January 2021 • DALLAS MEDICAL JOURNAL 7
this path. Dr. Dennis Stone at UT
Southwestern and Dr. John Pippen at
Baylor were two such mentors. “They were
amazing teachers,” she recalls. “They
made internal medicine so interesting and
enjoyable. They are definitely the reason I
chose my specialty.”
When Dr. Kassanoff-Piper started
practicing, she had the help of Dr. Paul
Neubach to show her how to apply her
knowledge from medical school in the
field. “He was my mentor,” she said. “He
had such a great bedside manner and
such a great rapport with his patients. He
really helped me with the art of medicine
and how to form those relationships
with people.” Today, having relationships
with her patients is one of the things Dr.
Kassanoff-Piper values most in her work.
She also values the ability to practice
alongside peers she’s known since she
was in school; Dr. Jennifer Wilkerson and
Dr. Raymon Aggarwal. “We know each
other really well. We all help each other
out,” Dr. Kassanoff-Piper said. “Our skills,
in terms of helping with things around
the office, are complementary, so we’re
able to work really well together as a
team.” From patients to mentors to peers,
Dr. Kassanoff-Piper has found the best
profession for bringing together her love of
building and helping a strong community.
Joining a Medical
Community
Dr. Kassanoff-Piper joined DCMS in
1992 while she was still in medical school.
Minus the years she lived out of town for
her residency, she has been a member
since. “I’m from a small town,” she said.
“Nobody in my family was a doctor or
had anything to do with medicine. And
so, I realized the benefits that organized
medicine could have for people like me.”
In organized medicine, Dr. Kassanoff-
Piper has found a great deal of positive
advocacy, volunteer opportunities, and
chances to work with people from different
places and different specialties. “It was
very inspiring to see, so I wanted to be a
part of it,” she said.
DCMS has always been unwavering in
its pursuit to advocate for patients and
physicians and to promote public health,
which are just two aspects in medicine
that Dr. Kassanoff-Piper has found to be
extremely important in medicine today.
“Dallas County Medical Society has this
great history of being the voice that the
public can trust during public health
crises,” she said. “We’ve had great
leaders through Ebola and West Nile.” Dr.
Kassanoff-Piper also speaks highly of her
predecessor, Dr. Mark Casanova. “He has
been an outstanding leader and a great
example for me to follow.”
Dr. Kassanoff-Piper commended Dr.
Casanova, the CEO, and staff of DCMS for
their dedication to helping other doctors
in the community, especially through the
COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s just so reflective
of the great commitment DCMS has to
help the medical community as a whole,”
Dr. Kassanoff-Piper said. This desire to
help others is a great asset to doctors
everywhere, and she has seen, and
continues to see, this attentiveness in
DCMS. “It’s an exciting time to be a part of
this group,” she said.
When Dr. Kassanoff-Piper discovered
she would be serving as the president of
DCMS, she was excited and nervous at
this new responsibility. “It was a little bit
surprising and such an honor to feel like
my peers thought that I could do a great
job at this,” said Dr. Kassanoff-Piper about
the phone call she received from Dr. Jim
Walton, DCMS past president and then
chair of the nominating committee. After
receiving the call, she spent her year as
secretary-treasurer and this past year as
president-elect pitching in and learning
from everybody around her in order to form
a plan for her year as president. “I was
really excited because I thought this was a
great opportunity for me to be able to give
back to the community,” she said, humbled
to be nominated for this position.
Moving Forward
While planning for her year as the
president of DCMS, Dr. Kassanoff-Piper
listed off goals she wanted to continue
and expand upon, as well as objectives
of her own. However, with the emergence
of COVID-19, she has had to adapt to
many changing circumstances. “I had all
of these ideas, and then COVID hit, so
I think COVID kind of decided my plans
for my presidency for me,” she said.
One of her main objectives is to simply
continue the work DCMS has put toward
relief plans with regard to COVID-19.
“Dr. Casanova has been so great, and of
course I want to continue the great work
that he’s done as we move into the second
year of the pandemic,” Dr. Kassanoff-
Piper said. She mentioned maintaining
partnerships with the Texas Medical
Association and the county’s public health
experts and community leaders to provide
evidence-based recommendations for
the community. Dr. Kassanoff-Piper also
wants to focus on improving the general
acceptance of vaccines in the community.
Beyond COVID-19-based goals, Dr.
Kassanoff-Piper wants to work on
increasing membership engagement and
membership value for all physicians at
DCMS. “I have always gone to almost all
of the activities that the medical society
has to offer. I feel like you get great
fellowship with other physicians,” she said.
“But there are so many members who
just don’t ever get involved. I think there
are ways they would enjoy participating.”
Dr. Kassanoff-Piper plans to find ways to
offer worthwhile opportunities, in whatever
way she can, for all doctors involved with
DCMS. “Just to find a way to be inclusive
of everybody, I think is really important.”
She understands that many physicians
seek different things depending on how
long they’ve been practicing medicine or
their practice model. Providing valuable
information and opportunities to all
members is a top priority for her.
Along with her own ideas, Dr. Kassanoff-
Piper has kept in mind the goals of DCMS
at large. “We’re starting the process of
making a two-year bridge plan. There are
some objectives in there that we want
to focus on,” she said. Some of these
goals include expanding communications
throughout the community and
implementing resources for broadening
member education. Dr. Kassanoff-Piper
is looking at her impending presidency
as an opportunity to bring together this
community of doctors that she has found
so welcoming and supportive since she
first started in this profession.
Outside of medicine, Dr. Kassanoff-Piper
has also found great support in her family
during this period in her life. She speaks
highly of her parents, her husband and
their blended family of six children. “My
family is fantastic. They are always incredibly
supportive” she said. “They knew that
this would take a good bit of time and
effort, and they’ve been totally understanding
and encouraging of the whole thing.”
Dr. Kassanoff-Piper continued her praise
for her partners at work as well. “Just total
support from everybody in my little circle.”
While she’s not practicing medicine, Dr.
Kassanoff-Piper loves spending time with
her family and reading mystery novels. She
is also looking forward to the day she can
travel again. DMJ
“I’m from a small town.
Nobody in my family was a
doctor or had anything to
do with medicine. And so,
I realized the benefits that
organized medicine could
have for people like me.”