Advances in Primary Care: Cutting-Edge Pharmacology & Treatment Strategies

Jessica Albores, MBA, FNP-C, DipACLM, CWS®, is a dedicated family nurse practitioner who believes in holistic patient care. She has extensive knowledge in lifestyle medicine, telemedicine, complex patient care, wound medicine, primary care, and much more. Jessica has obtained her certification in Lifestyle Medicine by the American College of Lifestyle medicine which indicates she has mastered the science of preventing, treating, and reversing chronic disease in an evidence-based manner. Jessica has a business mindset and takes great joy out of being resourceful, strategic, and innovative to meet the needs of her patients.

Amanda Chaney, DNP, FAANP, AF-AASLD, is a nurse practitioner and Senior Director of Advanced Practice Provider Services at Cleveland Clinic in Florida, staffing over 430 nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Prior to this role, Dr. Chaney served at Mayo Clinic for over 20 years in a variety of roles in leadership, patient care, and academic faculty. Dr. Chaney has presented nationally and published on topics including liver disease and transplant management, quality improvement, professional development, and leadership. She has been instrumental to national change for NP and PA practice and is regularly consulted to discuss APP best practices. She is a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), was awarded a State Award of Excellence for AANP, and is an Associate Fellow of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AF-AASLD). She has served in several leadership roles at Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic, as well as AANP, AASLD, and the International Transplant Nurses Society.

Melissa S. Dyrdal, MSN, RN, APRN, FNP-BC, is an experienced nurse practitioner and the Clinical GERD/Bariatric Program Supervisor at Minnesota Reflux & Heartburn Center at Cuyuna Regional Medical Center (CRMC). She is responsible for patient assessment, education, and development of treatment plans. She is certified in the execution, analysis, and full interpretation of high-resolution manometry (HRM) & ambulatory pH/pH impedance studies. She is the GI lab supervisor, ensuring program development & maintenance, data entry, and quality control. Melissa is research certified, currently the study coordinator at CRMC for the US Regent 1 trial, an endoscopic procedure for the treatment of DMII, and actively involved in peer and community education.

Alicia Elam, PharmD, is a pharmacist and tenured associate professor of pharmacology at Augusta University’s College of Allied Health Sciences. Not only does she oversee admissions for the physician assistant program and relish mentoring students interested in advanced degrees in medicine, pharmacy, and allied health services, but she also directs pharmacology courses for PA students and consults for various academic programs, including nursing. Dr. Elam is responsible for keen insights and guideline updates for opioid prescribing. With over 28 years of pharmacology experience, her expertise is further underscored by her services as a Lieutenant and Medical Services Corps Pharmacy Officer in the US Navy.

Mike Hess, MPH, RPFT, RRT, is Senior Director of Patient Outreach and Education at the COPD Foundation. A respiratory therapist by trade, he is currently the project lead for Oxygen360, a “moon shot” program focused on improving all aspects of supplemental oxygen therapy delivery. In addition, he supports other projects in education and advocacy throughout the foundation, including establishing the “101 Library,” a series of clinical education resources designed to reinforce the basics of various aspects of COPD care. Prior to joining the foundation, Mike served in a unique position at WMed Health in Kalamazoo, Michigan. As chronic disease coordinator, he provided patient education, diagnostic testing, care coordination, and other respiratory care services as part of a primary care clinic while also designing and implementing community outreach programs to enhance respiratory health. Mike is a registered respiratory therapist and has a Master of Public Health degree from Western Michigan University. In 2019 he received the Ambulatory and Post-Acute Care Specialty Practitioner of the Year from the American Association for Respiratory Care.

Kristene Diggins, DNP, MBA, FAANP, CNE, NEA-BC, DC, is a doctorally-prepared Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP), with more than a decade of experience both in family practice and geriatrics, including experience in the urgent care setting. She currently is a clinical trails sub-investigator for CVS Minute Clinics. Kristene is an inducted Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) and was recently elected as on the Selections Committee for the Fellows of AANP. She also serves as an adjunct faculty and has earned Certified Nurse Educator (CNE) credential.

Mikala Riddlesworth, PA-C, MMS, has been a certified physician assistant for over 15 years. She has spent her career practicing primary care and dermatology. Additionally, she has worked as a professor at several physician assistant programs. Mikala has spoken professionally at multiple education conferences teaching providers about skin conditions and treatment options as well as documentation and billing.

Kathy Bay, DNP, RN, CENP, USN, ret, is the Clinical and Quality Assurance Section Manager, Office of Immunization with the Washington State Department of Health.

Catherine A. Moore, MSN, PMHNP-BC, is a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner at Mass General Brigham where she provides behavioral health services in an integrated primary care behavioral health clinic. She also practices in her own private practice seeing clients for mental health services. She completed her bachelors and masters degrees in nursing at Boston College.

Erin Sinnaeve, DNP, FNP-C, is a family nurse practitioner with over 25 years of experience in health care. She has been specializing in allergy/immunology for the past 7 years and also practices lifestyle medicine. Dr. Sinnaeve holds a BSN from the University of Nebraska, a MS from Creighton University, and a DNP from Chamberlain University. She is a member of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM).

Christina Dzioba, PhD, APRN, WHNP-BC, BC-ADM, FNP-BC, C-EFM, is an assistant professor of nursing at Florida Gulf Coast University and has experience as an endocrine nurse practitioner at the Endocrine Institute of South Florida and Endocrine Specialist. She has a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry and with complex chronic illness and hormones focusing on diabetes, thyroid, lipid management, menopause, metabolic syndromes and osteoporosis. Dr. Dzioba is skilled in nursing education, public speaking, pregnancy counseling and management, and program development.

Debra Dermady-Ray, RN-BC, MS, ANP-BC, is a nurse practitioner who has worked in pain management for the last 15 years. She has been an interventional pain specialist treating many different chronic pain conditions and opioid management. Debra has been involved in pain management research, has taught NP students on various pain-related topics, and teaches a review course for the ANCC pain management nursing certification exam. Her specialty expertise has been recognized, as she holds certifications in pain management nursing by the ANCC and in opioid management by The American Association of Allied Interventional Pain Management Professionals.

Paul Langlois, APN, PhD, CCRN, CCNS, is a critical care clinical specialist in the surgical, medical, neurologic, burn, CCU, and trauma ICUs of Cook County Hospital, Chicago. Drawing on over 40 years of experience assessing and managing patients with life-threatening diseases, Dr. Langlois provides advanced-level training to nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, and physicians. Dr. Langlois is committed to providing the highest quality of care to patients through advanced education. His presentations are evidence-based, timely, and provide participants with numerous case studies to facilitate critical thinking. As a bedside clinical nurse specialist, he has developed several institution-wide protocols for the multidisciplinary assessment and management of infectious disease and multi-system organ failure patients. His presentations are enthusiastically delivered and offer highly practical tips that help make the most challenging concepts easy to understand. Linking knowledge to clinical practice is the goal of every educational program.

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Victoria Trott, PA-C, MMS, AQH, is a board-certified physician assistant with an added qualification in headache medicine. Victoria has focused her career on helping patients that are suffering from various headache disorders. Victoria has encouraged the application of new and emerging migraine and headache treatments for her patients. Her overall goal is to improve the quality of life of her patients suffering from these disabling conditions.

Patrick Heagey, MPAS, PA-C, is an assistant professor at West Chester University in the Physician Assistant Program. His specialty is Trauma Surgery/Surgical Critical Care.

Nguyen H. Park, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA, is a clinical assistant professor in the Physician Assistant Studies Program in the department of healthcare sciences at Wayne State University. After graduating from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in neuropsychology and biology, and working in biomedical research, she received an MS in physician assistant studies from Wayne State University. Since 2003, she has worked clinically in cardiology. She is a fellow of the Michigan Academy of Physician Assistants (MAPA), participating actively in MAPA’s CME planning committee, and has lectured regionally and at the state level.

Dennis Rivenburgh, MS, ATC, PA-C, DFAAPA, is a physician assistant who provides medical care to patients in the outpatient setting. Have provided first assist in surgery, with a specialty in orthopedics and sports medicine. Dennis has been a Certified Athletic Trainer for over 30 years. He also serves as an expert witness, both in defense and plaintiff cases.

James Paoletti, BS Pharmacy, FIACP, FAARFM, is an independent clinical consultant. He is a nationally recognized expert with over 38 years of experience with bioidentical hormone therapies in clinical practice. Jim previously served as Director of Provider Education for ZRT Laboratory, and as consultant and Education Director for Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA). He is a graduate and former faculty member of the Fellowship of Anti-aging and Functional Medicine.

Matthew Kearney, MS, MPAS, PA-C, graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA with a master’s degree in physician assistant studies. He also received a master of science degree in physiology from Penn State University, College of Medicine in Hershey, PA. He is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Steven E. Cohen, MPH/HCA, PA-C, is a Physician Assistant in Neurosurgery and Trauma with close to 40 years of clinical experience, 30 years in Neurosurgery. He presently works at Suburban Hospital/Johns Hopkins Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. He is a regular speaker at local and national conferences.

Deanna Bridge Najera, MPAS, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA, completed her PA education at Chatham University in Pittsburgh. She attended the University of Maryland for her undergraduate degree and also obtained a master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Shippensburg University. She currently splits her time between a suburban emergency department and a county health department. Additionally, she provides limited outpatient psychiatric services at a community mental health agency and a local college. She is a regular speaker on the state and national level and has served in multiple leadership capacities.