Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center announces appointments

The Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center board of directors confirmed its 2021 slate of officers, elected a new member and reelected five incumbent members to the board at its annual meeting on Monday.

Reappointed as officers were Chairman James C. Roscetti, an attorney with the Niagara Falls law firm Roscetti & DeCastro P.C.; Vice Chairperson Cynthia A. Bianco; Treasurer Charles G. Rader, Ph.D.; and Secretary Margaret M. Toohey of The Lewiston Insurance Agency Inc.

Elected to the board for a three-year term was Seneca Nation of Indians Councilor Tina Abrams.

Reelected to three-year terms were Roscetti and Toohey; Matthew Feldman, an attorney with Feldman Kiefer LLP; Marion R. Lavigne, Ph.D., president and CEO of Launch New York Inc.; and Salvatore “Sam” Santarosa, president of Buffalo Fuel Corp.

Continuing on the board will be Robert L. Bradley Jr.; Ronald R. Campbell; John
“Jack” L. Greco, executive director of TECHSTARS; Don J. King; Judith A. Nolan Powell; Mark D. Perry, M.D., chief of radiology at Memorial Medical Center; the Rev Craig D. Pridgen, senior pastor of True Bethel Church, Niagara Falls; and Memorial President and CEO Joseph A. Ruffolo. Serving ex-officio is Memorial Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Vijay Bojedla, M.D.

Abrams, a longtime member of the Seneca Nation Tribal Council, was first elected in 2001 and has served as co-chair since 2012. As a member of the council, she provides significant oversight to the Seneca Nation’s business interests, including the Seneca Gaming Corp., Seneca Gaming Authority, Seneca One Stops and Seneca Construction Management Corp. She previously served as director of the Seneca Nation’s class II gaming enterprises, including Seneca Gaming & Entertainment operations in Irving and Salamanca.

Abrams is currently serving a two-year term as Northeast Area vice president of the National Conference of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the interests of tribal governments and communities across the U.S. Earlier this year, Abrams was invited to give the invocation for NCAI’s State of Indian Nations address, which was broadcast to a nationwide audience. She is a member of the organization’s COVID task force and also serves on the Cattaraugus County Planning Board.

Memorial Names Cudzilo Director of Revenue Cycle

Deborah L. Cudzilo was named director of revenue cycle at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, effective April 12. Her appointment was announced by Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mark Wright.

A former vice president for revenue cycle at Erie County Medical Center, Cudzilo has more than two decades of hospital and health care operations experience. She most recently worked at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she oversaw patient access operations.

Cudzilo previously served as senior director for RCM Operations at the Center for Diagnostic Imaging in Amherst and as vice president for revenue cycle for the Grady Health System in Atlanta, where she played a key role in the financial turnaround of a 953-bed level 1 trauma center.