Icilma V. Fergus, MD is Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiovascular Disparities at Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital. Prior to that she served as Chief of the Division of Cardiology at Harlem Hospital Center for three years. Her undergraduate and graduate education were at Barnard College, Columbia University and SUNY Downstate. She completed her residency and Chief residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center. Dr. Fergus completed her cardiology fellowship at Weill Cornell Medical Center. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiology.
Nancy Thomas is the Community Outreach Director for Dr. Icilma Fergus at the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital. Nancy co-directed the design, implementation, and administration of the first educational branch of the IRB at Mount Sinai. She has worked with Dr. Fergus at the Mount Sinai Hospital since 2011 and co-founded Harlem Healthy Hearts (HHH), a community-based organization. HHH provides dynamic programs and workshops to increase awareness about heart health. She leads the efforts to plan, coordinate, and execute numerous Community Outreach Engagements including food drives, workshops with local Senior Citizen centers, community education opportunities, and events with the Real Dads Fatherhood and Family Center, and many more.
Nefatiti Anderson is the Clinical Research Coordinator II for Dr. Icilma Fergus at the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital. Her undergraduate education was at Spelman College where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and her graduate education was at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where she earned a Master of Science in Biomedical Science. She assists Dr. Fergus in all research studies, grant applications, academic papers and publication work, community outreach and more. She can be reached at nefatiti.anderson@mountsinai.org.
Aysha Abrams is the Administrative Coordinator for Dr. icilma Fergus at the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital. She can be reached at aysha.abrams@mountsinai.org.
Dr. Fergus has authored numerous articles related to heart disease in peer-reviewed journals including a Diabetes Education Booklet and a chapter in the book entitled “Cardiovascular Disease in Ethnic Minorities”. She is currently working on several written works “Happy Hearts Cookbook – with a Tropical Twist,” “Delite in Your Heart,” and “The ABCs of Community Interventions”. Her current clinical and research interests involve cardiovascular disparities, Hypertension, Heart Failure and heart disease in women. She has been an investigator in several clinical trials.
Dr. Fergus is an active member of several professional organizations, including the American Heart Association, where she previously sat on the Founder’s Affiliate Board and is past President of the Westchester Chapter, the American College of Cardiology, and the Association of Black Cardiologists, where she is a past President. She also served a number of years on the ABC Board including two years as Secretary and Chair of Community Programs for six years. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, and has co-chaired the Health Promotions Committee. She also sits on the board of the Jack and Jill of America Foundation as Vice President. She is a prominent educator in the local community where she works including as a Board Member of the Community Advisory Board of Touro College.
Dr. Fergus is the Founder and Director of the series of Healthy Hearts Projects - “Harlem Healthy Hearts (HHH), Montserrat Healthy Hearts (MHH) and Programme Ultima Femme (PUF). These programs focus on addressing lifestyle motivation for cardiac prevention and education, demonstration, and screening, to promote optimal health management of cardiovascular risk factors and chronic conditions that may lead to heart disease. She has embarked on several medical mission visits to the island of Montserrat, a mountainous Caribbean island as early as 2011, and continues to do so with a growing team every year. The Diabetes Booklet was inspired by her last trip there. Dr. Fergus continues to be very active in communities where health care disparities are present.
Dr Fergus is also Mrs. Rowe, wife to Robert Rowe and mother to three lovely children Orion, Arianne, and R.J. She has been featured in several magazines newspapers and shows including Girl Friends Magazine, Heart and Soul, New York Daily News and “Being Black in America: CNN series Part 1”. Her non-medical book is entitled “B.A.D. Moms”. She is the recipient of Luminary Award from the American Heart Association 2016, the Cocovia Award from Women’s Day Magazine at the Red Dress Awards 2018, as well as the recipient of numerous other awards and accolades. You may find her on twitter @icilmafergusrow, Linkedin, Instagram, or Facebook and visit the website www.healthyheartseries.org.