ERIC ALVAREZ – REGIONAL CLINICAL SUPERVISOR, 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.

Eric Alvarez is the regional clinical supervisor for PPOA’s Florida division. He oversees staff and practice managers in far-flung areas throughout the state – including Tampa Bay, Jacksonville and Winter Haven. He also has an oversight role in the company’s rehabilitation division, which handles the pain management needs of patients in skilled nursing facilities.

His mail box remains full; his phone never stops ringing. Still, he always makes time for anyone who needs his immediate attention. Polite and unflappable, he makes the job look easy.

“I enjoy solving problems and looking for ways to improve patient care,” says Alvarez, a Tampa native. “I look at all the facts, look at the situation and find a solution that’s the best fit.”

Perhaps his background also has something to do with it: He learned combat lifesaving skills while serving in the U.S. Army’s Airborne Infantry division, and experience that ignited a passion for medicine. Alvarez earned his Associate Degree in Emergency Medicine from Orlando Medical Institute.

He is a certified EMT, paramedic and x-ray technician, as well as a certified medical assistant (CMT) and certified CPR-BLS trainer. Still, it is his interpersonal skills that people notice first.

Not long ago, he was visiting the Winter Haven clinic and helped a senior female patient change her tire – in 90 degree heat.

Josh Helms, CEO of Physician Partners of America, sums it up this way: “Eric is a servant leader who is always willing to roll up his sleeves and help the team. He leads by example and always puts the patient first.”

Says Alvarez, the father of two daughters, “I love helping people. It’s been my passion since forever. Excellent patient care is what keeps us going and I make it priority in everything I do.”