
Years In Practice: 3 years
Years on Staff: 3 years

Professional Education

Medical School: University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
Residency: University of California Irvine
Fellowship: University of California Irvine

Julius a. Ibanez, MD

EMS Director

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Julius a. Ibanez, MD

Professional Details

Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine*
Years in Practice: 32 years
Years on Staff: 21 years
Languages: English, Spanish

Professional Education

Medical School: San Jose Hospital/Medical School
Internship: Charles R. Drew University School of Medicine
Residency: Charles R. Drew University School of Medicine

Board Certification

American Board of Emergency Medicine

*Board Certified Specialty

Dr. Ami Kurzweil
Ami Kurzweil, MD

Ultrasound Fellowship Director

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Dr. Ami Kurzweil

Ami Kurzweil, MD

Professional Details

Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine*
Yrs in Practice: 4 years
Yrs on Staff: 4 years
Languages: English

Professional Education

Medical School: Ross University School of Medicine
Residency: University of Connecticut
Fellowship: University of California, Irvine

Tam Le, DO
Tam Le, DO

Clerkship Co-Director

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Tam Le, DO

Tam Le, DO

Professional Details

Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine*
Years Practicing: 4 years
Years on Staff: 4 years
Languages: English

Professional Education

Medical School: Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine
Residency: Einstein Medical Center

* Board Certified in this Specialty

Shahram Lotfipour, MS, MPH, FACEP
Shahram Lotfipour, MS, MPH, FACEP

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Shahram Lotfipour, MS, MPH, FACEP

Shahram Lotfipour, MS, MPH, FACEP

Professional Details

Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine*
Years in Practice: 23 years
Years on Staff: 4 years
Languages: English

Professional Education

Medical School: University of Iowa College of Medicine
Residency:
UC Irvine Medical Center
Henry Ford Hospital

Board Certification

American Board of Emergency Medicine

*Board Certified Specialty

Iman Rasheed, MD
Iman Rasheed, MD

Clerkship Co-Director

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Iman Rasheed, MD

Iman Rasheed, MD

HOMETOWN: Irvine, CA

UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL: University of California, Irvine

MEDICAL SCHOOL: Ross University School of Medicine

ABOUT ME: I was born and raised in Orange County, California. I am obsessed with the Lakers and grew up going to games with my dad! I am a huge foodie; I love trying out new restaurants. Other hobbies include the gym, cooking, yoga and binging reality television or HBO documentaries.

ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHT: Going to medical school on a beautiful Caribbean island

WHY EISENHOWER HEALTH? The faculty members at Eisenhower are genuinely invested in your success. Also, the fact it’s basically summer year round here was a huge bonus.

Solomon Sebt, MD
Solomon Sebt, MD

Medical Director & Simulation Director

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Solomon Sebt, MD

Solomon Sebt, MD

Dr. Solomon was born in Jackson, Mississippi, but was raised in Lawrence, Kansas. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology with the highest distinction from the University of California at Davis. Subsequently, he attained his Medical Degree (MD) with Summa Cum Laude honors from St. George’s University, where he was also a member of the Gold Humanitarian Honor Society.

Following his academic achievements, Dr. Solomon pursued his residency training in emergency medicine at Eisenhower Medical Center, where he ascended to the role of Simulation Chief Resident. Notably, his involvement in the simulation committee was instrumental in the establishment of Eisenhower’s inaugural simulation center in 2022. During his tenure as Chief Resident, he further honed his skills through mentorship in simulation by Fellowship Director Dr. Eric McCoy at the University of California, Irvine.

Presently, Dr. Solomon is a board certified attending physician and core faculty member within our emergency residency program. Moreover, he holds the esteemed position of Medical Director at the John Stauffer Center for Simulation and Innovative Learning, demonstrating his commitment to advancing medical education and practice

Matthew Whited, MD
Matthew Whited, MD

Ultrasound Fellowship APD

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Matthew Whited, MD

Matthew Whited, MD

Professional Details

Specialties: Emergency Medicine
Yrs In Practice: 1
Yrs on Staff: 1

Professional Education

Medical School: University of Texas Health Science Center
Residency: University of California Irvine
Fellowship: University of California Irvine

Emergency Department Leadership

Euthym N. Kontaxis, MD

Department Medical Director

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Euthym N. Kontaxis, MD

Professional Details

Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine
Years in Practice: 34 years
Years on Staff: 22 years
Languages: English, Greek

Professional Education

Medical School: University of Oregon Health Sciences
Internship: University of CA San Diego Medical Center
Residency: UCLA Medical Center
Fellowship: UCLA Medical Center

David H. Romness, MD

Department Chair

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David H. Romness, MD

Professional Details

Primary Specialty: Emergency Medicine*
Years in Practice: 40 years
Years on Staff: 18 years
Languages: English

Professional Education

Medical School: University of Minnesota
Residency: Hennepin County Medical Center
Internship: Hennepin County Medical Center

Board Certification

American Board of Emergency Medicine

*Board Certified Specialty

Emergency Medicine GME Staff

Monica Mora
Monica Mora

Residency Coordinator

Eisenhower Health Graduate Medical Education (GME)
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