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Meet Our Faculty

Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program Faculty

Walter J. Nieri, MD, program director, leads a faculty of more than 50 physicians, who contribute their expertise in various specialties in geriatric care, and 60 non-physicians who complement the training program with their expertise in economic, administrative, nursing, community health, dietary, pharmacy and social work fields.

Walter J. Nieri, MD, CMD

Board Certified in Geriatrics/Internal Medicine
Program Director
Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program

Dr. Nieri has been Program Director for the Banner Health Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program since its inception in 1995. He received his medical degree from Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago and completed an internal medicine residency from Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. He is a certified medical director of long term care with affiliations with Grandview Care Center in Sun City, LaLoma Care Center in Litchfield Park and Encore Senior Village in Phoenix. He is also the Director of the Center for Healthy Aging at Banner Research.

Joanne Ceimo, MD

Board Eligible in Geriatrics
Certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics And Cardiology
Clinical Faculty, Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program

Dr. Ceimo has been on the faculty with the Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program since she completed her geriatrics training in 1997. She received her medical degree from New York Medical College with completion of an internal medicine residency from the Cleveland Clinic. She is fellowship trained in Cardiology from the Cleveland Clinic and in geriatrics from Duke University and the Banner Health/St. Josephs Geriatric Fellowship Program and a graduate of the UCLA program in Medical Acupuncture. She is the a Clinical Instructor with the Geriatric Fellowship where she mentors fellows, residents, and medical students at various facilities within the fellowship at Banner Health.

Deepa Dharmarajan, MD

Board Certified in Family Medicine
Board Eligible in Geriatrics
Clinical Faculty, Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program

Dr. Dharmarajan joined the faculty of the Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program in 2006, where she will be a clinical instructor for geriatric fellows, residents and medical students. Two of her main responsibilities will be to manage the Subacute unit at La Loma Care Center, which will be used by the geriatric fellows and rotating FP/IM residents and to coordinate the resident rotation schedule. She received her medical degree from Calicut University in India. She completed her Family Medicine residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J. Prior to joining the family medicine residency, she did a one-year internship at Wayne State University in Detroit.

Radha Ramamrutham, MD

Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics
Clinical Faculty, Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program

Dr. Ramamrutham joined the faculty of the Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program in 2007 where she has been a clinical instructor for geriatric fellows, residents and medical students. Her main responsibilities include managing the Subacute unit at Grand View Care Center, used by the geriatric fellows and rotating FP/IM residents, and preceptor for some of the long-term care patients at the Grand View Care Center. At the Grand View Care Center, fellows are educated to manage patients with complicated multiple medical problems in a long-term care setting. In addition, she also educates fellows in providing out-patient care in the assisted living setting at Grand View Terrace clinic. Dr. Ramamrutham also facilitates case presentations on a regular basis, training fellows to manage patients through the transition of care from in-hospital to out-patient to skilled / rehab settings to an outpatient or appropriate level of care. She received her medical degree from Lady Hardinge Medical College, Delhi University in India. She completed her Internal Medicine residency at the Maricopa Medical Center at Phoenix and did her fellowship in Geriatrics in 1999-2000 at Sun Health St Joseph Geriatric fellowship Program. She is Board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Geriatrics.

Arlene Conte, MD

Skilled Nursing Facility Specialist
Banner Boswell Rehab Center
Clinical Faculty, Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program

Dr. Conte joined the faculty of the Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program in 2004 as the director of subacute care at the Banner Boswell Rehab Center. She received her medical degree from Fatima College of Medicine in Manila Philippines. She served her family-practice internship at Veterans Memorial Medical Center, Quezon City, Philippines, and her residency at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit. She completed a geriatric fellowship through the Banner Health/St. Josephs Geriatric Fellowship Program. She is a full-time skilled nursing facility specialist dedicated to inpatient care in the Banner Health facilities of Banner Boswell Rehab Center since her graduation from the Geriatric Fellowship in 2001.

Sarah Payne, DO

Board Certified in Family Medicine and Geriatrics
Geriatric Faculty

Dr. Payne joined the faculty after completing a Geriatric Fellowship in 2009 with the Banner Family Medicine Geriatric Fellowship Program. Dr. Payne is a graduate of the University of Michigan College of Osteopathic Medicine and is Baord Certified in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics. Dr. Payne is currently practicing as a Geriatrician at Banner Arizona Medical Clinic in Peoria, Ariz.. In addition she is a Long Term Care and Hospice provider throughout the Sun Cities area and provides fellow supervision in those areas.