The Department of Medicine has the distinct pleasure of announcing the appointment of Dr. Grace La Torre, Assistant Professor of Medicine, as Director of the Stony Brook Palliative Care Service and Section of Palliative Care in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology.
A Long Island native, Dr. La Torre received a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine and a Master of Science degree from the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine in Old Westbury, New York. She performed residency training in Internal Medicine at the Hofstra North Shore-Long Island Jewish School of Medicine, followed by fellowship training in Hospice and Palliative Care Medicine.
After serving two years on the faculty at New York University School of Medicine, Dr. La Torre joined Stony Brook as Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology.
Since joining Stony Brook Medicine, her impressive list of accomplishments includes:
- tirelessly providing the critical and needed palliative care services to seriously infected patients with COVID-19
- actively participating in committees, policy, and guideline development and other initiatives related to COVID-19 patient care
- successfully recruiting two new palliative medicine fellowship trained faculty physicians to her team
- engaging in numerous teaching activities for Internal Medicine residents
- involvement in many research and quality improvement projects, supported by numerous abstracts that she presented at national meetings
- voluntarily participating in several hospital committees
- collaborating in policy development related to the palliative care patient population
- always providing outstanding clinical services
For the last year and half, Dr. La Torre has excelled as Interim Director of the Palliative Care Service, despite many challenges faced due to staffing constraints.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Stony Brook University Hospital, particularly Carol Gomes, for her unwavering support of the Palliative Care Program. It is due in large part to the strong collaboration between the Hospital and the Department that the program is thriving.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. La Torre in her appointment as Director of Palliative Care, and wish her well in her future endeavor.
