Addiction Specialist and Primary Care Physician
Dr. Saltzman realized a calling to medicine during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis in New York City in the mid-eighties. Prior to entering the field of medicine Dr. Saltzman worked in the music business for record companies and publishers.
Moving in the NYC club scene of the nineties, Dr. Saltzman saw many of her friends and colleagues become ill with AIDS. She observed the rampant prejudice and stigma that LGBTQ people and IV drug users suffered, and committed herself to becoming a physician specializing in HIV/AIDS.
Despite not having a background in the sciences Dr. Saltzman was able to earn admission to medical school, while supporting herself as a single parent. After medical school, she chose to do her residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City, which was at the forefront of providing specialized treatment for patients with HIV/AIDS. After completing her residency, she practiced at the Samuels Clinic at Roosevelt Hospital (now The Institute for Advanced Medicine at Mount Sinai), a major outpatient center for patients during the epidemic. While practicing at the Samuels Clinic, Dr. Saltzman was an early prescriber of the “triple cocktail”, the first effective combination therapy for HIV.
Dr. Saltzman’s interest in addiction was born out of her experience providing care for HIV/AIDS patients who were often IV drug users. She was one of the first physicians in New York City to embrace the use of Suboxone, a novel medication for the treatment of opiate addiction, that allows patients to access treatment without daily clinic visits as is the case with methadone therapy. Suboxone was one of the first therapies approved for in-office prescribing under the federal Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000. By prescribing Suboxone on an outpatient basis Dr. Saltzman is able to help patients get back to their work and family, and functioning at a high level.
Dr. Saltzman founded her busy Midtown Health and Wellness Center in 2000. She focuses on providing individualized care, realizing that patients need more than the standardized approach for addiction treatment. Dr. Saltzman provides guidance through all stages of recovery, supporting patients with primary care, individual and group therapy. She feels addiction is treated incorrectly in many settings with a focus on simply handing out prescriptions, instead of a more comprehensive approach.
Dr. Saltzman is a well-known expert in the field of addiction and regularly expresses her views on television, radio, and in the press. She uses warmth and humor to engage with her patients. She understands where they’re coming from and does not judge them, using empathy and compassion to deliver the most appropriate individualized treatment options.
