Northern Light Mercy Hospital welcomes new board members

Northern Light Mercy Hospital has announced that Deqa Dhalac, MSW, MDP; Sister Judith Carey, RSM; Jen Palminteri, MD; and Victoria Morales have joined its Board of Trustees.
 

“Each of our new board members are leaders in our community and deeply connected to those we serve,” said Debra Taylor, chair of Mercy Hospital’s Board of Trustees. “Their experience will help guide us as we continue to work our way through this pandemic and plan for our future at our expanded campus on Fore River Parkway.”
 

Deqa Dhalac, MSW, MDP
Deqa is the family engagement and cultural responsiveness specialist for Maine Department of Education and is the co-founder of Cross-Cultural Community Services where she and her colleagues provide cultural competency trainings to organizations in Maine to better understand the challenge immigrants go through as they navigate western systems. Deqa holds a master’s degrees in development policy and practice from the University of New Hampshire as well as social work from the University of New England in Portland. She formerly worked for The Opportunity Alliance as a community builder and the city of Portland as a health and human services councilor. Deqa is originally from Somalia East Africa. She came to the United States in 1992 and has three children. She is a leader in the Somali Community Center of Maine, a city councilor in South Portland, Maine representing district 5, and an Emerge Maine Alumni.
 

Victoria Morales
Victoria is the executive director of Quality Housing Coalition (QHC) and has spent most of her professional life working within communities to find practical solutions to shared challenges. Before joining Quality Housing Coalition (QHC), Victoria co-founded the Maine Youth Court, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing school suspensions and youth incarceration through restorative practices. During this time, she also served as Principal Attorney at the Maine Department of Transportation, Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of Portland, and pro bono asylum council for the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project.  Victoria earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston College in Boston, MA and her law degree from the University of Maine School of Law in Portland. Victoria was elected to her first term in the Maine House in 2018 for House District 33 in South Portland.  She is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety. Victoria volunteers as a youth sports coach and supports many school and community activities. She lives in South Portland with her husband, three children, and their dog Lucky. 
 

Jen Palminteri, MD
Dr. Palminteri, who has been practicing in Maine since 2011, is board-certified in internal medicine, critical care, and pulmonary diseases by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Palminteri, who is also vice president of the Mercy medical staff, attended the University of Vermont College of Medicine and completed both her residency and fellowship at Maine Medical Center. Dr. Palminteri has served as the medical director of critical care services at Mercy Hospital since 2018 and leads its Critical Care Committee. She also participates in several committees across the Northern Light Health system.
 

During her residency, Dr. Palminteri served as the president of the House Staff Association and on the Graduate Medical Education Committee. She co-founded the Interstitial Lung Disease Program at Chest Medicine Associates and is a current member of the teaching faculty at Maine Medical Center. 
 

Sister Judith Carey, RSM
Sr. Judith is a member of the Sisters of Mercy and is a facilitator/organizational consultant. She has retired as the Vice President of Mission Integration at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut. Sister Judy received her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the Diocesan Teachers’ College in Madison, Connecticut; a master’s degree in special education from Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut; a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Connecticut; and a Doctor of Humane Letters from Saint Joseph College.