mybonsecours
palliative medicine team
Our team of palliative specialists includes physicians who are board certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, advanced practice nurses, and licensed clinical social workers.
Leanne Yanni, MD – Medical Director
Originally from upstate New York where she attended medical school, Dr. Leanne Yanni completed her training in Internal Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University and remained on faculty for 10 years. During that time she developed special expertise in pain and palliative care. In October 2011, she took the role of Medical Director of Palliative Medicine at Bon Secours Richmond. She has a special interest in pain education and has developed an online curriculum, published several papers, and spoken on the topic at national meetings. She has received several awards for her work in this area; in 2010 and 2011 her peers voted her as a “Top Doc” for Pain Management and in 2012 her peers voted her as a "Top Doc" for Palliative Medicine in Richmond Magazine and she received the 2011 American College of Physicians’ Virginia Chapter Young Internist of the Year Award. In her role as Medical Director, she is focused on interdisciplinary team delivery of quality care to patients facing serious illness, both in the inpatient and outpatient setting. She lives in Richmond with her husband, a Richmond native, and their 3 daughters.
Seth Roberts, MD
Dr. Roberts completed training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh in 2004. He has been involved with Palliative Medicine since 2010, when he completed his fellowship in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Roberts has a special interest in research and has had articles appear in Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, Journal of Palliative Medicine, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Roberts enjoys singing in choirs and has been a member of the James River Singers and the choir of River Road Church.
Jennie Webb-Wright, MD
Dr. Webb-Wright completed training in Internal Medicine at Emory University in 1998. She has been involved with Palliative Medicine since 2004 when she did a fellowship in Palliative Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to moving to Richmond, Dr. Webb-Wright served at Medical Director of the Rappahannock General Hospital Palliative Care Program in the Northern Neck. She currently lives in Goochland with her husband and four children.
Sabine Cyrus, NP
Sabine has been practicing as a Nurse Practitioner for 12 years. She is licensed in the area of Family Practice. Recipient of the 2012 Nursing Caring Award for the Bon Secours Medical Group along with her successful completion of the Facilitative Leadership course in October 2012. She moved to Richmond from southern New Jersery in 2009 and has been practicing Palliative Medicine exclusively since that time. She worked in the areas of Nephrology and Family Practice prior to moving to Richmond. She enjoys spending her time outside of work with her daughter and husband, traveling and relaxing.
Jo Ann Malgieri-Fenner, NP
Jo Ann has been nationally certified as a Family Nurse Practitioner since 1996 and has practiced in Hospice and Palliative Care since 1999. In 2004 she was part of a team that brought Pain and Palliative Care Services to Christiana Care Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2010, she received the Delaware Nurse Practitioner Palliative Care Excellence Award. She is passionate about education and started the Pain and Palliative Care Nurse Liaison Program at Christiana Care Hospital and is looking forward to sharing her expertise, knowledge, and love of teaching with the Bon Secours Health System. After getting married in 2011, Jo Ann moved to Virginia and joined the Bon Secours team. However, she continues to visit Delaware in her role as Lt. Colonel of the Delaware National Guard. She has 3 grown children and 3 grandsons.
Cynthia Straub, NP
Cynthia attended George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and graduated with a BSN in 1994, after which she worked in pediatric oncology and pediatric dialysis and transplantation. In 2000, she moved to Palo Alto, California where she continued working in dialysis, but with adults. Cynthia returned to college and in 2007 earned a Family Nurse Practitioner and Master degree in Nursing from San Jose State in San Jose, Ca. For the next 3 years she worked in Primary Care for the Veteran’s Affairs Healthcare System. Most of her patients were WWII Veterans, and much of which involved palliative care. Since then, her interest has been in Palliative Medicine.
Melissa Ferrell, LCSW
Melissa completed undergraduate work in Psychology at Mary Baldwin College, and received her Master of Social Work Degree at Virginia Commonwealth University and a Certificate in Aging Studies through the VCU Graduate School of Gerontology in 1993. She is certified as an Advanced Hospice and Palliative Social Worker. She has worked in palliative care with Bon Secours Richmond since 2005. Previous experience was with kidney dialysis and nursing home residents in Richmond and surrounding counties. Melissa lives in Richmond's Fan District and has two daughters, one of whom practices social work in NYC, and the other (and spouse) who are completing doctoral dissertations and plan to teach.
