Laconia Rehabilitation Center

Matthew Simoneau

Laconia Center is Happy to welcome a new addition to the team! Matthew Simoneau is the new
Administrator for the facility and comes to us with an extensive background in Long Term Care. He has
been working in Long Term Care facilities starting as a volunteer at 15 years old for activities as his
mother had a lifetime career as a caregiver in the Long Term Care setting. He has a wife and 2 kids, one
11-month-old son and a four-year-old daughter. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Pre-med biology
and achieved his Masters of Healthcare Administration.

Adel El Boueiz, MD MMSc

Dr. El Boueiz is a pulmonary and critical care physician-scientist. After graduating from the Lebanese University School of Medicine, he completed his medical residency at the American University in Beirut. He then pursued a postdoctoral research fellowship and an internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, followed by a fellowship in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Additionally, he earned a master's degree in biomedical informatics from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. El Boueiz provides specialized care to patients with a broad range of lung and other life-threatening conditions, focusing on disorders such as unexplained dyspnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary hypertension, long-term effects of COVID-19, tracheomalacia, respiratory failure, and difficult liberation from mechanical ventilation. He is also actively involved in outreach initiatives, conducting educational presentations and workshops on major pulmonary and critical care topics and distributing medications to individuals with limited access to healthcare resources. His research, funded by the National Institute of Health, spans three related areas: identifying novel genes associated with COPD and pulmonary hypertension, applying machine learning to better characterize disease heterogeneity, and developing clinical prediction tools using multi-omics data. He has published his innovative findings in several top-tier journals and has been invited to present at national and international conferences. Alongside his clinical and research efforts, he is passionately dedicated to teaching and mentoring.

Dr. El Boueiz has received numerous awards, including the Johns Hopkins Murex Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, the Johns Hopkins Outstanding Teacher and Role Model Award, the Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Medicine Chair’s Research Award, and scholarship awards from the American Thoracic Society. Recently, Dr. El Boueiz joined Laconia Rehabilitation Center to establish and expand a comprehensive tracheostomy and ventilator program, aiming to enhance patient care and outcomes for those requiring long-term tracheostomy, with or without mechanical ventilation. His efforts focus on integrating cutting edge respiratory therapies and improving the quality of life for this patient population.

Vercin Ephrem, MD

Vercin Ephrem, MD is a graduate of the Lebanese University School of Medicine, where he also attended his undergraduate studies and graduated manga cum laud with a bachelor of science in biology. He then completed his internal medicine residency at Staten Island University Hospital in New York. During his residency, Dr. Ephrem participated in implementing a very successful hospital medicine program that focuses on overall improvement of patients care and satisfaction. Afterward, he joined LRGHealthcare in 2006 and founded the Hospital Medicine department. He then completed his Master’s degree in Medical Education and Leadership at the University of New England and is currently an assistant professor of medicine responsible for the internal medicine clinical training. Vercin leads multiple quality initiative programs through the Society of Hospital Medicine to improve the transition of the patients to the community and reduce inpatient adverse events related to narcotic medications. His practice also focuses on population health, he follows patients through their transition into local skilled nursing facilities and rehab centers to promote the continuity of care and decrease readmissions. In 2011, he was nominated as one of the top ten Hospital Medicine physicians in the United States. Vercin is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a member of the American Medical director association for long term care facilities and a member of the governor’s council for the ACP New Hampshire chapter.

Levi Dufield

Levi began working as an LNA for Laconia Rehabilitation Center in January 2014. During the next several years Levi continued to work full time while attending Lakes Region Community College nursing program, graduating with honors in 2019. At this time Levi transitioned to a floor nurse as an RN, working mostly on the ventilator unit. In December 2021, Levi became the Weekend Director of Nursing. Levi enjoyed becoming a member of the nursing management team and supporting the staff and residents of our facility. Levi then was promoted to Director of Nursing in March 2022. He is proud of his work at Laconia Center. His goal is to continue to support the hardworking staff and residents/patients of the facility however he can.

Pamela Queen Murgatroy

Prior to working at Laconia Center, Pamela worked in manufacturing where she held many different roles throughout her 23 years. Pamela has been with Laconia Center since April of 2021. She started as the Admissions Coordinator and has now moved up to the Admissions Director position.

Angela Morse

Angela has been a Respiratory Therapist (RT) for 40 years. She brings her extensive background to bear as the Ventilator Program Manager for Laconia Rehabilitation Center. Angela and her spouse recently relocated to New Hampshire from Florida's Gold Coast. Angela is a dedicated and knowledgeable RT who looks forward to leading her team into the future. In her spare time, Angela enjoys traveling, reading, and poking around thrift stores.

Julie Brooks

Julie has been a Physical Therapist Assistant for 10 years with 5 years of experience as a Director of Rehabilitation including LTC, ALF, ILF, and acute rehab. She started at Laconia Rehab in January of 2023 with a focus on assisting residents and families to succeed in their rehabilitation and return to their prior level of function. In Julie's free time, she likes to ride her motorcycle, read and travel.