Urologic Oncology
Urologist
President and Chief Medical Officer, MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital
Senior Administrator- Department of Medicine at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Physician Executive Director, MedStar Health Urology
Chair, Department of Urology; Robotic Surgery
Keith Kowalczyk, MD, is the Physician Executive Director, MedStar Health Urology and the Chair, Department of Urology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He is board certified in urology, with training in urologic oncology and robotic-assisted surgery. He sees patients at MedStar’s Pasquerilla Healthcare Center at MedStar Georgetown in Washington, D.C., as well as MedStar’s clinic in Chevy Chase.
Dr. Kowalczyk treats a full range of urologic conditions, but focuses on kidney, testicular, bladder, and prostate cancers. While skilled in traditional open surgery, his special expertise is in robotic-assisted surgery, and he has performed hundreds of procedures using this technology.
He is one of the few urologic surgeons in the D.C. metro area with specific expertise and training in urologic robotic surgery for urologic cancers. For those not familiar with robotic surgery, the surgeon uses special instruments controlled through a robotic/computer console which allows increased range of motion and often more precision than traditional surgical instruments. The camera he uses provides 10 to 12 times more magnification than traditional cameras used in surgery.
With his experience in performing robotic surgery, Dr. Kowalczyk is able to perform a more precise surgery with generally fewer complications. He is also able to offer more options for certain high-risk patients, like obese men who need prostatectomy surgery as well as patients with large kidney masses who have been told their kidney requires removal.
Urologist
MedStar Health
Dr. Jayaraman came to the community in 1975. He does his OR cases at the hospital every Wednesday and every other Thursday. He has had a few partners over the years that have come and gone. Dr. David Gordon covers call for him one week a month. Dr. Jayaraman plans on working at least another 5 years but would like to slow his practice down significantly.
Dr. Jayaraman has an easy-going yet engaging personality and gets along with everyone. He has an office and two procedure suites 14 miles north of the hospital, which he opened in 1990. He works with his wife who is a general practitioner, an NP, and the rest of his support staff. He works 70+ hours a week and has done so for years. He calls the OR staff “wonderful, and my cases are appropriately staffed”. He considers himself to be “an ethical and moral man”. He has lived one mile from his office, in the same home, since 1976.
Dr. Jayaraman is a bread-and-butter urologist who does not do any of the big prostate or stones cases. He sends 3–4 robotic cases a month to Washington Hospital Center. In his words, “I do not do cases that require an overnight stay”. There is a competing urology group, Chesapeake Urology, that has 3 urologists in Brandywine 45 minutes north, but the entire group has close to 50 urologists. That group is owned by a hedge fund.
President and CEO
MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital
Prior to her arrival at MedStar St. Mary’s in 2022, Dr. Novello served in numerous leadership positions at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, most recently as Vice President of Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer (2017–2021).
During her 22-year tenure at MedStar Franklin Square, Dr. Novello oversaw quality, safety and risk management, clinical process improvement, programmatic growth, physician strategic development, Graduate Medical Education and Continuing Medical Education, and medical staff relations. As the Chief Medical Information Officer, she managed implementation of IT applications, including MedConnect, MedStar Health’s electronic health record. Board certified in Emergency Medicine, Dr. Novello was also an attending physician in the hospital’s Emergency Department.
Dr. Novello is a graduate of Washington University School of Medicine, completing her internship at Rhode Island Hospital and her residency at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American College of Physician Executives, and the American College of Healthcare Executives.
She currently serves as co-chair of the MedStar Health Capacity and Throughput Task Force and the MedStar Health Home Care Board of Directors, as well as the Catholic Charities of Central Maryland Board of Directors. She also recently began serving as a physician representative on the American Hospital Association Region Three Policy Board. Her committee work includes participation in the Chesapeake Regional Information System for our Patients (CRISP) Clinical Advisory Group, the Maryland State Telemedicine Clinical Advisory Group task force, MedStar corporate informatics governance and workgroup committees, co-chair of MedStar Franklin Square’s Informatics Governance Committee, co-chair of the MedStar Franklin Square Meaningful Use Committee, and physician chair of MedStar Health’s High Reliability Organization Implementation Program.
Senior Director, Service Line
MedStar Health Urology
MGUH Departments of Medicine and Student Health
Dynamic, strategic visionary executive leader in strategic planning, operational management, and clinical program development focused on establishing new partnerships and clinical resource modeling.
Accomplished leader in strategic business planning and program enrichment with a focus on physician recruitment, developing key partnerships, and increasing market share through clinical resource allocation and practice identification.
Cultivating relationships with physicians, executive colleagues, philanthropic stakeholders, staff, and patients at all levels, identifying specific needs, using diplomacy and experienced political savvy to accomplish desired results.
Creative and successful change agent with a proven track record of organizational turnaround, process improvement, EPIC EMR implementation, and analyzing/streamlining operational workflow to increase staff and physician productivity, improve efficiency, and optimize revenue.
Excellent written and interpersonal communication that creates buy-in and credibility, paired with careful decision-making and problem-solving skills that drive organizational growth with operational and fiscal stability.