PPOA Patient Care Champion- Kristen Glass

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Our employees are all patient care champions, but some go the extra mile and we want to give them the recognition they deserve. They embody the PPOA values known as S.I.T.E. – Safety, Integrity, Teamwork, Empathy – which informs our service to patients and the community through high quality health care.

Kristen’s original career choice was to practice law. Time and circumstances led her to the medical career, and she quickly realized that medicine was where her passion lied.

Kristen Glass was born and raised in Camden, New Jersey, and in 2011, she moved to Florida. She learned a bit about the healthcare field, and ended up attending St. Petersburg College and Hillsborough Community College, where she later trained as an EMT. Working in this high-pressure role, she developed crucial skills, such as critical thinking under pressure. She also learned from working with well-trained professionals in the industry, including firefighters and other paramedics.

This skill set laid the foundation that she now has to provide superior care as a Medical Assistant for Physician Partners of America. In her role, she works at the right hand of the physicians and practice managers at the New Port Richey location. She is the patient’s first point of contact before they visit their physician, and she prepares them for their visit.

“She works hard and is very dedicated,” says Robyn Aydelott, a Nurse Practitioner with PPOA’s New Port Richey location.

Kristen’s sharp and strategic mind makes her a natural success at caring for patients. The progress that patients make in their journey to recovery is what gives her a sense of fulfillment on a daily basis. She enjoys knowing that she has played a role in helping these patients to regain their strength and health.

“The best part of it is all is knowing that it’s us who helped them,” says Kristen Glass. “We were able to change their life.”

Kristen is very focused on her career, and has a bright future ahead of her in medicine. We at PPOA consider her to be a wonderful asset to the team.

“Kristen is one of the most hard working and dedicated employees that I have ever worked with,” says Theresa Gabriel, a Nurse Practitioner with PPOA’s New Port Richey location. “She is cheerful and pleasant even when she has a multitude of tasks piled up on her desk. She is greatly loved and appreciated by patients and staff.”

In her free time, Kristen enjoys spending time with her energetic son, whom she home schools.

 

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PPOA Patient Care Champion – Caroline Bloom

CAROLINE BLOOM: BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, SOUTH FLORIDA –

Our employees are all patient care champions, but some go the extra mile and we want to give them the recognition they deserve. They embody the PPOA values known as S.I.T.E. – Safety, Integrity, Teamwork, Empathy – which informs our service to patients and the community through high quality health care.

Business development representative Caroline Bloom is in the business of making connections. She spends her days educating doctors and their staffs about the pain management alternatives offered by Physician Partners of America. This includes laser spine procedures, spinal cord stimulators and, soon, regnerative medicine.

She primarily markets the services of Dr. Alejandro Tapia in Boynton Beach and Wellington, Fla.

“There’s a lot of education involved in what I do,” she says. “I teach them the difference between interventional pain management – the procedures we do – versus medication management. Many doctors have had their chronic pain patients on opioids for years. We teach them that there are other options. It turns the lightbulb on.”

A native of Maplewood, New Jersey, she graduated from St. Thomas University in Miami with a B.A. in Business Management. She started out in the nascent telecommunications industry, selling the first “big brick” cell phones for Cellular One, now AT&T.

After taking time off for motherhood, she was drawn back into the workforce – and the healthcare world – when her husband became ill.

“When he got sick, I learned how to be an advocate for him, and in turn, patients in general,” she says.

She worked for pharmaceutical company Astra Zeneca as a marketing representative and for a large hospice provider before joining PPOA in November 2017. While most of her time is spent calling on providers and practice managers, those connections help her assist patients.  She recalls a particular case of a special needs man.

“His mom was talking to the staff of her son’s primary care doctor. The referral coordinator called me and I connected the patient with Dr. Tapia, who he had seen in the past,” Bloom recalls. “The son had Medicaid, which we don’t accept, but I helped him to get him special clearance for Dr. Tapia to treat him. Those are the most rewarding moments for me.”

Caroline Bloom’s supervisor, regional business development manager Susan Hoskins, admires Bloom’s willingness to go the extra mile.

“Caroline is an example of compassion and true caring concern for all patients. She will always take the time to listen and make sure patients have a great experience with PPOA,” says Hoskins. “Her tenacity and constant professional attitude and drive for success inspire me every day. Caroline looks at every opportunity as a bold challenge and adventure.”

Bloom is also known for assisting her fellow PPOA reps. She helps new hires learn the company sales database and the finer points of paperwork, sends group texts, and acts as a resource.

“Caroline always goes above and beyond to support her teammates,” Hoskins says. “She is always willing to help not only her Business Development teammates but has spent Saturdays coming into the clinic to help her operations team.”

While she enjoys caring for others, Caroline Bloom is about to take more time out for herself. Her son will graduate from Florida State University in 2020, and her daughter will enter the University of Florida as a freshman in a few weeks.  “It will be a house divided,” she says, joking about the schools’ infamous football rivalry. Still, she has no plans to slow down.

“When you love what you do,” she says, “It doesn’t feel like work.”

 

 

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PPOA Patient Care Champion – Monique Alexander

Monique Alexander has a passion for insurance, which is why she has stuck with it her whole career life.

Moving back home to New Jersey from Virginia right out of high school and ready to begin a career, Alexander took a chance and applied for some health care collection agencies.

“Without too much knowledge on the subject, someone took a chance on me and it all began there,” she says.

After working with her former company in New Jersey, she then relocated with the company, which is what brought her to Tampa, Fla. After a while, she decided to make a change and eventually found a position at Physician Partners of America.

Here at PPOA, Monique was recently promoted to ambulatory surgery center revenue cycle manager. In simple terms, she is responsible for and oversees teams for collections, coding, and cash postings. She believes in teamwork and communication, which is what ultimately helps her connect with people so well.

She excels at multi-tasking and meeting every challenge that arises. For her, connecting with people is one of the most important aspects of being a great leader.

Alexander’s niche in health care insurance is not a random choice. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and while it was very difficult on Alexander, she knows she could definitely help with one aspect of it: insurance. She helped her mom get good medical insurance (which is not an easy task) while going through this hard time. Her mother eventually passed away but Alexander was glad she could do that for her mom and provide help in an almost helpless situation.

Alexander loves the PPOA atmosphere because it feels like home to her. “These people are like my family and we all support each other.”

While work is one of her passions, Alexander is also devoted to her 12-year-old daughter.

“She’s my world. Besides work, it’s her,” she says.”

For fun, Monique Alexander and her daughter go swimming and watch movies. They also hope to take some vacations soon.

We thank her for being such a great example of what a PPOA employee should be!

 

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PPOA to Offer Medical Services During 2019 Warrior Games

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Physician Partners of America supporting first Warrior Games in Tampa –

On June 21, some 300 inspirational military athletes will come together in Tampa, Fla. for the Department of Defense (DOD) Warrior Games, and PPOA will stand ready to assist them.

This Paralympics-style competition will run through June 30 in venues throughout the city. Its purpose is to allow disabled athletes to experience the healing power of sports while drawing inspiration from their fellow warriors and teammates.

It is free and open to the public.

Dr. Abraham Rivera, a veteran himself, is the Chief Medical Officer of Physician Partners of America and will welcome veterans from around the world to town. He and others from PPOA will volunteer their time during the games by offering consultations, x-rays and MRIs as needed.

“We are proud to offer our staff and facilities to these brave athletes during the games,” says Dr. Rivera. “They are truly an inspiration to us all.”

Established in 2010, the Warrior Games’ mission is to enhance the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans. They come from all military branches including the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Special Operations Command (SOCOM).

They have overcome a variety of challenges such as injuries to their upper or lower body and spinal cord. Some have suffered traumatic brain injuries, visual impairment, serious illnesses or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

This is the first year the highly anticipated games will be held in Tampa. Teams have expanded, as this year’s Warrior Games will include five additional teams from U.S. allied nations: the Australian Defence Force, Canadian Armed Forces, the United Kingdom Armed Forces, the Danish Armed Forces and the Dutch Armed Forces.

Fourteen adaptive sports will be represented including archery, track, field, indoor rowing, powerlifting, road race cycling, time trial cycling, shooting, sitting volleyball, swimming and wheelchair basketball. For the first time, there will be competitions in golf, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis.

The mission of USSOCOM’s warrior care program is to provide wounded, ill, and injured Special Operations Forces, veterans, and their families with advocacy after a life-altering trauma or illness to enhance their quality of life and strengthen SOF readiness.

The games will demonstrate the mass potential of wounded warriors through sports and show their incredible ability to prosper and overcome their challenges. For tickets, visit DODWarriorGames.com.

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PPOA Patient Care Champions: Ken Stroud

KEN STROUD: CERTIFIED RADIATION TECHNOLOGIST, PLANO, TX

Our employees are all patient care champions, but some go the extra mile and we want to give them the recognition they deserve. They embody the PPOA values known as S.I.T.E. – Safety, Integrity, Teamwork, Empathy – which informs our service to patients and the community through high quality health care.

Ken Stroud was once told he would have made a good pastor or funeral director for his ability to put people at ease. “I wasn’t interested in either,” he chuckles; instead, his caring personality serves patients well at PPOA’s Park Ambulatory Surgery Center in Plano, Texas.

As a certified radiology technologist, Stroud only sees patients for a few minutes before they get procedures, such as epidural steroid injections; but he makes a lasting impression, at turns lighthearted and compassionate. “I believe in treating everyone with the utmost respect and treating everyone the same, no matter who they are,” he says.

Gayle Schotte, clinical administrator at Park Ambultory Surgery Center, agrees. “Ken is very interactive with patients and shows great compassion,” she says. “He remembers names and faces and treats all of his patients with kindness and respect.”

His work involves taking live x-rays during procedures to help guide the physician to the treatment area. It requires a thorough knowledge of anatomy and a steady hand to ensure needles are positioned perfectly. In essence, he serves as the doctor’s x-ray vision.

Although Stroud says his line of work was chosen for him during aptitude tests in the United States Air Force, he comes by radiology with some background. He was raised in the small town of Kaufman, Texas, by his grandmother, who served as assistant to the town’s only dentist. “I would go in the darkroom and help her develop the x-rays,” he says.

After serving four years in the Air Force and earning a certification in Radiology Technology through Midwestern State University, moved to Albany, New York. Over the next 30 years, he worked at several hospitals and private practices, and crossed paths with one Dr. Abraham Rivera.

When his Texas roots called him back, Ken Stroud responded to an ad from Physician Partners of America. While Googling the company, he saw a familiar face on the screen: Dr. Rivera, who was now its chief medical officer.

Ken Stroud has worked at Park Ambulatory Surgery Center since 2014, and loves every aspect of his job.

A father of two adult children, Phillip, 28, and Rebecca, 25, he also enjoys playing the year-round golf that Texas weather offers, loves tournament bowling – he has bowled 11 perfect games – and playing tournament Texas Hold ‘Em poker.

He may not have turned out to be a preacher or a funeral director, but you might say he’s eclectic – an assessment that is especially true for the people who work with him and the patients who rely on him.

“Ken is a dedicated employee who wears many hats at Park ASC,” says Schotte, his supervisor. “His primary title may be certified radiation technician but his work ethic goes above and beyond. He’s always helpful to co-workers when needed. He’s a jack of all trades.”

 

 

 

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Our View on the Backlash to the Opioid Crisis

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Window sign was unauthorized, untrue

Physician Partners of America (PPOA) as an organization is sensitive to the current backlash to the opioid crisis and the new prescribing laws that have resulted. We recognize a growing movement of law abiding chronic pain patients who rely on long-term “maintenance” doses of opioid pain medication.

In particular, we would like to address a sign that was placed in the window of one of our practices on May 14, implying that we will cease prescribing opioid medication to patients as of May 31, 2019.

Patients are and will continue to be titrated down according to CDC guidelines; however, there is no cut-off date.

This sign was brought to our attention through social media. It was in no way authorized or approved by management, and its message is untrue. It resulted from an employee’s misinterpretation of our goal to reduce opioid dependence.

At its foundation, PPOA uses interventional pain management modalities to treat pain at its source instead of masking it with medication. Our physicians come to our organization with a variety of backgrounds and use many modalities to treat chronic pain. They are medical pioneers like Dr. Phillip Kravetz, researchers like Dr. Neil Ellis and Dr. Michael Lupi, and inventors like Dr. Lesco Rogers.

Treatments may include Stimwave, trigger point injections, nerve blocks, minimally invasive spine procedures with and without laser assistance, Botox injections for migraines, neuromodulation and regenerative medicine. Physicians may also utilize a variety of medications – including topical, oral and intrathecal – to reduce pain.

We use pharmacogenomics to determine the safest dosage and medication type based on each patient’s genome, and intraoperative neuromonitoring

We have championed remedies to the opioid crisis in public forums, in the media, in televised town halls and at medical conventions. PPOA physicians strictly follow the prescribing laws of the states in which they operate.

We recognize the opioid crisis backlash. As an organization, we sympathize with the plight of people who rely on, but who do not intentionally abuse, prescription opioid medications to manage their chronic pain. We aim to show them what we consider a better, safer way to reduce or eliminate pain.

We will continue to engage in serious, thoughtful discussions toward finding a middle ground that balances patient concerns, federal guidelines and state laws.

We thank the public for input on this sensitive topic and invite you to learn more about who we are and what we do on our website.

 

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PPOA Patient Care Champions – Amanda Blair

AMANDA BLAIR, PRACTICE MANAGER, McKINNEY, TEXAS

Our employees are all patient care champions, but some go the extra mile and we want to give them the recognition they deserve. They embody the PPOA values known as S.I.T.E. – Safety, Integrity, Teamwork, Empathy – which informs our service to patients and the community through high quality health care.

Amanda Blair grew up wanting to be a cop like her grandfather. The idea of helping people and righting wrongs appealed to her nature. That dream eventually came true – she did spend time in law enforcement – but ended up transferring those skills to the healthcare field.

As the practice manager of Physician Partners of America – McKinney, TX clinic, Blair pulls together many skills to keep the practice running smoothly. She keeps the schedule moving, supervises the staff, assists the practice physician, Dr. Edrick Lopez, and – her favorite part – helps people get out of chronic pain.

“I find it so rewarding,” she says. “We have one patient who lived in pain for 20 years. Dr. Lopez completed the spinal cord stimulator procedure for him, and he is now pain-free. Seeing people with chronic pain like that drastically improve is so gratifying to me.”

Blair became the PPOA McKinney practice manager in February 2019 with a background in law enforcement and management, but has quickly woven herself into the PPOA culture and proven a more than capable healthcare leader.

“She is the true definition of a practice leader and is very well-respected by her physician and APP in the practice,” says her supervisor, Rhonda Boysen, regional director of operations – Texas. “She has become a strong support to her operations manager and is always open and willing to help others. Her clinic has become our ‘go-to’ clinic for new hire training. We are very proud to have Amanda as the leader of our McKinney practice with Dr. Lopez.”

Embracing challenges is second nature to Amanda Blair. Growing up in the Central California town of Bass Lake near Yosemite National Park, she grew up skiing, hiking, and horseback riding. Graduating from high school at 16, she put herself through college by training horses. After earning a Bachelor of Science in Criminology at California State University – Fresno, she moved to Texas with her sister and took a job as a fraud analyst for a banking firm.

“I loved it but I felt I wasn’t that involved in affecting people’s lives on a day-to-day basis and being a positive influence in the way I’d hoped,” she says. She was promoted to a management position in financial risk mitigation for a mortgage company, and while she was grateful for the management experience, she still wasn’t fulfilled.

“I did some research and decided to go back to school and get my degree in nursing,” Blair says. She is currently working toward her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Texas Women’s University, and one day aims to be a nurse practitioner. For now, combining her leadership skills and desire to help others is a perfect fit.

She credits her team for the clinic’s success with helping patients. “It’s amazing to be a part of the practice here. We have great team of staff and providers,” Blair says. “I couldn’t be luckier to have the dedicated staff I do. They’re all so helpful and committed to exceptional patient care. It’s rewarding to be part of such a great team.”

Her “team” at home is equally rewarding. She and her husband have a 17-month-old son. Although she hasn’t ridden horseback in a while, Blair enjoys staying active by running, including marathons and triathlons. Work, too, gives her energy.

“There are so many moving pieces. There’s never a dull moment. I wear a lot of hats and every day is different,” she says. “It can be challenging to juggle everything, but I love challenges.”

 

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PPOA Patient Care Champions – Georgiana George

GEORGIANA GEORGE, SENIOR ACCOUNTANT – TAMPA

 

Our employees are all patient care champions, but some go the extra mile and we want to give them the recognition they deserve. They embody the PPOA values known as S.I.T.E. – Safety, Integrity, Teamwork, Empathy – which informs our service to patients and the community through high quality health care.

Georgiana George has worked her way up quickly at PPOA. She was recently named senior accountant at the company’s Tampa headquarters. She’s responsible for training newcomers to handle the hundreds of transactions a fast-growing healthcare corporation demands.

Her job touches just about every department, from building leases to making sure clinics have petty cash. She is the one who reconciles company credit cards and makes sure every expense is put is the right category.

While her job doesn’t touch patients directly, it is an essential part of ensuring the success of PPOA’s mission: delivering world-class patient care. That means taking her job seriously and helping her coworkers.

“Georgiana truly is the ‘dream’ employee,” says her supervisor, Controller-ASC Division Lisa Llorente. “She is an extremely hard worker who always goes the extra mile to get her job done.”

Working for a fast-growing company in a big city is not where Georgiana George thought she would be as she grew up in the one-red light town of Cedar Bluff, Alabama. Always strong in math, she earned her B.S. in Accounting from nearby Athens State University. She met her husband, Caleb, at work.

When he landed a job as a paralegal at MacDill Air Force Base, the two moved to Tampa. It was by far the largest city she had ever lived in, but the couple quickly adapted, and enjoy its sunny weather and pace of life.

After working for nearly two years as an accountant at the mega law firm of Morgan and Morgan, George joined Physician Partners of America in May 2018.

As required in the numbers field, she is passionate about precision, making sure her email inbox is zeroed-out by the end of the day; but don’t mistake her for the strictly no-nonsense type.

She and her husband are proud dog parents, with three rescues including a three-legged Chihuahua. “We take the dogs no one else wants,” she says. “My motto is, ‘the more, the merrier.’” She also enjoys sewing, a skill she learned from her mother. “It’s very relaxing,” she explains.

Still, work is a priority, and Georgiana George is highly valued throughout the company. “She is a team player who will pitch in to help any time she is asked,” Llorente says. “She offers to help when she sees someone needs a helping hand.”

 

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PPOA Patient Care Champions – William Scott

WILLIAM SCOTT – MEDICAL ASSISTANT, TAMPA-FLETCHER

Our employees are all patient care champions, but some go the extra mile and we want to give them the recognition they deserve. They embody the PPOA values known as S.I.T.E. – Safety, Integrity, Teamwork, Empathy – which informs our service to patients and the community through high quality health care.

William Scott always knew he wanted to help others. Growing up in Tampa, Fla., he was an active volunteer at church, helping the sick and elderly with errands, and helping his own mom after an injury. “It’s always been in my heart to help other people,” he says. “I’ve always been hands-on and want to help.”

Today he enjoys assisting patients at the PPOA Fletcher Avenue clinic in Tampa. His duties mainly involve helping with appointments and interventional pain management procedures, but he prides himself most on making patients comfortable.

“William goes above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to patient care, whether he is making an appointment for a patient or assisting a patient with a wheelchair to their car,” says his supervisor, Practice Manager Amanda Perrone. “He does not just come to work to get a pay check; he comes to work because he generally cares about each and every single patient.”

Adds Dr. Carissa Stone, one of the pain management physicians he works with, “William is kind, hardworking, very effective and cares about his work and the patients.”

Scott’s path to healthcare was not direct. Like many young people, he tried out several paths. After graduating from Robinson High School in Tampa, he worked in maintenance and restoring homes, then worked for UPS for six years.

“I found myself wanting a more fulfilling path,” he says. A friend’s mother worked as a nurse at a local nursing home, and offered on-the-job training. He found his calling.

“The feeling of helping another person is one of the greatest feelings in the world,” he says. “Even if you help one person a day, then you’ve helped make a better change in your life.”

He enjoys spending time outdoors with girlfriend Sheena Sierra, who also works as a PPOA medical assistant, and their children. William Scott also plays drums in his church band, and helping others both inside and outside of work.

“You only have one life to live,” he says, “so why not help make other lives great?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Dr. Thomas Heil to Join PPOA in Keller, Texas

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Physician Partners of America announces it has hired Dr. Thomas Heil as an interventional pain management specialist in our Keller, Texas practice. He begins in early July 2019.

Dr. Heil is double board-certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Management and treats all pain conditions using a wide variety of modalities. These include neurostimulation and treatment of neuropathic (nerve) pain.

He comes to PPOA from Southeast Pain and Spine Care in Charlotte, North Carolina, and served as its medical director for pain management. He is a member of the American Society of Regional Anesthesia, and the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians.

A native of West Virginia, Dr. Thomas Heil earned his medical degree from West Virginia University. He began a residency in General Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., but later decided his passion lay in helping patients relieve their pain. He completed a residency and fellowship training in Anesthesiology at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Penn.

He has lectured widely on interventional pain management, cancer pain and other topics, and is listed in Leading Physicians of the World.

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