Surgery Team

When a patient is brought to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, the severity of injury is assessed immediately by the Surgery Team. The surgeons and nurses are responsible for the evaluation, care and plan of treatment. An evidence-based process is designed to ensure that critical care is delivered safely and timely so that all the patient needs are met.

To meet the individual needs of an injured patient, while coordinating efforts with the family, if available at that time, the surgeons and nurses work as a collaborative team. Other medical specialists may also participate in care of the injured patient, as necessary. These providers may be from various surgical or non-surgical specialties. This includes the decision about when to use diagnostic evaluative tools like ultrasound or CT scans, x-ray, etc. and in what order to provide different pieces of the care plan, called the sequencing of care.
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Team - Kenneth R. Fretwell, M.D., F.A.C.S (Chairman of Department of Surgery)
Chairman of Department of Surgery
General Surgeon

Kenneth R. Fretwell, M.D., F.A.C.S

Dr. Kenneth Fretwell, the Chairman of the Department of Surgery has worked for Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for over twenty-two years. A Cornell University Medical Center trained general surgeon, he joined Jamaica Hospital in 1995 and was promoted to be the Director of Surgical Intensive Care Unit shortly thereafter. He has served as the Chairman of the Anesthesia & Invasive Procedures Committee and currently holds a seat on the medical board at the hospital. Dr. Fretwell has been a Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery at Cornell University Medical Center since 2006. He has won many awards through the years including the Dewitt Award in Surgery as well as the Chief Resident Teaching Award. In 2015, he was also named Honorary Police Surgeon to the New York Police Department.
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Associate Surgeon in Chief, Department of Surgery
Trauma/Critical Care Surgeon

Robert A. Laskowski II, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Robert Laskowski is an Attending Surgeon who received his Bachelor’s Degree in Biological Sciences at Drexel University and his MD/Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Drexel University College of Medicine. He completed his surgery residency at Stony Brook and his fellowship in Trauma/Surgical Critical Care/Acute Care Emergency Surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Center, R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. Dr. Laskowski is also a veteran of the United States Army as a surgeon with combat deployment experience and is currently active in the Army Reserves as a surgeon.
Dr. Laskowski is also a veteran of the United States Army as a surgeon with combat deployment experience and is currently active in the Army Reserves as a surgeon.
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Team - Katherine McKenzie, D.O., F.A.C.O.S (Trauma Medical Director)
Trauma Medical Director
Trauma/Critical Care Surgeon

Katherine McKenzie, D.O., F.A.C.O.S.

Dr. Katherine McKenzie received her B.S. degree from Kansas State University in 2004 and her D.O. degree from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences in 2009. She completed her residency in general surgery at Flushing Hospital Medical Center in Queens, NY in 2014 and a fellowship in surgical critical care at Rutgers University Hospital in Newark, NJ in 2015. She joined the faculty at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center (JHMC) in 2015 serving as an attending surgeon for trauma, critical care, and acute care surgery.
She was the Surgical Critical Care Director at JHMC from 2017 to 2019 and then became the Trauma Medical Director at JHMC in 2019 and continues to actively serve as the TMD at JHMC. Focused on gun-violence prevention, in 2021 Dr. McKenzie launched the first Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program at Jamaica Hospital with the creation of the Violence Elimination and Trauma Outreach (VETO) program. In 2023 she began service on the Medical Board of Directors for JHMC and she is active in resident and medical student education and is an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery for NYITCOM and a Clinical Professor of Surgery for Ross University Medical School.
She has co-authored several peer reviewed publications, presented abstracts, posters and has presented several invited Grand Rounds lectures. Dr. McKenzie was an invited key-note speaker at the 2023 OhioHealth Trauma Conference in Columbus, OH. In 2024, Dr. McKenzie was appointed by the NYC Regional Trauma Advisory Committee as the Physician Representative to the Greater New York Hospital Association Emergency Preparedness Committee.
She is an active ATLS instructor and certified in Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness. She is an inducted Fellow in the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons (ACOS) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and a member of the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST), the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS), and an associate member of The American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST). National committee appointments have included the Communications Committee for both the AWS and AAST, the Membership Committee for the ACOS and the Membership and Literature Review Committee for EAST.
Jamaica Hospital Medical Center Team - Jeffery Chan, M.D., F.A.C.S (Director of Acute Care Surgery)
Director of Acute Care Surgery
General Surgeon

Jeffery Chan, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Jeffrey Chan, the Director of Acute Care Surgery, received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and his Medical Doctor Degree from Boston University. Dr. Chan received his residency training at New York Hospital – Cornell Medical Center. He is the recipient of the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell College Department of Surgery Faculty Teaching Award. Dr. Chan has collaborated on various research projects throughout his career in the areas of basic sciences and surgery and these studies have been published in various surgery journals. He was also the recipient of teaching awards in 2010 and 2015.
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Trauma/Critical Care Surgeon

William Nuget,, MD

Dr. Nugent is an Attending Surgeon who is Board Certified in both Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and his MD from Dartmouth Medical School, as well as an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He completed both his residency in surgery and fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at New York Presbyterian Hospital- Weill


Cornell Medical Center. He has several publications in prestigious journals and has presented his work at various conferences nationwide. He is also an avid sailor and pilot.
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Trauma/Critical Care Surgeon

Nikia McFadden, M.D., M.A.S.

Dr. Nikia McFadden is an attending surgeon who received her bachelor’s degree in molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University and her Medical Degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her residency in surgery at the University of California, Davis, where she also completed a master’s degree in clinical research. She then returned to the University of Pennsylvania for her fellowship in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care. Dr. McFadden’s research interests are focused on healthcare disparities and firearm violence.
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Medical Director of the Surgical ICU, Medical Student
Clerkship Director, Trauma/Critical Care Surgeon

Michael Amaturo, D.O.

Dr. Michael Amaturo is an attending surgeon who is dual board-certified in general surgery and surgical critical care. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from SUNY Albany and his Medical Degree from New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed both his residency in surgery and fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Lutheran Medical Center (now NYU-Langone/Brooklyn).
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Surgery Performance Improvement Lead
Trauma/Critical Care Surgeon

John Bliton, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Dr. John Bliton is an Attending Surgeon who is dual board-certified in General Surgery and Surgical Critical Care. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biochemistry and Biophysics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After a year at the National Institutes of Health, he completed medical school at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. He completed his General Surgery residency at Montefiore and Jacobi in the Bronx, as well as his fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Baylor/Ben Taub Hospital in Houston. He has produced multiple publications in prominent national journals. His research and clinical interests are focused on ensuring everyone receives equal standard-of-care treatment regardless of socioeconomic or minority status.
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Trauma/Critical Care Surgeon

Danielle DeFoe, D.O., F.A.C.S.

Dr. Danielle DeFoe is an attending surgeon who is dual board-certified in general surgery and surgical critical care. She received her bachelor’s degree from Siena College and her DO/MS in neuromuscular science at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. She completed surgical residency at Hackensack at Palisades and her fellowship in Trauma/Surgical Critical Care/Acute Care Emergency Surgery at Cooper Hospital. She is an adjunct faculty member for the U.S. State Department. She is an ATLS and Stop the Bleed Instructor and ASSET instructor candidate. Her interests include global medicine and disaster preparedness.