41
COM Outlook . Summer-Fall 2014
Alumni Corner -
Activities, Accomplishments, and Awards
Ronee Aaron, D.O.
(’99)
recently joined the medical
staff at Lourdes/Mercy Medical
Associates in Paducah, Ken-
tucky. Dr. Aaron, who previ-
ously worked at Our Lady of
Bellefonte Hospital in Ashland,
Kentucky, is certified by the
American Board of Psychiatry
and Neurology and the Asso-
ciation for Convulsive Therapy.
Theresa Cao,
D.O., FAOCD
(’05) was ap-
pointed clini-
cal assistant
professor in
the Depart-
ment of Dermatology and
Cutaneous Surgery/Division of
Melanocytic Tumors and Mohs
Surgery at the University of Mi-
ami Miller School of Medicine.
Prior to her affiliation with the
University of Miami, Dr. Cao
completed a procedural der-
matology/Mohs micrographic
surgery fellowship through the
State University of New York
Medical Center in Brooklyn.
Dr. Cao, who specializes in
Mohs micrographic surgery, is
board certified in dermatology
and family medicine and is a
Fellow of the American Osteo-
pathic College of Dermatology.
Harold L. Dal-
ton, D.O.
(’96)
was inducted
on May 17
as president
of the Florida
Society of
Interventional Pain Physicians.
This is Dr. Dalton’s fifth active
role with the society, which has
included previous stints as a
board member, carrier adviser
council member, secretary, and
president elect. His presidency
goals include effecting positive
regulatory change and helping
to ensure that Florida citizens
continue to have greater access
to the highest level of quality
pain management care.
Michael J. Friedman, D.O.
(’94), assistant professor in the
Rowan University School of
Osteopathic Medicine Depart-
ment of Psychiatry and director
of consultation and liaison
psychiatry services at Ken-
nedy Memorial Hospitals, was
named a Top Doc in Psychiatry
in
South Jersey Magazine
for
2011, 2012, and 2013.
Tyeese
Gaines, D.O.
(’06) was
named assis-
tant medical
director of
Raritan Bay
Medical Center in New Jersey.
Kendra Hall, D.O., M.P.H.
(’98), who is board certified
in family practice and hospice
and palliative care medicine,
was named medical director
of Good Shepherd Hos-
pice and will split her time
between its Florida offices in
Lakeland and Sebring.
Michele J.
Lapayowker,
D.O., FA-
COOG
(’90)
recently
relocated her
gynecology
practice to Plantation, Florida.
Dr. Lapayowker returned to
South Florida in 1995 after
completing her rotating in-
ternship at Doctor’s Hospi-
tal in Columbus, Ohio, and
graduating from the Philadel-
phia College of Osteopathic
Medicine’s OB/GYN residency.
Because she believes in giv-
ing back to the college, Dr.
Lapayowker happily allows
NSU-COM students to rotate
through her practice.
Michelle R. Mendez, D.O.
(’96) currently serves on
the Florida Department of
Health’s Wholesale Drug Dis-
tribution Advisory Council.
Amber Nash,
D.O.
(’09) re-
cently joined
Borgess
Women’s
Health in
Portage,
Michigan. Dr. Nash, who com-
pleted her OB/GYN residency
at Bayfront Medical Center in
St. Petersburg, Florida, is a
junior fellow of the American
Congress of Obstetricians
and Gynecologists.
Carlos
Sanchez,
D.O.
(’94),
who is board
certified in
emergency
medicine,
serves as medical director of
the North Shore Medical Cen-
ter Emergency Department
in Miami, Florida, and is the
owner of Medistation Urgent
Care in Miami Shores.
Tiffany
Sizemore-
Ruiz, D.O.
(’09) and
Camilo A.
Ruiz, D.O.,
FACOI
(’07) were named Top
Docs in Concierge Medicine
across America by
Concierge
Medicine Today
for 2014. In
addition, Choice Physicians
Sleep Center received a pres-
tigious five-year accreditation
from the American Academy of
Sleep Medicine. The D.O. duo
co-owns Choice Physicians of
South Florida, which is located
in east Fort Lauderdale.
Matthew
Swartz, D.O.
(’04), who
served 10
years with
the U.S. Navy
before be-
ing honorably discharged in
2011, joined the staff at Prairie
Lakes Healthcare System in
Watertown, South Dakota, as
a hospitalist. Prior to joining
Prairie Lakes, Dr. Swartz was
a hospitalist at Presbyterian
Hospital in Matthew, North
Carolina, and provided hos-
pitalist coverage at hospitals
in North Carolina as well as at
Prairie Lakes.
Matt Stringer, D.O.
(’10),
who is a captain in the U.S.
Air Force, traveled to Belize in
May as part of his fourth-year
urology residency training at
the San Antonio Military Medi-
cal Center in Texas. During
his time in Belize, Dr. Stringer
served as a key component of
a surgical team collaborating
with urology medical providers
at the Karl Heusner Memorial
Hospital in Belize City that pro-
vided urology procedures and
surgeries for a program called
New Horizons Belize 2014.
Zaheed Tai, D.O.
(’95), an
interventional cardiologist, re-
cently opened a medical prac-
tice in Davenport, Florida. Dr.
Tai is certified by the American
Board of Internal Medicine in
cardiovascular disease, nuclear
medicine, interventional cardi-
ology, and internal medicine.
Adam Wie-
ner, D.O.,
FAOCD
(’03)
was appoint-
ed chairman
of dermatolo-
gy for Holmes
Regional Medical Center in
Melbourne, Florida, which
is Brevard County’s premier
tertiary referral hospital.
Elise Zahn,
D.O., M.B.A.,
FACOEP-D
(’96) was
named a
Distinguished
Fellow by the
American Osteopathic College
of Emergency Physicians.
