It was 2008 and Ben Geisler, a recent graduate of Boston College, was unsure about his next move. So, while living at home with his parents in Cortlandt Manor, he spent a year as a dental assistant at Open Door’s nearby Ossining site. It proved to be time well spent.  Except for the years back […]

Men, as a rule, don’t like to see a doctor.   This is hardly a scoop. Yet, there’s a consequence to this reluctance to getting routine exams and having regular screenings.  According to a recent study by the Cleveland Clinic, nearly 60 percent of men don’t regularly see a primary care clinician, going only when they […]

In his exam room, Dr. Andrew Swiderski hands his young patient a toy cell phone, encouraging the child to push the buttons that produce various sounds. Then he covers the keyboard with his fingers.  “Usually, a child will look up at me or his parent and say, ‘Why are you doing this?’  He’s made the […]

Sometimes a routine visual and clinical exam, done in a dentist’s chair, can save a life. Dr. Naida Henriquez, director of dentistry at Open Door Family Medical Center, and her team routinely perform a comprehensive oral exam and tobacco screening with patients as young as 12 years old. The exam itself, done as part of […]

Childhood asthma, according to Dr. Andrew Swiderski, a pediatrician at Open Door Family Medical Center in Ossining, can be “a beast.” This is particularly true among patients living in the underserved communities Open Door cares for, as differences in asthma prevalence, morbidity and mortality are related closely with poverty, urban air quality, indoor allergens and lack of […]

There is no shame in seeking professional help to treat stress, says Dr. Jacob Samander, a board-certified psychiatrist with Open Door Family Medical Center.   “You need to treat stress like you treat diabetes,” he said. “As with diabetes, treatment begins with seeing an expert and making lifestyle changes – eating healthier, learning to sleep better, […]