Meet the Providers
Our providers and staff speak several languages, including Spanish, Polish, Russian, French, Portuguese, and Arabic.
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James Bell, M.D.
Dr. James Bell was born on Manhattan's East Side, but his parents quickly escaped to the hills of Vermont, where he grew up and learned to walk to school uphill both ways in winter. Jamie attended Harvard undergrad, where he originally thought he would be an archaeologist, but found digging in mud to find old bones a little boring. He moved back to Vermont to attend the University of Vermont Medical School, where he discovered he could be his normal goofy self, have fun, take care of children, and get paid for it. Jamie completed his residency program at Baystate Medical Center and joined Fairview Pediatrics in 2000.
Dr. Bell has interests in astronomy, archaeology, and Star Wars. He is an accomplished juggler and "balancer." He can play the harmonica and clarinet, but wants to play the bagpipes. He plays paintball, foosball, and air hockey. He likes writing about himself in the third person. He is married with two boys.
Hanna Awkal, M.D.
Dr. Hanna Awkal is originally from New Jersey, but her life's path has taken her to many places nationally and internationally. Her education began with undergraduate studies here in Western MA at Mount Holyoke College, where she majored in Neuroscience and Behavior. Her pre-medical studies then continued in New York City, where she worked as part of a research team at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, focusing on Bone Marrow Transplant clinical trials. She then went on to medical school at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, located in Richmond, VA.
While in medical school, Dr. Hanna participated in many volunteer programs, including helping to build homes for the needy and traveling to Honduras to provide medical care, supplies and health education to the children of the Nuestros Pequenos Hermanos orphanage. As fate would have it, Dr. Hanna's residency brought her back to Western MA and she completed her training at Baystate Medical Center Children's Hospital in July of 2011.
Dr. Hanna joined our practice in August of 2011. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge as well as insight into many cultures. She is multilingual, with speaking abilities in Spanish and Portuguese and familiarity with conversational Eastern languages. She lives locally with her husband and three young children.
Thomas Wadzinski M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Tom Wadzinski grew up outside of Boston. He was a competitive gymnast and also enjoyed hiking, cycling and skiing in New England. He then escaped to the midwest to attend Carleton College where he majored in biochemistry, played ultimate frisbee for GOP (Gods of Plastic), and worked on his juggling skills. He came back to New England to attend UMass Medical School in Worcester where he received his MD and a PhD in cell biology.
Dr. Tom moved out to Western Mass. with his family for training in Pediatrics and Pediatric Endocrinology at Baystate Medical Center. During this time, he worked at UMass Amherst, investigating how industrial chemicals can interfere with the hormones of the body. He enjoys being a physician at a camp for children with diabetes. He is married with three boys and joined Fairview Pediatrics in July of 2014.
Erica Madara, FNP
Erica was born and raised in Western Massachusetts. She attended American International College for her undergraduate degree in nursing. She worked as a registered nurse at Baystate Medical Center for four years. She earned her master's degree in nursing, also at American International College, and became a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner. She began her career as an FNP working in primary care.
Erica is coming to the practice a new mother. She and her husband welcomed their first child in May 2021. They have a daughter named Eliza! They look forward to creating many memories with her. Erica fills her free time with family, friends, and travel. She and her husband look forward to catching hermit crabs and splashing in the waves with their daughter during summer vacations on Cape Cod.
Renee Catjakis, FNP
Fairview Pediatrics is pleased to welcome our new provider, Renee Catjakis, FNP.
Renee grew up in Springfield, MA. She began her passion of working with children by working as camp counselor with the Springfield Public School system and coaching gymnastics and cheerleading. She went on to attend nursing school at American International College. After graduation, Renee began working as a nurse in an orthopedic setting while working on obtaining her master's degree for Family Nurse Practitioner at American International College. She began her FNP career in the occupational health setting, but is excited to return to her passion of working with kids!
Renee has two young children that take up most of her time outside of work. She enjoys taking them to all kinds of activities, like hockey practice and gymnastics. Renee refers to her beloved dog, Banana, as her first and most well-behaved child. When she is not chasing her kids around, she is usually taking Banana for long walks.
Melissa Yaffe, LICSW
Melissa was born and raised in Western Mass. and went to Ithaca College to pursue an undergraduate degree in sociology, minoring in social work. Melissa then relocated to Boston and attended Simmons College for her master’s degree in social work. Upon graduation in 2011, Melissa obtained her LCSW and began working in the field, primarily with children and adolescents.
While living in Boston, Melissa worked as an adolescent clinician at a Partial Hospitalization program for adolescents through Bournewood Hospital, an outpatient therapist through Walker Community Counseling in Needham, and a clinician case manager at Cambridge Eating Disorder Center's residential program. Melissa obtained her LICSW in June 2017.
Since returning to Western MA in June 2020, Melissa has been primarily working with clients who are struggling with eating disorders, poor body image, anxiety, depression and relationship dynamics, in a private practice setting. Melissa is looking forward to this new chapter in her life and career as the integrated behavioral health clinician at Fairview Pediatrics.
Melissa is an avid Boston sports fan, and you can also find her cooking up a new recipe! Melissa is engaged to her fiancé Brian, and together they rescued their little “puppy princess,” Frances aka Frankie, in July 2021.