Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency

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The Faculty The Residents The Staff


PROGRAM DIRECTOR
	Colin Kopes-Kerr, M.D., became the Program Director for the Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency in February of 2007. He took time off from his academic career to return to full-time practice in 2005 in order to be able to test the theories of cost-effective primary prevention that he had developed for his teaching. They worked fine, and he now seeks to take these same principles farther. Dr. Kopes-Kerr was formerly Vice Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at SUNY Stony Brook and Program Director for the Family Practice Residency program. There he successfully implemented an evidence-based medicine curriculum and guided the program back to full accreditation. In 2005 he left the university to go back into private practice in Sacramento CA to apply the principles of evidence-based medicine in the real world. Dr. Kopes-Kerr had attended the University of Pennsylvania medical school and then did an initial internship in Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital National Medical Center in Washington D.C. From there he went to the University of California Berkeley for a Masters Degree in Public Health and began several years of private practice in Winters, California. Before leaving the area he enrolled in and completed a law degree at Boalt Hall School of Law to advance his understanding of health care legislation, administrative law, and the tort system. He next decided to switch his specialty from Pediatrics to Family Practice and did his family practice residency training at University Hospitals in Cleveland, OH. He began his academic career with a teaching position in the Department of Family Medicine at East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, and went from there to Penn State University College of Medicine/Hershey Medical Center to become Director of the Family Practice Residency Program and was instrumental in getting the residency transferred from the university hospital to community hospital (Good Samaritan Hospital, Lebanon, PA). Also as part of his academic career he started publishing “The Family Practice Newsletter” in 1985 and it continues to be a central aspect of his teaching and practice. After 5 years in Hershey and Lebanon, he went back into private practice for a couple of years in Myerstown, PA and took a position for a year as the Medical Director for Hamburg Center in Pennsylania, which is a state-run facility for the severely developmentally disabled. In 1996 he went back into academic practice with Lehigh Valley Family Practice Residency Program in Allentown, PA. Currently his major interests center around evidence-based medicine, electronic medical records, and quality assurance in primary care. He has done research on computers in primary care and quality assurance for diabetes. He was awarded the “Teacher of the Year” Award in 1998 and 1999 at Penn State University and in 2001, 2002, and 2004 at SUNY Stony Brook. Dr. Kopes-Kerr is married, to Diane, and has four children, Oliver (19), Jamie (7), Liam (6 ), and Anna (2) and a Siberian husky named Tasha. His other interests include tennis, computers, financial planning, the stock market, and meditation.


ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS

	Jeff Haney, M.D. Associate Program Director, Selection and Evaluation Coordinator, graduated from the University of Washington in Seattle. Trading in gills for sunscreen, he completed his family medicine residency in Santa Rosa, including two years as chief resident. His nave interest lies in full spectrum family medicine, particularly obstetrics, end of life care, and ethics. He takes great joy in spending time with his wife and friends, cooking, gardening, and playing outdoors.


	Walt Mills, M.D. Associate Program Director, Coordinator of Faculty Development, is a graduate of University of Notre Dame, UCSD Medical School, and UCLA-Santa Monica FP Residency. He has been involved in the residency since 1986. Walt is Assistant Chief of Family Medicine Services at Kaiser Santa Rosa. He is site director for the resident experience at Kaiser and a consortium board member. Walt earned his Masters of Medical Management from the American College of Physician Executive's University of Southern California program in July 2002 and was awarded Fellow of ACPE (FACPE) in 2005, an award given for distinguished work in medical management and clinical medicine. He co-founded the Northern California Center for Well-Being, was President and Medical Director in several medical groups, and is the President for the Sonoma County Chapter of Family Physicians. Walt loves his family. He is a certified meditation instructor with training in ayurveda/integrative medicine, facilitating weekly meditation sessions for interested residents/faculty. His passion for the residency is rooted in the vision that family medicine transforming itself to be the centerpiece for 21st century medicine. http://www.permanente.net/homepage/doctor/waltermills.


CORE FACULTY

	Ritch Addison, Ph.D. Behavioral Science and Wellness Coordinator, teaches in the residency program half time and has a half time independent practice as a licensed psychologist. He leads Balint groups and support groups, and helps residents better understand the healing potential of the physician/patient relationship. Past President of the American Balint Society, his research interests include physician stress and burnout, the doctor-patient relationship, qualitative research, and meaning in medicine. Ritch plays tennis, bikes and watches hawks. He is the parent of two adolescents, who take turns teaching him how much he missed in his formal education.


	Gerald Eliaser, M.S., M.D. Family Practice Center Director and Director of Outpatient Education, became interested in medicine while going through Navy flight training experiencing the human-machine interface in unusual environments. He did his pre-med studies by correspondence on an aircraft carrier. Upon discharge he attended UCSF prior to coming to Santa Rosa for his FP residency. In addition to teaching residents and medical students, he enjoys time with his family and playing music.


	Rick Flinders, M.D. Adult Medicine Coordinator, has been on the Santa Rosa faculty since completion of his training here in 1980. He has recently finished the last year as interim program director, was inpatient director from 1985-93, and is now chief of the adult medicine service where he teaches "family medicine in the hospital." He is founder and director of the RISE Program and author of The RISE Response: Illness, Wellness, and Spirituality. He spent a year in Japan as visiting professor, still believes in the goodness of medicine and practices Zen "most of the time".


	Enrique Gonzalez-Mendez, M.D. Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF, and Director of Cultural Studies for the residency, received his medical degree from the National University of Mexico. He completed a general surgery residency in Florence, Italy, was medical director in a rural hospital in Mexico, ultimately coming to Santa Rosa and completing his FP residency. Dr. Gonzalez-Mendez is a member of the board of the Puente Mentor Program at the local junior college. His main interests are the cross-cultural aspects of medicine, obstetrics and recruitment of minority students.


	Panna Lossy, M.D. Women's Health Coordinator, is a graduate of the UCSF/UC Berkeley Joint Medical Program and completed her residency in Santa Rosa. She is interested in all aspects of women's health and cross-cultural medicine. She precepts in the colposcopy clinic and early pregnancy options clinics and coordinates women's health training for the residents. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand from 1986-1988, working in a small hospital laboratory. In her free time she enjoys backpacking, telemark skiing, and playing ultimate Frisbee.


	David Schneider, M.D. Conference Coordinator. Having attended medical school at USC, Dr. Schneider relocated to Merced for his residency. He remained on the teaching faculty in Merced for one year, and then moved to Sacramento in 1989. He has practiced in several settings since then, including urgent care centers, emergency rooms, and managed care groups. He continued teaching medical students and PA/FNP students prior to joining the full-time faculty at the Methodist Hospital FP Residency, where he remained for 6 years. His professional interests include Balint groups, cardiology, clinical skills, dermatology, integrative medicine, office procedures, and sports medicine. He also enjoys, among other things, music, wine, philosophy, and Shakespeare (occasionally simultaneously).


	Tara Scott, M.D. Director of Leadership and Professional Development, is a native Californian. She made it through four hard winters at Harvard Medical School only to then happily move back to California for residency at the Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency. Since gradation, Tara has been working in emergent and urgent care settings as well as in the community clinics that serve medically underserved patients of Santa Rosa. Since joining the faculty in 2007, Tara has been transforming the Community Medicine and Practice Management curricula into a new 3-year longitudinal experience in leadership development, postresidency career preparation and community service/education. Outside of work, Tara can be found cooking for friends, traveling, taking fashion design classes and sewing. She also has a soft spot for house music and African dance


COMMUNITY FACULTY

	Peter Baginsky, M.D. a graduate of Harvard Medical School, completed his Family Practice residency at Santa Rosa and a fellowship in diabetes at UCSF. He teaches Family Practice, is the director of the Diabetes Clinic, has a diabetes consultation practice, and conducts clinical research in diabetes.


	Fred Brewer, M.D. received his medical education at UCLA. He actively attends the resident care of children experience at Sutter Medical Center, which includes both pediatric inpatients and experiences in the intensive care nursery. He also has a private practice in Santa Rosa. He enjoys gardening and hiking.


	Laurie Cederberg, M.D. is a graduate of UCSF Medical School. She was a family medicine resident at Ventura County Medical Center and served as chief resident in 1990. In 1991 she moved to Sonoma County and worked at the Russian River Health Center until 1995. Laurie then joined Doyle Park Family Medicine where she continues in private practice. She is also actively teaching on labor and delivery and in the Family Practice Center at Sutter.


	John Dervin, M.D. is a graduate of St. Louis University School of Medicine and completed his FP residency at Santa Rosa. He teaches outpatient procedures including flexible sigmoidoscopy, colposcopy and vasectomy. His special interests include colo-rectal and cervical cancer detection.


	Nancy Doyle, M.D. is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Family Medicine at UCSF. She received her medical degree from UCSF, continued training in Pediatrics and Immunology, and helped establish the UCSF Pediatric Rheumatology Program. Additionally, she has worked in private practice pediatrics for over two decades and has taught at the residency since 1982. She also works as volunteer pediatrician with the perinatal program at the Drug Abuse Alternative Center.


	Carlos Garcia M.D. has been working in the Santa Rosa community for over 10 years. He attended UCLA Medical School and graduated from the Santa Rosa Family Practice Program in 1997. Since graduating he has enjoyed precepting and interacting with the very talented resident physicians. He currently practices at Kaiser Santa Rosa Medical Center in both the outpatient Family Medicine Department and as a part time hospitalist. Special interests include Latino health services, pediatric and adolescent medicine, preventive health and community outreach. Part of his role as a Kaiser Physician is promoting healthcare to winery workers across Sonoma County. In his spare time he enjoys gardening/landscaping, hiking, sports and exploring the many great restaurants around us. He hopes to continue organizing softball events for our residents and staff.


	Sean Gaskie, M.D. received the Gold-Headed Cane on graduation from UCSF School of Medicine in 1987. He completed his Family Medicine residency training in our program in 1990. His interests include chronic illness care, epidemiology, health disparities research, and clinical innovation.


	Karen Kai Gelphman, M.P.H., M.D is a University of Washington graduate and completed her FP residency at Santa Rosa. She completed a family medicine fellowship in 1996 and then taught part-time at the Residency. She began a 2-person practice in Forestville and is currently in a 4-doctor practice and teaches procedures clinics for the residents. Her interests include diabetes, women's health, and depression.


	Tim Gieseke, M.D., CMD completed his Internal Medicine Residency at UC Davis and subsequent certification from the ACP. He was certified by the American Medical Directors Association for LTC medicine in 1996 and 2002. He has recently become an associate Medical Director for Sutter VNA Hospice. He is a multi-facility Medical Director and a full time SNF physician. He enjoys international medicine and has practiced briefly in Ecuador and Albania. He enjoys teaching rehabilitation, nursing home medicine, and hospice.


	Cheryl Green, M.D. completed her combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency at University of Michigan. She is the coordinator of the pediatrics rotation at Kaiser Santa Rosa Medical Center, and has been a member of the Family Medicine Department since 2002. Special interests include pediatrics and adolescent medicine, preventive health and teaching. She enjoys her 2 young children, hiking, running, swimming and photography.


	James Gude, M.D. Clinical Professor of Medicine and Family and Community Medicine at UCSF, and is the eICU Coordinator of the SMCSR. He is interested in developing resident interest in rural and hospitalist medicine. His current areas of medical interest lie in using technology to support remote care of critically ill patients. He has a special love of the history of medicine and of the physical examination.


	Mana Hobson, M.D. completed an Internal Medicine & Geriatric Fellowship at UCSF and brings 10 years of clinical experience to residency education. She organizes the geriatric curriculum and is medical director for Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa's Transitional Care Unit and Senior Health Center. She loves teaching and is a regional expert in diagnosis and management of dementia.


	Kathy Horan, M. D. received her medical degree from the University of California at Davis. After completing her Family Medicine training at the residency here in Santa Rosa, she worked for two years at the Sonoma County Indian Health Project. In 1981 she opened a private practice with two other physicians who had trained here in the Family Medicine Residency. This practice grew and in 1995 combined with another group to form Doyle Park Family Medicine, which is now a six-doctor group. From 2000 to 2005 she served as Associate Program Director in the residency. Ever since completing her training she has remained involved with resident teaching, particularly in the area of obstetrics. Her other interests include singing, musical theater, tap dancing, skiing and white water rafting.


	Kin-Man Lai, M.D. is a graduate of University of California Irvine and completed his general surgery residency at Stanford University. He completed a vascular surgery fellowship at Atlanta Medical Center. His special interests include complex vascular surgery and endovascular therapy.


	Louis Menachof, M.D. Clinical Professor, UCSF, has been a practicing pediatrician and teacher in this program since 1961. He is now a half-time teacher of outpatient pediatrics and coordinates approximately 5 local pediatricians into outpatient pediatric training. He is also board certified in neonatal medicine. In his free time he enjoys snow skiing, kayaking, running and spending time with his family.


	Tom Miles, M.D. is a graduate of The University of Maryland School of Medicine. He is an orthopedic surgeon and is section chief of orthopedics. He has a special interest in joint reconstruction and hand surgery.


	Thomas A Neal, M.D. is a graduate of University of Southern California School of Medicine and graduated from the Family Medicine Residency in Santa Rosa. After residency, he completed an obstetrical fellowship. He is currently the Medical Director of the Redwood Empire Sweet Success Program and preceptor of the High Risk OB Clinic. He is also active in teaching on the obstetrical unit at the hospital. His private practice is in Healdsburg, CA.


	JoDean Nicolette, M.D. received her medical degree from Stanford University. She trained in Family and Community Medicine at University of California at Davis. Dr. Nicolette is particularly interested in curriculum revision and design. While she enjoys the full scope of Family Medicine, Dr. Nicolette is dedicated to improving comprehensive care for women. She also has a special interest in environmentalism and Medical Ecology. She sits on the board of Directors for the American College of Women's Health Physicians and also serves as Editor-in-Chief and President-Select for the organization. Dr. Nicolette loves animals, and has three greyhounds, two cats, and two American Paint Horses. In her free time she enjoys backpacking, trail running, horseback riding, reading, and writing.


	Robert J Nied, M.D. is originally from So Cal and graduated from UCLA school of Medicine in 1997. Rob completed his Family Medicine Residency at University of Michigan and a fellowship in sports medicine at Michigan State University. He is boarded in Family Medicine and sports medicine. After several years in community practice, he joined Kaiser Permanente in 2003 where he practices primary care and sports medicine. Rob is involved in teaching and coordinating the musculoskeletal curriculum for the Santa Rosa Family Medicine Residency Program. He enjoys many athletic activities especially soccer, biking, and surfing.


	James R. O'Malley, M.D., F.A.A.P. is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine, UCSF since 1992. He graduated from the School of Medicine of Loyola University Chicago and completed residency at Valley Medical Center of San Jose and Stanford University. He practiced pediatrics and was an attending at Santa Rosa Memorial and Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa from 1967 to 2001. He is a past member of the Board of Directors of Sonoma County Medical Association, and chaired the departments of pediatrics at Sutter Medical Center of Santa Rosa and Memorial Hospital. He enjoys hiking the great outdoors and volunteers at the Catholic Workers food distribution center. He lives with Karen, his wife of forty years, a recently retired R.N.


	Jeannie Pflum, D.O., M.S. is a graduate of the University of Des Moines, Iowa in medicine and Health Care Administration in 1997. She completed her Ob/Gyn residency at University of Vermont in Burlington, VT in 2001. She has a great interest in teaching residents and has a private practice specializing in Ob/Gyn in Santa Rosa. She loves racing land speed cars and motorcycles and wants to promote women & kids in motor sports.


	Matthew B. Pride, M.D. is a graduate of University of Washington School of Medicine. He completed a family medicine residency at Ventura County Medical Center in 1995 with an interest in rural, underserved and possibly international medicine. After practicing family medicine at various locations in California and Washington, heightened interest in OB/Gyn drew him back to an OB/Gyn residency in Las Vegas, which he completed in 2004. He finds practicing OB/Gyn and teaching the residents a very rewarding balance. He spends his free time with his family and in various outdoor pursuits.


	Phyllis J. Senter, M.D. “Jackie” is a University of Washington School of Medicine graduate, and completed the FP residency program in Santa Rosa in 1979. She was in solo private practice from 1980 until 1997 when she joined Northcoast Faculty Medical Group (aka Sutter Medical Group of the Redwoods). She has enjoyed being a part-time preceptor during this time, and hopes to continue to work with the residents in their clinics. She has also been active in the California Medical Association and the Sonoma County Medical Association since 1980, and is a past president of SCMA.


	Larry Slater, M.D. Medical Student Coordinator, is a University of Southern California graduate and completed his FP residency at Santa Rosa. He completed a family medicine fellowship in 1980 and has been on the clinical faculty since then, coordinating the medical student clerkship and actively teaching on the Obstetrics Unit. He is also a member of one of Santa Rosa's largest family medical group practices.


	Veronica Vuksich, D.O. is a graduate of the College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific and the Family Medicine Residency in Santa Rosa. She is a preceptor in the outpatient clinic, does locums in the community, has her own osteopathic medicine private practice and is an HIV consultant in the rural setting.


	Steven Wolf, M.D. is a graduate of Finch University of Health Sciences/Chicago Medical School and completed his Family Practice residency at the Carle Clinic in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. His strengths include a solid background in medical procedures and he teaches outpatient procedures including sigmoidoscopy, colposcopy, LEEP, and vasectomy. He has special interests in non-operative Obstetrics and is also active in teaching residents.


	Jill Schmidtlein Zechowy, M.D received her medical degree from University of Maryland School of Medicine and then completed her residency at what is now called Tufts University Family Medicine Residency Program. Before coming to Santa Rosa she served her Public Health Service Scholarship at a community heath center in Lynn, Massachusetts and acted as the interim Medical Director. She also provided medical care for recent refugees to the U.S. and served as Medical Director of nine school-based health centers north of Boston. She currently enjoys precepting in the resident clinics, occasionally volunteering at the Jewish Free Clinic, and exploring the psychological aspects of patient care. As a parent, Jill sees part of her role as being an advocate for residents raising families.

3324 Chanate Road
Santa Rosa, California 95404
(707) 576-4074
E-mail: fpsantarosa@sutterhealth.org

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PROGRAM DIRECTOR

ASSOCIATE DIRECTORS

CORE FACULTY

COMMUNITY FACULTY