MEET THE DOCTOR
Dr. Thomas is a board-certified pediatrician with more than two decades of experience in the field. She has been listed among the “Top Pediatricians” in the country. An alumnus of St. John’s Medical College, one of the top-ranked medical schools in India, Dr. Thomas graduated in 1984 in the top 1% of her class, with distinction. After completing her Pediatric Residency at the State University of New York, Brooklyn, she worked as a Pediatric Emergency Room Physician in Staten Island University Hospital, then moved on to become the Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program at Richmond University Hospital. In addition to her academic positions, she has been in private practice since 2005. Dr. Thomas continues to maintain close ties to academia and currently holds a part-time Faculty/Hospitalist position at Jersey Shore Medical Center in New Jersey and is actively involved with teaching residents and medical students.
In addition to being board-certified in Pediatrics, Dr. Thomas also became Board Certified in Obesity Medicine in 2015 and is one of the few physicians in the US that specializes in Obesity Medicine. In 2019 she started a “Nutrition and Lifestyle Modification” program for children and adolescents in her office, the first such program in Staten Island, geared towards helping families adopt healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle.
She is involved with the Child Wellness Initiative in Staten Island, which is a project created by the Borough President’s office, in close association with physicians, schools, and other community partners. This program is focused on treating chronic illnesses like Obesity and Asthma in the children of Staten Island.
Additionally, she has served as the Chair of the Pediatric Section of the Richmond Academy of Medicine and has occasionally offered professional advice in the “Ask the Doctor” column of the Staten Island Parent magazine. Dr. Thomas was also the New York State Representative for the Christian Medical and Dental Association for many years. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her family. She participates in mission trips to different countries and is also involved in outreach programs organized by her local church.
Dr. Lorrie DeSena FNP is a highly qualified Board-Certified Nurse Practitioner with many years of experience and has been working at Thomas Pediatrics since 2016. After completing her Bachelor of Science from Wagner College, she worked at St. Vincent’s Medical Center (now RUMC) in Pediatrics as a certified Pediatric nurse. Lorrie then returned to Wagner College for her Master of Science in Nursing Education (2011) and after that, she received her Post Master Family Nurse Practitioner in 2015. During this time Lorrie also started working at Wagner College as an Associate Clinical Professor, teaching nursing clinical and theory classes. She has taught many different nursing classes, but Pediatrics is her specialty and favorite. As a lifelong learner, Lorrie decided that even though she was working at Wagner College and Thomas’ Pediatrics and had four children, five pets, and a great husband at home she was going back to school again. She completed her Doctor of Nursing Practice from Wagner College in December of 2018 and also became a Certified Nurse Educator in 2021 through the NLN.
In her limited spare time, she enjoys eating dinner with her husband Dr. Joseph DeSena and their kids, (Alex, Joe, Amanda, and Sam) playing with their two golden retrievers (Copper and Ginger) and two cats (Willow and Bowie), looking at the chinchilla (Pepper) from a distance, going to the movies, and listening to her husband’s band Friday Night Phoenix.
Bianca Palumbo is a Registered Dietitian and has been working at Thomas Pediatrics since 2019. She works closely with Dr. Thomas in the “Nutrition and Lifestyle Modification Program” offered at the office, providing nutrition counseling to children, adolescents, and the entire family for weight control, healthy eating behaviors, and a wide range of other nutrition-related concerns
Bianca completed her Bachelor of Science from Johnson and Wales University in Culinary Nutrition and then obtained a Master’s degree from Central Michigan University in Nutrition and Dietetics to become a Registered Dietitian.
Bianca has many years of experience, having worked in the Nutrition and Culinary field for more than a decade. Her experience includes working with adolescents at a Weight Loss Program in Florida, and as a Clinical Dietitian at Staten University hospital. Currently, she works for City Harvest and also, provides nutrition education and culinary classes to various schools, community programs, and many other organizations on Staten Island. She has a consulting position with the Department of Health to work with children 2-5 years of age, educating families on healthy behaviors and eating habits for the entire family. She also works closely with different pediatric offices on Staten Island offering nutrition counseling to their patients.
In her spare time, Bianca coaches a competitive Cheerleading team and is very involved in youth sports on the Island. She continues to pursue her passion for cooking and food, creating new recipes which she shares with her family and friends.
Samantha, the Office Manager has been with Dr. Thomas since 2015. Initially she started working as a Medical Assistant, and then moved into the position of Office Manager due to her excellent leadership capabilities and compassionate nature. She has developed a very close relationship with the families over the years and takes great care and pride in providing the best family experience for our patients. Samantha never hesitates to go the extra mile if needed to help patients, even if it means staying after office hours or coming in on her day off. Our families absolutely love her!
In her spare time, she helps her husband, a Professional Chef in his Restaurant, spends time with her family and enjoys reading, crafting, cooking and baking.
