Met The Staff

Anita Kelsey, M.D. Director

Dr. Anita Kelsey is the director of the Echocardiography Laboratory and a Cardiologist at the Hoffman Heart and Vascular Institute of Connecticut at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. She completed her Cardiology fellowship at Duke University in 1998 and joined Hartford Hospital where she was Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and Assistant Director of Echocardiography. She is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Connecticut Medical School. She joined the Hoffman Heart Institute at Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center in 2003 as the Director of Echocardiography. She maintains special interest and expertise in Echocardiography with prior research in Coronary Flow Reserve, Quantitative Myocardial Contrast Enhancement, and Stress Echocardiography. She also has a special interest in Cardiovascular Disease in women and is a member of the North American Menopause Society.

Claire L. Karwacki-Marugg, M.S., CES, Coordinator

Claire Karwacki-Marugg has served in the health and wellness field for 26 years and has worked at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center for the past 19 years in the Hoffman Heart and Vascular Institute of Connecticut. She graduated from the University of Wyoming with her Masters in Exercise Physiology and is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as an Exercise Specialist. Her specialties are in in cardiac rehabilitation, lipid management and wellness.

“I am so excited to be involved with this new and upcoming program. There is such a need to educate women about cardiac wellness and prevention. The Women's Heart Program provides a unique opportunity to teach awareness and skills to women on how to have healthier lives.”

Lucille D. Pranitis R.N., Coordinator

Lucille D. Pranitis has been an employee of the Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center Family since 1993. She received her Nursing degree from Saint Francis School of Nursing and continues to be involved in the alumni association. Her career at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center began as an Nurse on the Cardiac step-down unit where she served for seven years. She then expanded her experience to encompass Gastroenterology/Surgical procedures Nursing Specialty. During this four year time period she became involved in Colo-Rectal Research and continues to enjoy being in the forefront of research. She returned to Cardiology and was employed in Cardiac Rehab both at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center and satellite sites. Her interest blossomed in Cardiology and preventive health care.

“I love having the opportunity to make a difference in these women’s lives. Impacting women’s lifestyles in a positive way as well as impacting family and friends is extremely rewarding to me professionally.”

Margaret N. Whitaker, M.S., R.D., Dietitian

Margaret N. Whitaker has been an employee of the Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center family since 1980. Her career at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center began in the Outpatient Nutrition Clinic as a Registered Dietitian, and then she moved to the Mount Sinai Campus where she became a Certified Diabetes Educator in 1991. She later returned to the Saint Francis Campus serving as a Registered Dietitian for the Department of Food and Nutrition Services. Her responsibilities have focused in outpatient nutrition counseling with a specialty focus in diabetes and cardiovascular disease. She attended Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut, receiving a B.A. degree in Home Economics: Food and Nutrition in 1976 followed by a M.A. degree in Nutrition in 1993.

“I feel privileged to be a part of the Women’s Heart Program at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center. It lets me to utilize my specialties to reach, counsel and educate individuals on healthy nutrition lifestyles. I enjoy people. I enjoy helping them establish direction and goals to achieve healthier lifestyles. Empowering them is exciting. Being a part of the Women’s Heart Program team to help reduce heart disease in women is exhilarating!”

Beverley Vassell, Administrative Assistant

I have worked with various cardiologists at Saint Francis for the past 18 years of my career. I am currently the secretary for the Women’s Heart Program at Saint Francis Hospital & Medical Center’s Hoffman Heart & Vascular Institute of Connecticut. Five years prior to joining Saint Francis, I was employed as a Medical Secretary/Transcriptionist in a variety of healthcare settings. I am enthusiastic and excited about being a part of the Women’s Heart Program. It’s a program geared toward awareness and prevention and I am proud to promote women’s wellness.