GFH honors Fred Scialabba, MD, with Physician Award of Excellence

Fred P. Scialabba, MD, Neurosurgery, was recently recognized by the Glens Falls Hospital Board of Governors with the Harry M. “Mac” DePan Physician Award of Excellence during the Board’s Annual Meeting and Holiday Dinner.
Dr. Scialabba joined the Glens Falls medical community in 1991 when he and his family relocated to this region from Brooklyn, NY. Prior to joining Frederic Fagelman, MD, in private practice that year, Dr. Scialabba had been director of clinical services in the neurosurgery department at The Kings County Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. He also held the position of assistant professor of neurosurgery at the State University Hospital of New York at Downstate in Brooklyn.

Dr. Scialabba immediately impressed everyone at Glens Falls Hospital and throughout the medical community with his robust enthusiasm for the continuous improvement of surgical patient care, his introduction of new surgical technologies and procedures, and his selfless willingness to volunteer within the Medical/Dental Staff and the Hospital in order to improve patient care at GFH.
He established the technology and technique for stereotactic brain biopsies at GFH, and introduced intraoperative ultrasound for locating brain tumors and brain lesions in patients. He also pioneered the Hospital's advancement to new, less-invasive intracranial pressure monitoring technology for head injuries/trauma. This catheter greatly improved patient safety and quality outcomes by using miniature, fiber optic sensing devices . . . a huge step forward from traditional, conventional neurosurgical technology. Very recently, Dr. Scialabba has been a leader in advocating for and introducing yet another advancement in neurosurgery at GFH: an image-guided navigational system that allow back/spine surgery at the Hospital to be state-of-the-art in sophistication and quality.

Dr. Scialabba has always been very involved in other aspects of improving patient care at GFH by actively serving as a member of the Surgical Suite Committee, the Medical Executive Committee and the Joint Quality Committee of the Board of Governors. He is the elected vice president of the Medical/Dental Staff and has served in that role, with distinction, since 1997.
As vice president of the Medical/Dental Staff, Dr. Scialabba has chaired the Clinical Practice Review Committee, a multi-disciplinary group charged with monitoring and improving the quality of patient care at GFH. His leadership of this activity has been exceptional, as he has consistently advanced a philosophy and agenda for continuous clinical quality improvement, individual accountability, and physician/hospital collaboration.

Dr. Scialabba received his medical degree from the University of Rome, Italy in 1976 and began a residency that year in general surgery. He pursued his neurosurgical training at the State University of New York/Downstate Medical Center/Kings County Medical Center and completed that training in 1984. Dr. Scialabba is an active member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Dr. Scialabba resides in Queensbury with his wife Pamela. They have three sons who are in various stages of their professional careers.