Carol Encarnacion, MD
Meadville
Dr. Encarnacion is an infection prevention specialist who provided invaluable leadership in helping her community prepare for COVID-19. She has been involved in every aspect of planning and implementation for Meadville Medical Center’s COVID-19 response.

Eric Bradburn, DO
Lancaster
A critical care trauma surgeon with Penn Medicine, Dr. Bradburn has dedicated his career to improving the lives of his patients. He developed a team-based intensive care unit contingency schedule to allow for the care of critically ill patients during the COVID-19 emergency. The deployment of these teams improved teamwork and communication between departments and prepared his colleagues to handle the pandemic.

Franklin McLaughlin, DO
Conneautville
A family physician with Meadville Medical Center, Dr. McLaughlin recently spearheaded the development of his organization’s flu evaluation center, the area’s first outpatient COVID-19 testing site in the region. The center is open seven days a week and provides quick evaluation and testing of patients with flu or COVID-19 symptoms.

Jill Owens, MD
Bradford
Dr. Owens is a family physician with Bradford Family Medicine. She has been an active voice on Facebook and other social media platforms to show the proper way to wear face masks in public and encourage people to stay home during the peak weeks of the pandemic.

Manda Null, DO
Litiz
 Dr. Null is an anesthesiologist who has been instrumental in organizing a multidisciplinary response team at UPMC Lititz. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she has dedicated her time and energy to ensuring that patients and staff are educated on the details of caring for patients affected by the virus.

Matthew Berger, MD
Moosic
Dr. Berger is a psychiatrist who has kept his practice open during the COVID-19 pandemic to meet the mental health needs of patients. He recognizes that, while the physical symptoms of COVID-19 can be devasting, the emotional and economical affects are challenging as well. He has served as a steady voice for both his staff and his patients, reassuring them that they are in it together and will get through this difficult time.

Raghavendra Tirupathi, MD
Chambersburg
As medical director of Keystone Infectious Diseases and co-chair of Keystone Health’s COVID-19 planning committee, Dr. Tirupathi has led and advised the core team throughout the pandemic. His contributions to his health system’s COVID-19 response include his work to create triage and testing algorithms, set up respiratory tests, implementing a protocol for the decontamination of N95 masks. He has also represented PAMED in numerous initiatives to educate the community and the media about COVID-19.

Kawish Garg, MD
Camp Hill
Dr. Garg is medical director of the sleep medicine department at Geisinger Holy Spirit. He is active in organized medicine and has served as president of the Central PA Psychiatric Society and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Pennsylvania Sleep Society. His guiding principle as a physician is a simple but essential one - He believes strongly that he can help patients improve their lives.

Saurabh Sharma, MD
Sayre
A cardiologist with Guthrie health system, Dr. Sharma prioritizes building a rapport with his patients. He works closely with patients to help them reflect on the reasons why they engage in behavior that could be harmful for their cardiac health and works with them to find solutions. Dr. Sharma is also passionate about teaching and serves as a core faculty member of Guthrie’s cardiovascular fellowship program.