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Elliot Health System - Solinsky Center for Cancer Care at The Elliot

Palliative Care


Meet our Staff


Kornfeld 2010

Dr. Kristin Keefe, MD

Dr. Kristin Keefe graduated from Dartmouth Medical School and went on to complete her OB/Gyn residency at Brigham & Women’s- Massachusetts General Hospitals, followed by a 4-year fellowship in gynecologic oncology at the University of California at Irvine. She has held teaching positions at Dartmouth, Tufts, University of Texas School of Medicine, and Brigham & Women’s/Faulkner Hospital and is widely published. Over the past 14 years, Dr. Keefe has served as Medical Director and CMO of hospice programs in Massachusetts, as well serving as Director of palliative medicine programs at Steward Heath Care in Boston, Seton Family of Hospitals in Austin, and most recently at Sharp Rees-Stealy Medical Group in San Diego, California.

Dr. Keefe’s interest in palliative care began with her father’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. She now enjoys facilitating discussions devoted to aligning patient’s goals with available medical interventions. By taking the time to truly listen to patients and families’ stories and concerns, Dr. Keefe can help them navigate the complexities of medical care and treatment options.



Kornfeld 2010

Dr. Linda Kornfeld, MD

Education:
BS MIT, Cambridge, MA
MSPH U Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
MD Drexel University, Philadelphia PA
Intern MAHEC, Asheville NC
Residency Lehigh Valley Hospital, Allentown PA

Board certified in Internal Medicine and Palliative Care

Fellow of the American College of Physicians

Dr Kornfeld has been with the Elliot since 2009 and worked as both a Hospitalist and Palliative Care Physician before deciding to focus solely on Palliative Care. She came to Palliative Care after seeing patients and families struggle with understanding and making complex medical decisions and finds it very rewarding to help people through these difficult times. When away from work she and her husband love to travel, try new foods, kayak – and drag the kids along with them. The cats stay home and help with the gardening and bird watching.




Mills Dr

Dr. Charles Mills, MD

Dr. Mills attended Harvard University for his undergraduate degree and Tufts University School of Medicine for his medical degree. He completed his residency at the Boston VA Medical Center and after residency he took a position at the Fallon Clinic in Worcester, Massachusetts where he spent most of his early career. Dr. Mills became interested in end of life care and clinical practice models that impacted that care and was then offered the chance to become the regional medical director of Solamar Hospice which led to further training and experience. He passed his boards for Hospice and Palliative medicine in 2008. He was honored for his achievements in the field with Fellowship in the AAHPM in 2014. He was also certified by passing his boards in hospice care by the Hospice Medical Board Certification in 2014. Since the beginning of his Palliative experience in 2007, he has taken on more community leadership roles in expounding and explaining the roles of Hospice and Palliative medicine in creating enhanced quality of life for patients facing critical/terminal illnesses. Since 2013, Dr. Mills has been full time in the practice of Palliative and Hospice medicine as the medical director for Hospice/Palliative Medicine for the Elliot Hospital. In this role, Dr. Mills’ expertise and leadership have been recognized by NH Magazine as one of NH’s Top Docs in Palliative Medicine and he has been recognized by his peers with the honor of Physician of the Year in 2015.




Yehling Dr

Dr. Hilary Yehling, MD

Dr. Yehling is originally from Maine, although spent many years in western New York for her training before coming to New Hampshire. She received her undergraduate degree in Biotechnology from Rochester Institute of Technology and her medical degree from SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics as well as fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at the University of Rochester. She currently practices a combination of primary care and palliative care for all ages within the Elliot Health System. Outside of medicine she spends her time with her husband and 2 sons and loves to read, go camping, and relax in her hammock.




Kazanowski Np

Mary Kazanowski, APRN

Mary is a Board Certified Adult Nurse Practitioner. She received her PhD in nursing from Boston College in 1996. She also attended Boston University where she completed her Master of Science in Nursing. Mary shares a passion for nursing, hospice and palliative medicine. She dedicated twenty-three years of her career as a professor teaching nursing students. In addition, she has 45 years of clinical nursing experience in the hospital working as a critical care nurse in ICU as well as medical surgical and oncology units. She has also practiced extensively as a hospice nurse. She is board certified as an Advanced Certified Hospice and Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner. She is co-author of the book, “The Role of Palliative Care and Suffering” and has additionally authored several articles regarding the topics of hospice and palliative care. She has been involved on several committees in New Hampshire including the Hospice and Palliative Care Organization who honored her with the award for Palliative Care Providers of the Year in 2019 that she shared with Dr. Charles Mills. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her family and her dog, Chloe.




Laprise Kathleen

Kathleen Laprise, APRN

Katy is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She graduated from Simmons College in 2018. Prior to this she received her bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Regis College in 2011. Katy has spent most of her nursing care working with hospice and palliative care patients. She loves spending her free time with her husband, family, friends, and her two dogs.




De Gregorio Kathleen

Kathleen DeGregorio, MS, APRN, NP-C

Kathleen DeGregorio is a Board-Certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She completed her graduate degree at UNH. She previously worked in critical care, and currently divides her time between the palliative medicine and hospital medicine teams at Elliot. She loves spending her free time with her family and enjoys outdoor activities, cooking, travel and reading.




Jenkins Kathryn

Kathryn Jenkins, APRN

Kate has been Board certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners as a family nurse practitioner since 2013. She earned her degree from Saint Joseph’s College of Maine. Prior to this she worked for many years as a Nurse at the Elliot Hospital both in the ICU and with the Hospitalist team. After becoming a Nurse Practitioner, she worked for 5 years in primary care and then she transitioned to the palliative care specialty.




Cushing Kim

Kimberly Cushing, LICSW

Kim is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. She received her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of New Hampshire in 2003. She completed her bachelor’s degree in Social Work at the University of Maine in 1991. Prior to securing her Advanced Hospice and Palliative Care Certification, Kim worked as a medial social worker at Holy Family Hospital in Massachusetts and at Elliot Hospital as a social work case manager. Kim is a member of the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network as well as the Association of Oncology Social Workers and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. At home Kim enjoys time with her family and pets. She likes spending time outside gardening, camping, boating and running with friends.