Velma P. Scantlebury, M.D.,  comes to Christiana Care from the University of South Alabama's Regional Transplant Center, where she has served as a professor of surgery, assistant dean for community education and directory of transplantation. She has been recognized as one of the Best Doctors in America by Best Doctors.Com and she has served as a national spokesperson for Linkages to Life, an initiative to address the shortage of African- American organ donors. In her career, she has performed more than 1,000 kidney transplants. She became the nation's first African-American female transplant surgeon in 1989. Dr. Scantlebury earned her medical degree from Columbia University, followed by an internship and residency in general surgery at Harlem Hospital Center in New York. She completed her fellowship training in transplantation surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and joined the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine as an assistant professor of surgery in 1989. She rose  to the rank of associate professor prior to her appointment at the University of Southern Alabama. Dr. Scantlebury has a special interest in outcomes research in the area of donation and transplantation in African Americans; increasing organ donation in the African-American community through education and awareness; increasing the incidence of living donor transplantation by education; and in treating viral infections in kidneys.

Aline Stant is a graduate of the Helene Fuld School of Nursing in Camden, NJ and earned her BSN and MSN at Wilmington College, in New Castle, DE. She has cared for renal patients in many roles for close to three decades, most of those years at Christiana Care, and holds certification in nephrology nursing.  She was the patient and staff educator in the Hemodialysis Unit at Christiana Care for ten years and the nurse manager for four years prior to accepting the position of Transplant Coordinator.

Eileen Edge, MSW, LSW comes to us with many years of experience as a transplant social worker. She earned her Masters Degree for University of Pennsylvania, and began her transplant experience in 1992 with renal transplant patients at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. As a Senior Social Worker she developed the social work position for the lung and liver transplant programs and has followed hundreds of patients and their families through the continuum of care. In addition to patient assessment and care, Eileen plans to organize a patient support group here at Christiana and continue her active participation  with the Delaware Valley Transplant Social Workers group, the Society for Transplant Social Workers, Gift of Life Donor Program and the National Kidney Foundation.

Nadia Hellenga, Pharm D, is the Clinical Pharmacist, Renal Transplant & Special Projects. Sh received her doctor of pharmacy degree from Albany College of Pharmacy in Albany, New York and completed a residency in pharmacy practice at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  Since August 2002, she has been working as a clinical pharmacist at Christiana Hospital and joined the Kidney Transplant Team in August 2006.  She serves on several hospital committees, is an adjunct faculty member for the University of Sciences in Philadelphia, is a past-president and current board member of the Delaware Society of Health Systems Pharmacists and is a board member on the Delaware Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Board.

Karyn Scout is the financial coordinator for the program after spending the past five years in the finance office here at Christiana Care. Karyn is a lifelong Delaware resident with extensive experience in the specialized area of insurance payors and reimbursement.

Carlene Bowen has been appointed the renal transplant dietician. She received her bachelors degree in nutrition and dietetics from Immaculata University in 1999, and has since obtained extensive experience caring for renal patients at various institutions. She completed her dietetic internship at NIH, which included organ transplant patients, and joined the Christiana Care team in 2004. 

Grace Franceschini has accepted the responsibility of Administrative Assistant for the Kidney Transplant Team.  Employed by the Christiana Care Health System for more than seven years, Grace has applied her extraordinary organizational skills to the transplant process, assisting patients through the various phases of care.  As the first point of contact for the program, on the telephone or in person, Grace is our representative to the world.

Gail Eastman RN, BSN - 28 years as a registered nurse caring for patients with chronic kidney disease. 15 years managing acute and chronic dialysis facilities. 3 years working in southeast Asia as a nephrology clinical consultant teaching health care workers proper dialysis policies and techniques. 5 years as kidney transplant coordinator at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Currently working towards completion of MSN and eligibility to become licensed as Nurse Practitioner by Fall '08.

Jessica Terranova, R.D., Transplant Dietitian - Jessica attended the University of Delaware, where she obtained a Bachelors degree in Dietetics/Nutrition, minor in Biology, and focus in Fitness Management. After graduating from the University, she went on to complete the dietetic internship and became eligible to sit for the registration exam. After successful completion of the internship and exam, she obtained her registration as a Dietitian, certified to provide medical nutrition therapy. She became a part of the Christiana Care Health Care team in July 2007, and joined the Renal Transplant Program shortly after.

Her experience includes working as a clinical dietitian in the hospital, completing nutrition assessments, providing recommendations and diet education as needed. She also worked as an Apex fitness professional, where she obtained experience with weight loss counseling and exercise prescription. As she defines her role as a member of the transplant team, she continues to stay up-to-date on the latest nutrition research. Her current role involves assessing dietary compliance of pre-transplant patients and donors, providing diet education/intervention where needed; and providing post transplant nutrition care.

Terina Williams is a graduate of Neumann College in Aston, PA where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She also has a bachelor degree in Business Administration from Millersville University and has a certification in nephrology nursing. She has been a Christiana Care employee since 1997. Prior to becoming a transplant coordinator in April of 2007, she has worked as a staff nurse at Wilmington on the step down unit and ICU. Her most recent position was as a RNII in hemodialysis. Her experience in these areas has helped her tremendously to adapt to her new role as transplant coordinator. She is responsible for both pre and post transplant patients with a primary focus in post transplant.

We can be reached at 302-623-3866 and fax 302-623-3864 for referrals or any questions regarding the program.