MEDICAL PEOPLE AND NEWS
WINTER HAVEN HOSPITAL
Winter Haven Hospital held its Volunteer Appreciation and Service Hour Awards luncheon April 22 at Cypresswood Country Club. Volunteers honored for their hours of service were: Anna Kauffman, 18,000; Shelly DiNunzio, 14,500; Kathy Hill, 4,500; Nancy Schaper, 4,000; Cindy Barber, 2,000; Nancy Coss, 1,000; Fran Larmon, 1,000; Joy Van Plew, 1,000; Arletta Oriani, 500; Pat Rust, 500; Rich Shapiro, 500; and Yvonne Van Effen, 500. The Winter Haven Hospital Auxiliary also presented the hospital with $80,000 to be used for necessary hospital equipment and updates. Over the years, the Auxiliary has donated more than $3.45 million to the hospital. In addition, Auxiliary officers were installed for the coming year. Anna Kauffman president; Cindy Barber, vice president; Nancy Schaper, treasurer; Kathy Hill, recording secretary; Nancy Coss, corresponding secretary; Arletta Oriani, historian.
LAKELAND REGIONAL HEALTH
Luis Daniel Lugo, M.D., MBA, joined Lakeland Regional Health Physician Group as director of the internal medicine residency program. He specializes in hospital medicine. Lugo earned his medical degree from Saba University School of Medicine, Saba, Netherlands. He completed his internal medicine residency at Roger Williams Medical Center, an affiliate of Boston University School of Medicine in Providence, Rhode Island. Lugo also holds a Masters of Business Administration degree in healthcare management and is board certified in internal medicine. Lugo most recently served as a clinical instructor of medicine for the Mount Sinai Health System in Manhattan, New York. At the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Brooklyn, he served as associate program director of the SUNY Downstate Internal Medicine Residency Program. He is fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Mayuri Patel, M.D., sees patients at the Pablo Campus. She treats conditions such as hypertension, cardiomyopathy, tachycardias and more. Patel is board certified in internal medicine, adult echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and interventional cardiology. Patel earned her medical degree from B.J. Medical College in India. She completed her first residency at Civil Hospital in Ahmedabad, India, and an additional residency in internal medicine at Trinitas Hospital in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Patel then completed a fellowship in cardiology at Saint Michael Medical Center in Newark, and another in interventional cardiology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.
Yamira Baez, APRN, PMHNP, sees patients at the Grasslands campus. She is an advanced practice registered nurse and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. Baez has extensive psychiatric experience in outpatient, inpatient and long-term care settings. Prior to entering the psychiatric field, she served as an administrative manager for nursing at LRH and worked as a nurse in emergency rooms and trauma units at LRH and other facilities in Central Florida. Baez earned her Master of Science in Nursing/Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner degree at Walden University, her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Polk State College, and holds an additional bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Central Florida.
Pamela Bezner, APRN, is a board certified advanced practice registered nurse specializing in family medicine at the Medical Center. Bezner has worked for more than 12 years as a registered nurse in the LRH Emergency Department and is transitioning into the field of otolaryngology. Bezner earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree at Drexel University in Philadelphia. She completed her Master of Science in Nursing degree from Barry University in Miami Shores.
Brandon Pratt, APRN, is an advanced practice registered nurse specializing in orthopedics at the Medical Center. He has worked as a nurse in the LRH Emergency Department since 2015 and as a relief charge nurse since 2019. Pratt served in the United States Air Force from 2012 to 2020, including as an airman leader and a reservist for MacDill Air Force Base. Pratt received both his Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree and Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of South Florida in Tampa and was an Air Force honor graduate.
PEACE RIVER CENTER
William Sadowsky, M.D., has been named as the Peace River Center medical director. Sadowsky joined Peace River Center in 2014 as the inpatient psychiatrist for the Bartow Crisis Stabilization Unit and Short Term Residential Treatment Center. He is a graduate of the New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York; a member of the American Society of Addiction Medicine; a Diplomate in General Psychiatry from the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology; a Diplomate in Addiction Medicine from the American Board of Addiction Medicine; and holds an advanced certification for the use of buprenorphine (suboxone). Sadowsky will continue to serve as the psychiatrist for the Bartow CSU and SRT. Dr. Charles Barrios, who served as Peace River Center’s medical director since April 2014, will spend more time providing outpatient services and continuing to provide support for the Bartow and Lakeland Crisis Stabilization Units, Short-Term Adult Residential Treatment center and other areas. Peace River Center is a licensed and nationally accredited, non-profit regional provider of mental health, substance use and integrated medical serving Polk, Highlands and Hardee counties.
In 2021, 396 adults and children received free shelter and domestic violence support services from Peace River Center Victim Services. The program is funded by sponsors like Publix Super Markets Charities, which recently donated $7,500 to support survivors in Polk, Hardee, and Highlands counties. Beyond shelter services, which totaled 7,465 bed nights in 2021, Victim Services also provides a 24-hour domestic violence hotline. The hotline is available 365 days a year by calling 863-413-2700 in Polk County or 863-386-1167 in Hardee/Highlands. Additional services provided at no cost to survivors include safety planning, counseling, assessment of children, direct services information and referrals, services management, professional training, survivor support groups, courthouse advocacy, and assistance with Victim’s Compensation Claims. Victim Services also participates in community awareness and education activities to reduce the incidence of sexual violence and domestic/family violence, as well as promote safety and a higher quality of life.
WATSON CLINIC
OB-GYN hospitalist Shawn T. Simpson, D.O., is a Watson Clinic physician who treats patients at Lakeland Regional Health. Simpson received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Philadelphia. He completed his internship and residency in obstetrics/gynecology at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He is certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and is a member of the American Osteopathic Association and the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Prior to his arrival at Watson Clinic, Simpson served as a staff physician and full-time OB-GYN faculty instructor at Winnie Palmer Hospital in Orlando.
Registered nurse practitioner Nadia Curren, APRN, has joined Watson Clinic and serves patients of internal medicine and pediatric specialist Leslie Coello Echeverry, M.D., and internal medicine specialist Cindy Kelly, D.O., from the Watson Clinic Plant City facility, 615 E. Alexander St., Plant City. Her areas of expertise include geriatrics, pediatrics, chronic disease prevention and management, and women’s health concerns. Curren received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, and her Master of Science in Nursing degree from the Family Nurse Practitioner program at Touro University Nevada in Henderson, Nevada. She is certified by the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
Physician assistant Ryan Payne, P.A., serves patients of board-certified otolaryngologists and facial plastic surgeons Serge Jean, M.D., and Pranay Patel, M.D., from both Watson Clinic Bella Vista Building, 1755 N. Florida Ave., Lakeland and Watson Clinic Highlands, 2300 E. County Road 540A, Lakeland. Payne received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology/pre-physical therapy and an additional Bachelor of Science degree in athletic training from Florida Southern College in Lakeland. He then received a Master of Science degree in kinesiology from the University of Georgia College of Education in Athens, Georgia, and a Master of Medical Science degree in physician assistant studies from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. Payne is a certified athletic trainer and a certified member of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.
Watson Clinic OB-GYN and female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgeon Tarek Garas, M.D., is the first specialist in Polk County to perform the Sonata procedure, an option designed to treat uterine fibroids without the use of an incision. Garas recently performed the procedure at Bartow Regional Medical Center. Garas received his medical degree from Creighton University of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska, and then completed his internship and residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. He is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, as well as female pelvic medicine and reconstructive surgery, by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Garas is a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a member of the American Urogynecologic Society, the Florida Obstetric and Gynecologic Society and the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons. The Surgical Review Corporation also recognized him as a Surgeon of Excellence for his expertise in performing robotic surgical procedures. Garas serves as chief of staff at Bartow Regional Medical Center. Garas sees patients at the Watson Clinic Bella Vista Building, 1755 N. Florida Ave., Lakeland, and the Watson Clinic Bartow Building B, 2000 Osprey Blvd., Suite 201, Bartow.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Local news from medical centers
