Palliative Care Expert Witnesses: 3

Cathy Ciolek, DPT, FAPTA, President of Living Well With Dementia, LLC, has over 30 years of experience as a Geriatric Physical Therapist. Dr. Ciolek is board certified as a Geriatric Clinical Specialist, a Certified Dementia Practitioner (CDP), and Certified Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Care Trainer (CADDCT) by the National Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners. 

Dr. Ciolek previously served as Regional Director for the Pennsylvania Restraint Reduction Initiative (PARRI),  providing education and consultation for issues related to well-being (falls, engagement, medication reduction) to nursing homes throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania via a CMS grant. 

Prior to that, Dr. Ciolek served as assistant professor and director of clinical education for the University of Delaware, Department of Physical Therapy. She has practiced as a physical therapist in outpatient, SNF, home health and CCRC facilities over the course of her career.  She is a former Instructor/ Guest Lecturer/Lab Instructor at multiple universities including: Drexel University, Temple University, AT Still University/Arizona School of Health Sciences, Widener University, and Rocky Mountain University.

Dr. Ciolek delivers speaks and delivers seminars throughout the nation on topics including dementia, exercise for aging adults, falls and fall risk mitigation, and Person-Centered Care.

Geriatric Physical Therapy Thought Leader:

• President, Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy (APTA Geriatrics)
• Past President, Delaware Physical Therapy Association (APTA Delaware)
• American Physical Therapy Association
• APTA Geriatrics
• APTA Delaware
• Catherine Worthingham Fellow of the American Physical Therapy Association Award

Litigation Support - Dr. Ciolek is available as an expert witness for attorneys representing plaintiff and defendant. Her services include medical record review, thorough reporting, depositions, and trial testimony as needed.

Areas of Expertise:

View Dr. Cathy Ciolek's Consulting Profile.

Joel L. Kent, MD, has been quadruple-board certified in Family Medicine, Anesthesiology, Palliative Care, and Pain Management over the arc of his career.

Background: Much of Dr. Kent’s expertise is an artifact of both the clinical and educational leadership roles he has held over the course of his career. He has served as Division Head of Pain Medicine at medical schools between 1997 - 2017; originally at the University of Maryland and subsequently at the University of Rochester. In addition to this clinical leadership role, he also lead the pain medicine educational missions at these institutions from 1997 to 2015. Dr. Kent served as Director of the Pain Medicine Fellowship Training Programs at the University of Maryland form 1997 to 2007 and at the University of Rochester from 2007 - 2015. Both these programs are accredited through the Accreditation Counsel for Graduate Medical Education.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Kent has developed particular expertise surrounding the use of Opioid Analgesics. He has provided over 50 lectures to other physicians regarding the safe and proper use of opioid. He has served as an expert case reviewer for both the state of Maryland and the state of New York. The vast majority of these case reviews involved resolving concerns regarding the appropriateness of controlled substance prescriptions. In 2014, he provided a series lectures on behalf of the New York State Department of Health which were presented across New York State to educate physicians about the safe use of opioid analgesics in both cancer and non-cancer related pain conditions.

Since July 2017, Dr. Kent has been serving as a content expert on the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Pain Management Advisory Group to the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS). All these accomplishments attest to Dr. Kent’s high level of expertise in the complex and evolving realm of opioid therapy for the management of chronic pain problems.

Litigation Support: Dr. Kent has served as a medical expert witness for nearly 20 years. He has served as an expert witness and case reviewer for the states of both Maryland and New York's Departments of Health. He has provided expert case review and litigation support to health insurance carriers seeking restitution for fraudulent expenses related to opioid therapy. Dr. Kent provides litigation support and expert testimony in plaintiff and defense cases.

Expertise: Dr. Kent has expertise in all areas of Pain Medicine and has focused expertise in the prescribing and oversight of opioid analgesics. His specialties include acute and chronic pain management, opioid analgesics, interventional pain management therapies, RSD/CRPS and low back pain.