Joseph E. Herrera, DO
Joseph E. Herrera, DO, was appointed Chair of the Mount Sinai Health System Department of Rehabilitation Medicine in July. The noted clinician, educator, and researcher previously served as Chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, where he introduced innovative therapies and helped build highly selective residency and fellowship programs. Dr. Herrera is also Associate Professor of Rehabilitation
Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine
at Mount Sinai.
He succeeds Kristjan T. Ragnarsson, MD, who led the department for 30 years, a distinction that made him the longest-serving department chair at Mount Sinai. Dr. Ragnarsson, an internationally acclaimed clinician and researcher, had transformed the Department into one of the nation’s leading centers for rehabilitation medicine. Dr. Ragnarsson is being named Emeritus Chairman and Professor and will continue his work at Mount Sinai on a limited basis.
In his new role, Dr. Herrera will lead an effort to advance patient care through innovative technologies, including robotics and phone apps. His clinical research interests include sports-related injuries, electro-diagnostic studies, fluoroscopic-guided spine and joint interventions, and the use of ultrasound for diagnosis and guided treatments. While at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Dr. Herrera introduced the AposTherapy program, which uses specially designed shoes to alleviate chronic knee and back pain. The program is offered at the Phillips Ambulatory Care Center, one of the first New York City locations to provide the treatment (see sidebar below).
“Dr. Herrera is a skilled clinician who receives patient referrals locally, nationally, and internationally for the innovative care that he provides,” says Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System. “He is also an outstanding educator who created and leads Mount Sinai’s accredited Sports Medicine and Interventional Spine Fellowship Program, the first of its kind in New York City and one of 19 such programs in the nation.”
Additionally, Dr. Herrera treats and evaluates amateur and professional athletes through an appointment to the New York State Athletic Commission and as Chief Team Physician for USA Boxing Metro, and is the recipient of the Rocky Marciano Physician of the Year Award for excellence in Sports Medicine.
Dr. Herrera earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree at the School of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He pursued his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, serving as Chief Resident, and completed his fellowship training in interventional spine and sports medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.