Alcena, Valiere 1934-

PERSONAL:

Born August 24, 1934, in Haiti; naturalized U.S. citizen; son of Lamartine and Florisanne Alcena; divorced; children: Reynolds, Juanita, Marcette, Valerie. Ethnicity: "Black." Education: Attended Hunter College of the City University of New York, 1963-67; Queens College of the City University of New York, B.A., 1970; Yeshiva University, M.D., 1973. Politics: "Independent liberal Democrat." Religion: Roman Catholic. Hobbies and other interests: Gardening, music, cooking, soccer.

ADDRESSES:

Home and office—White Plains, NY. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Montefiore Hospital and Medical Center, Bronx, NY, medical intern, 1973-74, resident, 1974-75, chief resident, 1975-76, fellow in hematology, 1976-77, fellow in oncology, 1977-78, medical director of methadone clinic, 1978-79, assistant attending physician in oncology, 1978-79, adjunct attending physician, 1987-93, associate attending physician, 1993-98, attending physician, 1998—, faculty member, 1978—. Yeshiva University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, clinical instructor, 1978-88, assistant clinical professor, 1985-88, associate clinical professor, 1995-2002, clinical professor, 2002—, founder of Sam Seifter Annual Lectureship (in minority health care issues), 1989, chair of minority affairs committee, 2002—; Cornell University, clinical instructor at Medical Center, 1979-89; New York Medical College—Valhalla, adjunct assistant clinical professor, 1992-96, adjunct associate professor, 1996-2002, adjunct professor, 2002—; Columbia University, teaching attending physician at College of Physicians and Surgeons, 1994-96. St. Agnes Hospital, assistant attending physician, 1978-83, associate attending physician, 1983-89, attending physician in medicine and oncology, 1989-2003, director of general medicine and hematology and medical clinic, 1993, associate director of department of medicine and chief of general medicine, 2000-03, founder and chair of community advisory board, 1993-96, founder and medical director of annual health fair, 1994-2002; North Central Bronx Hospital, assistant attending physician and faculty member, 1978-96; Ronald-Fraser Neighborhood Health Center, medical director, 1979-80; Harlem Hospital, assistant attending physician and faculty member, 1979-81; New York Hospital Medical Center, Westchester Division, clinical associate, 1979-89, attending physician in employee health clinic and faculty member, Cornell Medical School, 1979-85; White Plains Hospital, assistant attending physician, 1979-83, associate attending physician, 1983-85, attending physician, 1985—, and faculty member; St. Barnabas Hospital, attending physician, 1981-90. City of White Plains, founder and medical director of Annual Health Fair for Cancer Screening, 1979-96; White Plains Community Health Fair, founder, chair, and president, 1996, founder and president of cancer prevention and support group, 2006. Alcena Enterprise, Inc., president, 1984-96; Alcena Medical Communications, Inc., president and chief executive officer, 1992—; Alcena Fashion Studio, Inc., president and chair, 2003; Alcena Design Studio, president and board chair, 2003—. Alcena Africa Hunger Relief Fund, founder and executive director, 1993—. Greater New York Sickle Cell Foundation, member of medical advisory board; Westchester County Blue Ribbon Task Force for the Elimination of Health Disparities among African Americans, 2005. White Plains Cable Access Commission, member, 1994—, chair, 2006—; Westchester County African American Advisory Board, member, 1994-2006, chair of general health/substance abuse committee, 1995-97; Westchester Black United Fund, member of board of directors, 1995-97. Executive producer and host of the syndicated media program Discussing Problems and Issues of Health with Dr. Valiere Alcena, 1992—; host of Understanding Your Health: An Hour of Health Discussions with Valiere Alcena (weekly radio program), 1992-93; producer and host of White Plains Community Health Fair Speaks (weekly television program), 1998—; executive producer and host of other local television programs. LeNegre Publishing Co., founder, president, publisher, and editor, 2003—. Public speaker at schools, colleges, churches, and community centers.

MEMBER:

International Society of Hematology, International Society on Hypertension in Blacks, Interamerican College of Physicians and Surgeons (fellow), American Medical Association, American College of Physicians (fellow), American Society of Hematology, Association for Academic Minority Physicians, Society for the Study of Blood, American Cancer Society (president of Central Westchester Unit, 1986-88; member of board of directors and executive committee, 1986-95), American Society of Medical Writers, National Medical Association, National Society of Internal Medicine, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (life member), New York Academy of Medicine (fellow), New York State Medical Society, New York Black Journalists Association, Westchester County Academy of Medicine (fellow), Westchester County Medical Society, Westchester Black Journalists Association, Alumni Association of Albert Einstein College of Medicine (member of board of governors, 1992-98), Montefiore Hospital Alumni and Medical Staff Association, Jefferson Society of Queens.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Commendation for community work, New York State Senate, 1989; American Cancer Society, certificate of merit, 1989, Public Education Award, 1990; Man of the Year Award, Westchester County chapter, National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, 1990; President's Volunteer Award, 1990; Preceptorship Award and named "outstanding community based teacher in the field of internal medicine," American College of Physicians, 1996; community service award, City of White Plains, 1996, for founding White Plains Community Health Fair; Beta Award, 1996, for best health show program "discussing problems and issues of health"; award from New York State Association of Occupational Health Nurses, 1996, for promoting improved health and wellness among minorities; citation for community service, New York State Assembly, 1996; congressional proclamation for community services, U.S. Congress, 1996; Community Based Excellence in Teaching Award, American College of Physicians and American Society of Internal Medicine, 1999-2000; Jerome H. Holland Power of Humanity Award for Science and Technology, American Red Cross of Westchester County, 2002; distinguished public health service award, Westchester County Board of Health and Westchester County Department of Health, 2002; Westchester County distinguished service certificate, 2003; life achievement award, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University, 2003; certificate of appreciation, New York Medical College, 2003; certificate of appreciation, Association of Haitian Physicians Abroad, 2003; community service award, local chapter, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 2007; ICM Teacher of the Year, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, 2007.

WRITINGS:

The Status of Health of Blacks in the United States of America: A Prescription for Improvement, Kendall/Hunt Publishing (Dubuque, IA), 1992.

Third-World Tropical Diet, Health, Maintenance, and Medical Management, Alcena Medical Communications (White Plains, NY), 1992.

The African American Health Book, Birch Lane Press (New York, NY), 1994, 2nd edition, Le Negre Publishing (White Plains, NY), 2001.

AIDS: The Expanding Epidemic—What the Public Needs to Know: A Multicultural Overview, Alcena Medical Communications (White Plains, NY), 1994.

The African American Woman's Health Book, Barricade Books (Fort Lee, NJ), 2001.

Women's Health and Wellness for the Millennium, Le Negre Publishing (White Plains, NY), 2005.

Men's Health and Wellness for the Millennium, Le Negre Publishing (White Plains, NY), 2007.

Contributor to books, including My Stroke of Grace, by Wyatt Tee Walker, Martin Luther King Fellows Press, 2002. Contributor to medical journals and other periodicals, including Essence, New York State Journal of Medicine, Biological Psychiatry, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Journal of Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, Bodybasic, and Responsibility. Editor in chief, Prestige Medical News, 1990—.

SIDELIGHTS:

Valiere Alcena once told CA: "I started writing out of a desire to inform my patients as well as students about basic principles of health care, which I came to realize were not generally or easily accessible to them. I wanted to make the information as easy to understand as possible without sacrificing accuracy or being condescending to my readers.

"My writing about medicine and health care issues was likely inspired by what motivated me to become a physician in the first place: losing several members of my family at early ages due to lack of basic health care in my native country, Haiti. This led to an early awareness of the importance of good health care and access thereto, a desire to help and care for others, and a desire to teach and inspire young people to enter and succeed in the field of medicine, particularly disadvantaged youth who would not otherwise consider the practice of medicine as a profession that was open to them."