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Meet our Medical Staff
Dr. Thambipallai Sureshkumar, Chief Medical Officer
 Dr. Thambipillai Sureshkumar was promoted to Chief Medical Officer on October 13, 2003 and was most recently appointed Medical Director of Chemical Dependency Services on September 4, 2004. Dr. Sureshkumar has been an attending physician at Fairmount since July 1, 2001 and was initially hired as a moonlighting physician in July 2000. He was also on staff at the Medical College of Pennsylvania where he completed his residency. Dr. Sureshkumar is currently a voluntary assistant professor at Drexel University where he provides lectures to their medical students and psychiatric residents, and supervises psychiatric residents.
Dr. Sureshkumar graduated from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1982 and completed his psychiatric residency in England in 1991. Dr. Sureshkumar is Board Certified in Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in the areas of General Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry and Forensic Psychiatry. He is also Board Certified in Psychiatry by the Royal College of Psychiatry, London, United Kingdom and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Canada.
Dr. Edward Moore, Medical Director, Child/Adolescent Services
 Dr. Edward Moore attended Hahnemann University School of Medicine, achieving his M.D. degree in 1990. Following an internship at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital he completed his residency in psychiatry and also a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Hahnemann University Hospital.
Board certified since April 1996, Dr. Moore has provided leadership at many Philadelphia/South Jersey area institutions since returning to this area after a brief stint in private practice in the Norfolf/Virginia Beach area. Notable positions have included Directorship of the Extended Acute Unit of Girard Medical Center; appointment as Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the Medical Directorship at the Bridge Drug/Alcohol Adolescent Rehab Program. He has been the Director of Child and Adolescent Services at Fairmount BHS since 2003.
Dr. Scott Dunzik, President of the Medical Staff
 Dr. Dunzik attended Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia and graduated in 1992. He completed his residency in Psychiatry at the Institute of Pennsylvania Hospital in 1996. He has also received additional training in Psychoanalysis at the Philadelphia Center for Psychoanalysis. Dr. Dunzik received board certification in 1999 by the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry.
For the period of September 1998 through August 1999 Dr. Dunzik was a volunteer faculty member of the Thomas Jefferson University School of Medicine where he taught first year medical students; and he also supervised PCOM medical students on psychiatry rotations at Mercy Hospital during this same period.
From July of 1997 through 2000 Dr. Dunzik served as the Medical Director on the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit at Mercy Hospital of Philadelphia. For the past five years Dr. Dunzik has served as Medical Director of the N4 Unit at Fairmount Behavioral Health System, which serves dual-diagnosis patients.
Dr. Vijaya Velagapudi (not pictured)
In 1980 Dr. Velagapudi enrolled at Gunter Medical College of Nagarjuna University where she received her medical degree in 1986. In 1995 Dr. Velagapudi completed a Fellowship Appointment in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, from the Philadelphia Child Guidance Center.
In 1995 Dr. Velagapudi was appointed Medical Director of the Child and Adolescent Program at Allegheny University Hospital, Mt. Sinai, where she remained until 1997. She worked for one year at Foundations Behavioral Health as an Inpatient Psychiatrist from 1997 to 1998; and began working part-time at the Bethanna Mental Health Clinic and Life Counseling Center in 2001. She continues to work part-time as a child psychiatrist in the Outpatient Program at Northwestern Human Services of Philadelphia. Dr. Velagapudi came to Fairmount Behavioral Health System in 2001 where she is employed as a full-time psychiatrist on our child/adolescent inpatient unit.
Dr. Silvia Gratz, Medical Director, N3 Adult Psychiatric Unit
 Dr. Silvia Gratz joined the medical staff at Fairmount on June 26, 2006. She is currently the Medical Director of N3, a general adult psychiatric unit.
Dr. Gratz completed her undergraduate studies at the LaSalle University, Cum Laude and received her D.O. from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1985. After her internship in Internal Medicine at Hahnemann University Hospital, she completed a residency in adult psychiatry at Hahnemann University Hospital in 1989 and a two-year National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) sponsored fellowship in Clinical Psychopharmacology in 1991 at the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (EPPI).
Board Certified in Psychiatry since 1998, Dr. Gratz has provided her expertise in many regional psychiatric facilities and has served as a Professor and Lecturer in the Department of Psychiatry at EPPI and the Drexel University College of Medicine. Notable positions include Director of ECT and Medical Director of the Schizophrenia Center at EPPI, Director of Adult Inpatient Services at MCP/Hahnemann and Interim Medical Director of Hahnemann University Hospital, Psychiatric Medical Care Unit. She has been the recipient of many teaching awards while on staff at MCP/EPPI as well as the Exemplary Psychiatry Award from the National Institute of Mental Illness (NAMI) and the MCP Physician Star Award for the Most Dedicated Doctor.
Dr. Gratz is an active member of many professional organizations including the American Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association, and the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology. She has been appointed and elected to several leadership positions and committees including the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chairperson, Performance Improvement Committee at EPPI; and the Drug Safety Monitoring Board at the Drexel University College of Medicine. Dr. Gratz has also published several journal articles and book chapters on psychopharmacology particularly focusing on the treatment of Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome and has been the recipient of several research grants exploring treatment of Psychotic Disorders.
Dr. Gretchen Magnani, Medical Director, N1 Adult Inpatient Unit
 In September 2007, Dr. Gretchen Magnani joined Fairmount as the Medical Director of the N-1 Adult Inpatient Unit. Dr. Magnani graduated summa cum laude from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico with a Bachelor of Science degree. She then received her Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of New Mexico School Of Medicine.
Completing her psychiatry residency training in Philadelphia at Drexel University College of Medicine in 2004, Dr. Magnani served as a Chief Resident and received several awards including the 2003 Psychiatry Resident Award of Excellence, 2003-2004 Residency Award for Clinical Excellence, and the 2003-2004 Residency Award for Overall Excellence. She became Board Certified in Psychiatry in 2005.
Dr. Magnani’s history at Fairmount goes back to 2003 when she originally joined as a moonlighting physician. After completion of her residency, she became an Attending Psychiatrist on the PCU Unit, Fairmount’s Dual-Diagnosis Inpatient Unit. In 2005, she was appointed the Medical Director of the PCU Unit.
Most recently, from 2005-2007, Dr. Magnani was an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Drexel University College of Medicine. She served as the Site Director of the Outpatient Rotation for the Adult Psychiatry Residents assigned to NHS Human Services, a Community Mental Health Clinic in Mount Airy. In addition, she worked as a consulting Psychiatrist to the Bryn Mawr College Student Health Center. Dr. Magnani will be maintaining her affiliation with Drexel by continuing as a volunteer faculty member.
Dr. Parviz Yeroushalmi, Medical Director, Chemical Dependency Services
Dr. Parviz Yeroushalmi attended Pahlavi University Medical School in Iran graduating in 1977. He then came to the United States where he completed his Residency training in Psychiatry at the Delaware Psychiatric Center located in New Castle, Delaware in 1983. Dr. Yeroushalmi furthered his training and completed a Fellowship in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry in 1985. He received his Board Certification in Psychiatry in 1993 from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Dr. Yeroushalmi first joined Fairmount in 1998 and has held Attending Psychiatrist positions on several programs including our Child/Adolescent Inpatient and Adult Inpatient Units as well as our Acute Partial Hospitalization Program. He currently serves as the Medical Director of the Chemical Dependency & Substance Abuse Units.
Dr. Nasifa Rahman, Attending Physician, PCU Unit
Dr. Nasifa Rahman joined the medical staff of Fairmount Behavioral Health System in July 2007 and currently serves as an Attending Physician on the PCU Unit, a unit that specifically treats individuals experiencing co-occurring psychiatric and chemical dependency issues. She attended Dhaka Medical College in Dhaka, Bangladesh where she received her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree. Dr. Rahman then moved to the United States where she attended Drexel University School of Medicine and completed her residency training in Psychiatry in June 2007. Prior to joining Fairmount Behavioral Health System, Dr. Rahman worked as a moonlighting physician at Friends Hospital beginning in July of 2006.
Patient care is the cornerstone of Dr. Rahman's success in dealing with a large and diverse patient population. Through open discussion and friendly suggestions, she empowers her patients to actively participate in their treatment decisions and processes.
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