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Lisa Vargish, M.D., M.S.

Lisa Vargish, M.D., M.S.

Geriatrics & Aging

UR Medicine Faculty The University of Rochester Medical Faculty Group (URMFG) consists of over 900 specialist and primary care providers spanning 19 departments. URMFG is certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.
Accountable Health Partner Accountable Health Partners (AHP) is a network of over 2,000 community and UR medical faculty and a dozen leading hospitals throughout the region. AHP offers a full range of care.
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Locations

Geriatric Assessment Clinic

435 East Henrietta Road
Rochester, NY 14620

About Me

Professional Background

Dr. Lisa Vargish joined the faculty in Division of Geriatrics and Department of Medicine after devoting five years at the Jewish Home of Rochester developing and evaluating an innovative home care program for seniors and teaching residents and fellows in internal medicine and family medicine. Prior...
Dr. Lisa Vargish joined the faculty in Division of Geriatrics and Department of Medicine after devoting five years at the Jewish Home of Rochester developing and evaluating an innovative home care program for seniors and teaching residents and fellows in internal medicine and family medicine. Prior to that Dr. Vargish was Clerkship Director for the required third-year family medicine clerkship at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine where she was co-appointed as Assistant Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Family Medicine. She also co-directed the fourth year palliative care elective and was instrumental in the Pritzker Initiative, a multi-year effort to restructure the undergraduate medical education curriculum. In addition to her work as an educator, Dr. Vargish was awarded a HRSA Geriatric Academic Career Development Award which helped to support her scholarly interests in developing geriatric palliative home care curricula for medical students.

Dr. Vargish received her undergraduate degree in political science and history from the University of Rochester. She received her MS in Education from the Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester and her MD from the University of Chicago. She completed residency training in family and community medicine at the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) and fellowship training in geriatrics at the University of Chicago. She is board-certified in family medicine, geriatrics, and palliative care. Her clinical practice has spanned a variety of settings, from federally-qualified health centers on the South Side of Chicago to sub-acute and long-term rehabilitation units here in Rochester. She has served as medical director for the Shepherd Home, a two-bed hospice home in nearby Penfield, NY. In her spare time, Dr. Vargish enjoys spending time with her children and husband, reading, cooking, running, swimming and cycling.

Certified Specialties

Family Medicine - American Board of Family Medicine

Geriatric Medicine - American Board of Family Medicine

Faculty Appointments

Associate Professor - Department of Medicine, Geriatrics/Aging (SMD)

Associate Professor - Department of Psychiatry (SMD) - Joint

Credentials

Residency & Fellowship

Fellowship, Geriatric Medicine, University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. 2005 - 2006

Residency, Family Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital and Medical Center. 2003 - 2005

Internship, Family Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital and Medical Center. 2002 - 2003

Education

MD | University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. 2002

Awards

Educator of the Year. 2016

Golden Giver Award: Channel 8 News. 2012

Publications

Journal Articles

Use physical therapy to head off this deformity in infants. Consider early PT to prevent severe deformational plagiocephaly.

Vargish L, Mendoza MD, Ewigman B

The Journal of family practice.. 2009 August 58 (8):E1-3. Epub 1900 01 01.

Glucose control: how low should you go with the critically ill?

Zolotor AJ, Schumann SA, Vargish L

The Journal of family practice.. 2009 August 58 (8):424-6. Epub 1900 01 01.

For Bell's palsy, start steroids early; no need for an antiviral.

Vargish L, Schumann SA

The Journal of family practice.. 2008 January 57 (1):22-5. Epub 1900 01 01.

Pain in persons with dementia: complex, common, and challenging.

Shega J, Emanuel L, Vargish L, Levine SK, Bursch H, Herr K, Karp JF, Weiner DK

The journal of pain.. 2007 May 8 (5):373-8. Epub 1900 01 01.

Reduction of intestinal neoplasia with adenomatous polyposis coli gene replacement and COX-2 inhibition is additive.

Lew JI, Guo Y, Kim RK, Vargish L, Michelassi F, Arenas RB

Journal of gastrointestinal surgery : official journal of the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.. 2002 6 (4):563-8. Epub 1900 01 01.

Books

The Ultimate Guide to Choosing a Medical Specialty. (2013)

Chapter: Family Practice

Authors: Mendoza, MD; Vargish, L

Publisher: McGraw-Hill 2013

Ratings & Reviews

At URMC, we believe that patients should be empowered to make the right decisions regarding their personal healthcare. To do so, transparency is critical. URMC partners with Press Ganey, to survey our patients about all aspects of their care experience. We are now putting this pertinent information at your fingertips by displaying star ratings for our providers along with anonymous patient comments on our website. This will help you make better-informed choices about how and with whom you seek care. Click here to learn more about the surveys used to generate this vital information. Learn more about our survey process.