Special Announcement from Mollie Sugarman

Dear NYBRA patients and partners,

After much contemplation, I have decided to transition into the next chapter of my life. Effective 1 January 2025, I will officially retire from my role as Clinical Director of the Patient Empowerment Program at NYBRA. We are actively in the process of selecting a successor who we are certain will continue the mission of the Patient Empowerment Program. We will keep you updated as this transition unfolds and anticipate you will welcome that individual with open arms.

It has been an extraordinary sixteen years since the inception of this integrative program, and I am immensely proud of the pioneering strides we have made together. NYBRA has been and continues to be the sole private practice in the U.S. that offers such a comprehensive model to our patients. We have indeed been trailblazers in our field. It also signifies the culmination of a fulfilling fifty-six-year professional career in this field. (For those of you doing the math, I started at age 2). Though this decision weighs heavy on my heart, I am grateful and ready for what lies ahead and ready to embrace it.

As I reflect on our incredible journey, I am filled with a deep sense of gratitude and warmth. The creation and evolution of this program and the privilege of working with each of you have been among the most rewarding experiences of my professional and personal life. Your trust and collaboration have been pivotal to the success of our program, and I am deeply moved by the opportunity to have been a part of your journey.

I am thankful for the opportunity to empower NYBRA patients and take pride in our program’s significant impact on our patients, their partners, and the practice. As you continue forward, I urge you to draw upon the tools and insights you have gained and remember the resilience, patience, and strength within each of you.

Our esteemed founding partners, Dr. Randall Feingold and Dr. Ron Israeli, embraced the creation of this program. Their exceptional microsurgical prowess, coupled with their profound sensitivity to the needs of our patients, laid the foundation for this remarkable program. I extend my deepest gratitude to them and to the other partners, Drs. Peter Korn, David Light, and Jonathan Bank, for their unwavering commitment, support, and recognition of the emotional dimensions of our patients’ journeys. Collaborating with these five exceptional physicians has been an honor.

Each of you holds a special place in my heart, and I will forever cherish the relationships and shared memories we have cultivated. I am profoundly grateful for the gifts you have bestowed upon me, and I extend my heartfelt thanks to each one of you. May the future be filled with an abundance of good health, joy, and moments of wonder and awe.

From my heart,
Mollie Sugarman

P.S. Let us remember the fundamental “Mollie-isms”:
a. What do I know to be true at this moment?
b. Self-care is not self-indulgence.
c. One moves forward from this experience, rather than moving on; it becomes part of the fiber of your story.
d. Remember to use the trauma of diagnosis as an opportunity for personal growth.