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Women’s Advisory Board
of Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital
Women’s Advisory Board Presentation Series
1. Dr. Nicole Gress / May 18th / 4 pm / “Mental Health and the Hormone Component – Medications we can utilize in Third Trimester”.
Dr. Randhawa / “Impact of Stress during pregnancy and after”.
2. Dr. Nutan Vaidya / June 17th / 2 pm / “Resilience During/Post Pandemic”.
Dr. Randhawa / “Self-care during COVID”.
3. Dr. Miral Amin / July 16th / 2 pm / “Mental Health Care of Patients with Breast Cancer”.
Dr. Randhawa / “How to access capacity to make decisions”.
4. Dr. Loury / October 7th / 3 pm / “Mental Health Awareness in the Community and How we can monitor and support on a continuous basis”.
Dr. Randhawa / “411 mental health in urban communities”.
Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital recognizes the unique challenges many women face on a day-to-day basis. Past or current trauma, stress from family responsibilities, compounded by complications from mental or medical health concerns, may make it difficult for a woman to lead a healthy and happy life.
Research has shown that better outcomes are achieved for women when both the physical and mental health condition of the individual are addressed. In some instances, one area may be causing or be a contributing factor to the symptoms the person is experiencing.
Silver Oaks Hospital has formed an expert advisory panel made up of leading experts from the medical and mental health fields to further support the long-term holistic recovery for women.
This will broaden integration between mental and physical health. Members of the advisory board will not only provide insight into the treatment offered in the women’s program at Silver Oaks Hospital.
Silver Oaks is hoping to broaden the treatment of women and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issues that many women bring to their physicians in the course of physical treatment. So often, the mental health needs of women go unaddressed until they become a crisis. By working with physicians from all aspects of women’s health, Silver Oaks is better positioned to ensure that when mental health issues arise, the physical issues are considered as a contributory factor.
Dr. Jyoti Randhawa
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Randhawa completed her General Adult Psychiatry training at Michigan State University and a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the University of Chicago. She has actively practiced in the outpatient and inpatient clinical setting within urban, suburban, VA and military communities.
She is strongly committed to the pursuit of higher education and has held positions as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Rosalind Franklin University and as a Supervisor for Nurse Practitioners.
Dr. Randhawa brings established leadership experience to Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital having held previous CMO positions within other organizations. She strives to provide optimal standards of care for patients, stand as an advocate for those with mental health conditions, and bring awareness of mental health to our community.
Dr. Binisa Shah
Northwestern University
Dr. Binisa Shah is a board-certified Family Medicine Physician working at the Northwestern Medical Group. She currently works in the Urgent Care, and prior to this, was a PCP with the Franciscan Alliance in Northwest Indiana.
Dr. Shah has extensive experience in preventative care, women’s health, chronic medical conditions, obesity management, and mental health. She is committed to providing all her patients with comprehensive care and strongly believes in the necessity to educate patients on all their lifestyle and healthcare needs.
Dr. Shah received a BA in Economics from a combined BA/MD program at Michigan State University, and continued on to receive her MD. She completed her residency in Family Medicine in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where she served as Chief Resident. She has served as a guest speaker for various community lectures on diabetes, contraception, heart disease, and women’s health. She has been involved in committees for quality improvement and in projects aimed at decreasing antibiotic usage.
She lives in Chicago with her husband and 2 young boys. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors, trying new things, cooking, reading, running and Spartan basketball!
Scott Hullinger
Chief Executive Officer
With 25 years at the executive level, Scott has extensive experience in the inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services field. He has a wealth of knowledge with employee and physician recruitment, regulatory compliance, program development and clinical operations for mental health and substance use treatment caring for all patient populations.
Scott holds a Master of Science degree in Health Services Administration from University of Evansville, Master of Social Work degree from University of Kentucky and a Bachelor’s degree in Education and Music from Wittenberg University.
Scott is a member of the National Association of Healthcare Quality and the National Association of Social Workers, serving on delegations to Brazil and Russia.
Dr. Miral Amin
Cancer Treatment Center of America/Breast Oncology Surgeon
Dr. Miral Amin, MD, FACS earned a medical degree from Pramukh Swami Medical College in Gujarat, India, before completing a residency in general surgery from North Oakland Medical Center and St. Joseph Mercy Oakland. While at St. Joseph Mercy Oakland, Dr. Amin was Chief Resident of general surgery during her final year.
During medical school, Dr. Amin was drawn to surgery because of its challenges and rewards. She considers developing strong connections with patients and their families to be a privilege, and enjoys helping through the cancer journey.
“As a breast surgeon, I get to be present in the process of recommending, choosing, and providing care to patients based on what is important to them,” says Dr. Amin. “My specialty allows me to tailor the treatment and care to what patients would benefit from the most.”
She believes that the doctor-patient relationship is based on trust and understanding.
“Patients are often overwhelmed upon getting their diagnosis. The doctor plays a big role in making the patient feel secure, comfortable and confident with the healing process,” says Dr. Amin.
Dr. Amin is interested in clinical research. Her interests include oncoplastic surgery of the breast, management of the axilla in breast cancer, intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) for breast cancer, patient education and the influence of nutrition and supplements, physical therapy and other rehabilitative services, and the use of integrative medicine in improving outcomes for breast cancer patients. Her work has been published in such renowned publications as Annals of Surgical Oncology and Cancer.
Dr. Amin is a member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Society of Breast Surgeons and the Society of Surgical Oncology.
In her spare time, Dr. Amin enjoys spending time with her family, as well as visiting family all over America, India and England. She likes spending time outdoors, trying new restaurants and painting. To stay fit, Dr. Amin enjoys practicing yoga.
Dr. Nicole Gress
OBGYN Partners in Obstetrics and Women’s Health
Nicole Gress, M.D. was born and raised in the New Lenox area and is so happy to be practicing at Silver Cross Hospital. She graduated from Lincoln-Way High School and did her undergraduate studies at Knox College. She then moved to Chicago for medical school at Rush University and residency in Ob/GYN at Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
Immediately after training, she moved back home to Mokena. She started at Silver Cross in 2009 and quickly became a partner with Partners in Obstetrics and Women’s Health.
While she enjoys both aspects of Obstetrics and Gynecology, she has focused her career on Maternal Health. She is passionate on providing women with access to mental health services throughout all timeframes in their lives: in their fertile years, throughout pregnancy, during the postpartum time, as well as throughout menopause. She also loves to see patients with infertility. It is very rewarding to guide a couple through the fertility testing / treatment and then care for them throughout their pregnancy.
She is also committed to providing minimally invasive gynecologic surgical options. She performs complex cases including hysterectomy, prolapse repair, myomectomy and ovarian cystectomy with robotic assistance. This allows the patients a quick recovery and cosmetic incisions.
She is board certified in OB/GYN, a member of American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology (CoEMIG), and the Midwest Institute for Robotic Surgery (MIRS).
Hiren Ghayal, Psy D.
Oak Street OP center
Hiren Ghayal, Psy.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and the Supervising Psychologist at Hartgrove Behavioral Health System and Garfield Park Behavioral Hospital. Dr. Ghayal also serves as the head of the Patient Advocacy Department at Hartgrove Hospital. He is currently an MBA candidate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Dr. Ghayal completed his APA accredited internship at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital and his post-doctoral fellowship requirements at Hartgrove Hospital.
He graduated from Midwestern University with his Doctor of Psychology degree. Dr. Ghayal’s clinical interests include assessment and therapy with at-risk children, adolescents and adults. His career aspirations include program development, hospital operations and management, and performance improvement.
Dr. Mykela Loury
Family Medicine UIC
Dr. Mykela Loury has always been an agent for health care justice and social change. Since practicing medicine, she has concentrated on caring for underserved and underinsured populations. As a family medicine physician, she served as Site Medical Director at the University of Illinois at Chicago Cicero location.
She most recently has delivered care in nearby Indiana at Community HealthNet health center. She graduated from Spelman College and completed a Master of Public Health with emphasis on Public Health Policy and Administration from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Loury earned her medical degree from Ross University and completed her residency at The University of Chicago’s Northshore University Health System. Currently, Dr. Loury works as a Clinical Operations Medical Director for AIM Specialty Health where she directs clinicians regarding established practice guidelines and evidence based medical management.
Her interests include mental health wellness, chronic disease management and clinical research.
Nutan Vaidya, MD Psychiatrist
Professor & Discipline Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Senior Associate Dean for Academic Learning Environment; Clinical Sciences, Psychiatry & Behavioral Science, Neurology
As a lifelong academician and administrator, Dr. Vaidya has spent a considerable amount of time recognizing and cultivating resident and faculty members’ talents and enhancing their teaching and academic skills.
Dr. Vaidya assumed the role of Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Talent Recognition and Enhancement in 2014. She has conducted several faculty development seminars for CMS clinical faculty. In January 2016, Dr. Vaidya took the helm of the newly created Office of Academic Learning Environment and had begun several new initiatives to improve the student learning environment. Under her leadership, the medical school has implemented measures to promote professionalism and build resilience in faculty, staff, and students. Dr. Vaidya was instrumental in starting the medical school’s clinical faculty recognition program. She leads the Professionalism Committee of Chicago Medical School, which teaches, promotes, and recognizes professionalism in the students.
A distinguished fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, Dr. Vaidya specializes in Neuropsychiatry by the United Council of Neurologic Subspecialties. She has published extensively on psychopathology and neuropsychiatric education and was a reviewer for several academic journals. She has won several awards for teaching and clinical care of neuropsychiatric patients. Dr. Vaidya is the co-author of two textbooks, Psychiatry Rounds (Medmaster Publishing) and Descriptive Psychopathology (Cambridge University Press), and has authored several peer-reviewed articles and given many invited presentations.
Dr. Vaidya began her career at Chicago Medical School as a psychiatry resident. During her tenure at CMS, Dr. Vaidya has held various administrative positions: She served as chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences from 2003 to 2013 and as interim chair of the Department of Neurology (2009). In the past, Dr. Vaidya has also held several educational positions within the psychiatry discipline, including Director of Medical Student Education and Acting Director of Residency Training.
For more information about the specialized women’s program or the advisory board, please call 844-580-5000. Silver Oaks Behavioral Hospital offers no-cost mental health assessments 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
