Commitment to the mission is critical for active duty and veteran military, and the military professionals who make up Envision Healthcare are committed to our mission of improving life in our communities one moment at a time. In recognition of their efforts, we are proud to share the stories of some of Envision Healthcare’s many talented and dedicated military professionals.

Life as a battlefield medic is not easy, nor are the duties of the role easy to define. Equal parts paramedic, nurse and physician assistant, a medic in the military is highly trained and capable of being deployed to any and all of the most dangerous environments in which soldiers operate. All servicemembers know that when lives are in the balance, there is no better sight than a medic rushing to the scene.

Over the course of his 21-year career as a medic in the U.S. Air Force, Dirk Frantz was deployed to Iraq on three separate occasions. During his time on the battlefield, he relied on his training as a medic to provide aid and save lives in some of the most critical situations imaginable.

“It’s hard to compare anything to providing healthcare on the battlefield,” Frantz, who retired as a master sergeant, said. “The wounds you encounter on the battlefield are so varied, but they are trauma of the highest level. But what you learn in the military is that you have responsibilities; you know what is expected of you, and you know what your duty is, so you rely on the discipline they teach you to provide the same level of care to everyone you encounter.”

Now as Manager Clinical Practice, for Questcare Medical Clinics, an affiliate of Envision Physician Services, life is different for Frantz. No longer deployed to some of the world’s most dangerous conflicts, he devotes his time to ensuring Envision’s providers offer quality care to the communities in which they serve.

“I’m basically a practice manager, but I wear a lot of different hats: I’m a clinical educator, I pay all of the bills for our 16 clinics, and I serve as director of day-to-day operations, so I’m the guy they come to if anything breaks.”

German-Born, American-Raised

A native of Germany, Frantz immigrated to the U.S. along with his family when he was young. After graduating from high school in Kentucky, Frantz said he saw the military as his path to becoming part of a much bigger world.

“I was always fascinated by the military, and I knew that I didn’t want to stay at home in Kentucky,” Frantz said. “The military gives you so many options for career paths, and they provide you with the training you need for life after service, so I saw a lot of opportunity [in enlisting].”

Frantz said the Air Force’s variety of healthcare career paths caught his attention as he ultimately looked for ways to best prepare himself for life after the military.

“I’ve been stationed in Italy, Korea, Africa – you name a difficult situation, I’ve probably served there,” Frantz said. “I’ve served on humanitarian missions in Macedonia during the Kosovo War, and I’ve treated Cuban and Haitian refugees early in my career at Guantanamo Bay.”

“When I first joined the Air Force, my job was as a med technician on an inpatient, multi-service ward,” Frantz added. “From there, I transitioned to an emergency room for several years before working in a family practice and being put in leadership positions.”

Leadership is expected from every servicemember, a trait that Frantz says sets clinicians with military experience apart in the civilian world.

“The military teaches you that you put duty before self and there is no such thing as ‘I don’t think I’m going to do that today.’ In peace or in war, you have duties, and everything you do is as much for your patients as it is for your fellow airmen or soldiers. When servicemembers transition into the civilian world, many of us keep that same mentality that people are counting on us to do the things that need to be done.”

How Envision Empowers Him

Envision Healthcare respects the experience of servicemembers and values the unique training and qualities they possess. It’s that level of trust, Frantz said, that has impressed him as he has grown into a leadership role within the company.

“What I really appreciate as former military is that Envision empowers me and trusts me to do my job and do my duty,” Frantz said. “In the military, they empower you to make important decisions in war or peace, and Envision has given me that same level of trust and respect.”

In the military, concepts like training and ensuring both personnel and equipment safety are critical to the mission. Frantz said Envision holds those same values, and that they trust him as a manager to ensure they are core to everything he does – something he said is appealing to servicemembers looking for a familiar environment as they transition into civilian healthcare.

“I’ve opened three clinics within the last six weeks. That has been a lot of work for me, but my leadership has trusted me to put my head down and figure things out,” Frantz said. “[Envision] trusted me to get the job done, and they’ve promoted me because of that work. I appreciate the confidence they’ve shown in me.”

Right Place, Right Time

Preparing to enjoy a quiet afternoon with his girlfriend, Frantz instead encountered a critical situation on the side of an expressway in Plano that demanded his unique skills.

“The first thing I noticed was that a woman had been thrown about 30 yards away from her car, which itself was now overturned in a ditch,” Frantz said. “I checked on her and found her unconscious, but with a pulse. No one else who had gathered had medical training, so I took control and told a bystander to stay with her while I went forward to the car.”

When Frantz arrived, he found an 18-month-old child in stable condition, but his attention quickly shifted to the second passenger – a four-year-old boy who had been removed from the car and was in critical condition.

“Two bystanders had taken this child from the car’s backseat and laid him on the ground, but he had no pulse and was, well, basically dead,” Frantz said. “I immediately initiated CPR, and I directed the others around to do various things to assist. After 3-4 minutes, the child took a massive gasp of air, and I was able to get a pulse back.

“Depending on what literature you read, the chances of being able to revive someone in his condition is around 10 percent, so I was absolutely ecstatic.”

All three people in the car survived their injuries, Frantz said, a testament to good fortune and his own battlefield medic and CPR instructor training that allowed Frantz to quickly and calmly assess the situation and decisively act under pressure.

“A medic is who I am, and it’s what I was trained by the military to be,” Frantz said. “The last time I was on a battlefield was 2009, but you don’t forget what you need to do to be able to give your patients a chance to survive.”

Envision Healthcare is proud to recognize and honor those among our 25,000 employees who are active and veteran military. While each of our employees is dedicated to making a difference in the lives of patients, we know that veterans bring unique skills, training, experience and perspectives that improve the delivery of care. We thank them for their service, and during the month of November, we will be featuring some of the military professionals across our organization and highlighting how they continue to serve the healthcare needs of their communities.

Valuable Skills and Experience

Veterans and active duty members representing all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces are part of the Envision team – from physicians and advanced practice providers to support team members and business leaders. They all play an integral role in providing high-quality care and advancing Envision’s mission of improving life in our communities one moment at a time.

“At Envision, we recognize the value of military experience,” said Brian Baxter, M.D., Executive Vice President, Alliance OU National Group, and soon-to-be President, HCA National Group. “Military professionals come to us with leadership experience because that is what is expected of every service member – whether that person is enlisted or an officer.

Dr. Baxter served 10 years in the Army, performing his residency at Fort Hood before being stationed at Fort Benning and Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The former major said those who serve understand the importance of holding themselves and their colleagues accountable, which is “extremely important in a healthcare environment.”

Dirk Frantz, Director of Clinical Operations, QuestCare Urgent Care (an Envision affiliate in Dallas, Texas) was deployed to Iraq three times. He was also stationed in Italy, Korea, Africa and other areas of conflict during his 21-year career in the Air Force.

During his time as a battlefield medic, Frantz relied on his military discipline and medical training to provide aid and save lives in some of the most critical situations imaginable.

“It’s hard to compare anything to providing healthcare on the battlefield,” Frantz, who retired as a master sergeant, said. “The things we saw were trauma of the highest level; it felt like every other person I laid my hands on was missing a limb or had serious burns or gunshot wounds.

“What you learn – and this is something I carried into my civilian career – is that no matter what you encounter, you are expected to do your duty,” Frantz added. “It is expected of me to provide the same level of care to every patient I treat.”

Jennea Correia, M.D., Associate Medical Director, Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said the skills service members develop, like problem solving and adaptability, uniquely prepare them for the obstacles they may face within the healthcare system.

“In the military, we are trained from day one that, if we want to complain about something, we also have to come up with a solution, and that mindset never really leaves veterans,” Dr. Correia said.

Providing Patient-Centered Care

As a multispecialty medical group, Envision touches the lives of patients through more than 35 million encounters a year. As a leader in healthcare, it’s important that Envision’s workforce reflects the diverse patient population and communities in which we provide care.

“Because military assignments can take you all over the nation or world, military service members are exposed to so many different cultures, patient populations and pathological conditions at a much earlier point in their careers, which helps build empathy and understanding,” said Gretchen Moen, Physician Recruiter.

For clinicians on the frontlines, fostering that patient-clinician relationship is important – wherever they practice.

“The biggest compliment here is the number of moonlighting physicians who end up signing with us permanently,” Moen said. “They also recruit each graduating class of residents and encourage them to moonlight with us, as they feel we have so many offerings for work. No matter where their first or tenth post is, we likely have enough opportunities to ensure their ability to maximize off-duty employment (ODE).”

In honor of Veterans Day and in recognition of all U.S. service members, join us in celebrating the many dedicated and talented active and veteran military professionals at Envision.

The career paths of successful surgeons are not always the same. Marwa A. Adi, M.D., FACS had to work harder to complete her training in ophthalmology, but her unique path has made her one of the most sought-after corneal specialists on the east coast.

Dr. Adi was born in Damascus, Syria. Her father, born and raised in Hana, was a general surgeon who trained in the U.S. and returned to Damascus to establish a hospital, which is still functioning today. Her mother was never allowed to pursue higher education, so she provided strong support to her daughter to pursue her academic dreams.

Her interest in ophthalmology began early. “I knew I wanted to be an ophthalmologist when I was 19 years old,” she said. “I was very attracted to the anatomy and physiology of the eye. I found the eye to be a fascinating and intriguing organ.”

After completing medical school at the University of Damascus, Dr. Adi came to the United States in 1981 and began her residency in ophthalmology in 1982 at George Washington University in the District of Columbia. The transition was difficult, but she said it helped her persevere.

As a medical graduate from another country, getting to ophthalmology training was harder and took longer for her than for students who studied in the U.S. However, she remained steadfast about specializing in ophthalmology. Initially, Dr. Adi completed an internship in general surgery, the back-up specialty she would have pursued in the event ophthalmology did not materialize. A year of research in ophthalmology followed before beginning her residency.

Looking back, she values her foundation in general surgery because it made her stand out. “I believe my surgical internship was important for developing the right disposition toward disease solving,” she explained. “The skills I received were very beneficial in my ophthalmology training. Most ophthalmologists do internal medicine, so general surgery helped me approach ophthalmology in a unique way.”

Setting High Goals

Even though Dr. Adi says she never had female physicians as mentors during her residency, her mother provided her with consistent support. “She was always facilitating the next step to help me advance in my career goals,” she said.

When Dr. Adi completed her ophthalmology fellowship, her mother asked, “What do you wish for your career?” Without hesitation, she said she wished to go into private practice with Melvin G. Alper, M.D., a renowned ophthalmic surgeon and neuro-ophthalmologist.

Dr. Alper ran a private practice, now called Washington Eye Physicians and Surgeons, and he was one of Dr. Adi’s clinical professors at George Washington University. Her dream of practicing with Dr. Alper felt too far-fetched to ever become a reality, but she and her mother never forgot this exchange.

For the next decade, Dr. Adi worked at a health maintenance organization (HMO) and in academia. One day, she received a call from the senior partner at the very same practice she once had said she wanted to join. The group was looking for an ophthalmologist with at least 10 years of experience specializing in the cornea. When Dr. Adi’s mother heard the news, she was ecstatic. Her daughter’s greatest hope was becoming a reality.

“Dr. Alper established Washington Eye Physicians and Surgeons in 1954. Fifty years later, in 1998, this practice had never hired a woman or a foreign graduate!” Dr. Adi exclaimed. “I told them, ‘If I join, I want to be a partner, not just an employee of this institution.’”

Having her colleagues recognize her expertise and commitment to patients was one thing, but Dr. Adi found that because she was in a traditionally male-dominated practice, the patients were a little surprised.

“Patients would ask, ‘Who will do the surgery? You?’ But they quickly understood that I was there to provide the highest quality of care, and now, because of the trust I have built with them and the progression of the medical field, I get referrals all the time,” she said.

“This October, I’ll celebrate 21 years of practicing ophthalmology at the medical group. We truly are a family and a part of the community.”

Her lesson, Dr. Adi whimsically said: “Hard work and determination truly pay off.”

Today, Dr. Adi can see how each segment of her career path played an integral role in developing her skillset, especially the years she worked in the HMO. “I encountered a great deal of complicated pathology in the HMO setting which forced me to depend on myself more. Those years were more formative, experience-wise, than I could have ever imagined. I am very satisfied with the course I took, but it also put me in a different category, and with my subspecialty experience, I became the expert on complex cases.”

Giving Back to the Community

When Dr. Adi is not seeing patients or performing surgery, she enjoys teaching at George Washington University/Medstar and mentoring young female physicians. It does not seem so long ago that she was the very first female cornea fellow at the University of Florida, so she is passionate about empowering women in her field.

“As an educator and someone who is involved in resident training, I try to give my female residents insight about their future careers, and I ask them what they want out of their practice.”

Dr. Adi and the physicians in her practice volunteer each month. They partner with residents to run glaucoma or cornea clinics and provide free or discounted procedures to community members.

According to Dr. Adi, mission work doesn’t have to require long flights. “All charity begins at home,” She said. In addition to caring for patients, Dr. Adi serves on the AMSURG Advisory Board, and she recently began her second term. “With ambulatory surgery centers across the U.S. and thousands of physician partners with different backgrounds and skills, AMSURG recognizes the importance of those different perspectives and experiences,” she said.

“The board is a reflection of the many patient populations we serve, and as a team, we are able to share and implement best practices so that we can continue to advance the delivery of care and improve the patient experience.”

“Their invitation for me to join the board was recognition that they wanted diversity and women,” she stated proudly. She hopes to be a good role model for young female physicians, especially her daughter, who is currently in medical school. Supportive mothers raise successful daughters.

“What really drives me, is the desire to help and be good,” Dr. Adi said. “Every day, I have the opportunity to make an impact on patients’ lives and in the careers of physicians newer to the field – and nothing is more rewarding.”

Geetanjali Akerkar, M.D., AGAF, describes herself as a compassionate healer, lifelong learner and strong advocate for her patients. A gastroenterologist who specializes in liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome and a dedicated mother of three, Dr. Akerkar is the chief financial officer of Digestive Health Specialists and president of Lowell Anesthesia. She is also a founding member of Northeast Endoscopy and sits on the board of directors. Dr. Akerkar has an appointment at Harvard Medical School and serves on the board of the Massachusetts Gastroenterology Association. “Medicine allows me to utilize several strengths at once,” she said. “It requires quick analysis and interpersonal skills.” She is particularly passionate about gastroenterology (GI) because she treats patients of all ages and a diverse range of conditions including infections, autoimmune diseases and cancer. “I have to think of the whole body because symptoms could represent disease in other organ systems outside the GI tract.” In other words, gastroenterology keeps her on her toes. Excellence in GI Care Dr. Akerkar’s patients say she is a gifted communicator, a quality she honed many years ago while on the competitive debate team at Cornell University. “Patients tell me I explain things well and that I’m compassionate and direct,” she shared. These qualities are essential in a physician, especially when delivering difficult news like a cancer diagnosis. “My compassion gives patients hope, and the directness gives a sense of urgency to move forward with treatment.” Providing excellent care is one of many reasons Castle and Connolly named Dr. Akerkar a Boston Top Doctor for the third year in a row. This honor motivates her to offer cutting-edge technology to her patients. “Medicine and gastroenterology are moving targets,” Dr. Akerkar said. Ongoing training allows me to provide my patients with a wide variety of therapy options as well as the most current treatments.” Most recently, Dr. Akerkar trained to learn a procedure called Barrx, a new radiofrequency ablation treatment for Barrett’s esophagus. A strong advocate for her patients in the Greater Boston area, Dr. Akerkar explained, “My mission is to provide the best local care to my patients and the best access to tertiary centers. Because I’ve lived in Boston for 20 years, I have the connections to get patients with rare conditions to the right facility for complicated surgeries.” Being a Female Physician Leader Several women played a key role in mentoring and encouraging Dr. Akerkar on her path to becoming a female physician leader. Teresa Wright, M.D., head of liver disease at the University of California San Francisco and president of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, mentored her as a GI fellow and invited her to co-write and publish. Doree Barton, M.D., founder of Digestive Health Specialists, provided an example of strong female leadership and dedication to quality patient care. Dr. Akerkar is currently the only female in her practice group, and she attributes the mutual respect among the physicians regardless of gender to Dr. Barton’s pioneering efforts on behalf of female physicians. Dr. Akerkar said she feels privileged to dedicate her time to support the professional growth of other female physician leaders. The American Gastroenterological Association hosted a Women’s Leadership Initiative, and Dr. Akerkar participated in its inaugural year by working collaboratively to improve gender equality and to foster sponsorship and mentorship among GI physicians. She recently accepted an invitation to serve on the President’s Council of Cornell Women where she will promote advancement of female faculty and students. Women are still underrepresented in gastroenterology and other procedural and surgical specialties, but Dr. Akerkar sees this as an advantage. “Many women shy away from procedural or surgical specialties because of the call schedule. While the training process is more rigorous, these fields seek women and therefore, present unique opportunities. Before she joined Digestive Health Specialists, Dr. Akerkar took time off to be at home with her twins until they were a year old. Because she was well-trained, she was confident in her ability to return to a full-time position. Her practice prioritizes family, and she has tried not to miss sports games and concerts. “I tell my female mentees, ‘If you have a passion for a specialty, go for it. When you are one of few, you actually have more control over your schedule.’” Young female physicians must be heeding her advice because women will comprise about half of the next generation of GI fellows. Dr. Akerkar is amused by the tangible evidence of this change – as she sees the line for the women’s restroom growing longer every year at annual GI meetings.

Nathalie C. Rioux, M.D., FRCS, is passionate about improving diversity in medicine.

“Women in Medicine Month means a great deal to me,” said Dr. Rioux, a fellowship-trained glaucoma specialist with Pioneer Valley Ophthalmic Consultants in Greenfield, Amherst and Holyoke, Massachusetts. “Females practice medicine a little differently because we have a unique touch.”

Born, raised and trained in Montreal, Canada, Dr. Rioux was not in the minority as a woman in medicine. “In 1991, my graduating class at the University of Montreal School of Medicine was 60 percent female and 40 percent male,” she proudly stated. “In my surgical subspecialty at the University of Montreal Affiliated Hospitals, we had equal numbers of men and women.”

When Dr. Rioux began her career in the United States, she experienced a culture shock. She was the only female in surgery, and her colleagues mistakenly thought she was a sales rep. “I think we still have a lot of work to do in the United States because we need more female doctors. I think males and females work well together because we complete each other,” she said.

Dr. Rioux runs a thriving practice with her partner, John P. Frangie, M.D., who is a corneal specialist. Their practice is the only one in Western Massachusetts with both a fellowship-trained glaucoma specialist and a fellowship-trained cornea specialist. Dr. Rioux is also married to an ophthalmologist, John A. Thayer, M.D., who is in private practice locally.

There are many necessary steps to improve diversity and inclusion in medicine. Dr. Rioux would like to see equal numbers of men and women accepted into medical schools, but this requires flourishing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs on the high school level. She advocates for STEM programs at Stoneleigh-Burnham School, an academically rigorous International Baccalaureate school in Greenfield. The school is comprised of students from 13 states and 11 countries and is committed to racial and socioeconomic diversity. As a member of their board of trustees, Dr. Rioux speaks at conferences to encourage young female high school students to pursue sciences. She tells the students, “Women are excellent surgeons. Talent is gender-neutral.”

She also mentors young female ophthalmology students, and she welcomes them to shadow her in the office and in surgery. Through mentoring, she provides practical clinical training as well as candid interpersonal advice about the pervasiveness of sexual harassment. She advises young female physicians, “Stand your ground and make it clear from the very beginning that you don’t accept harassment.” She gives the same advice to her daughter, Julia, a 19-year-old pre-law student at the University of Toronto.

As a glaucoma specialist and member of the board of directors at Pioneer Valley Ophthalmic Consultants, Dr. Rioux is committed to bringing innovations to the surgery center, “I was the one who initiated the purchase of the Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty (SLT) laser,” she remembered, “and because all the ophthalmologists used it, we paid for the laser within the year.” She has always tried to stay current with new surgical approaches like minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) and new glaucoma devices that improve the quality of life in her patients.

It is essential for her as a female physician in leadership to stay up-to-speed clinically, but Dr. Rioux says nothing is more important to her than her relationship with people. “I am very close to the people I work with at the surgery center. I like to represent the employees, and I am a good voice for them.”

Empathy and kindness are two traits she learned from her grandfather, an OB-GYN in Quebec City who was her mentor. “The difference between a good doctor and a great doctor is the relationship you have with your patients. It’s not just what you know. It’s what you say and how you say it.”