13 minute read
Heroes Live Amongst Us
They live in our community. They are our next-door neighbors, moms at the PTA meeting, dads who coach football, and young professionals who volunteer at the harvest drive. They do all the everyday things we all do. They go to the grocery store, plan vacations, exercise at the gym, and dine at their favorite restaurants.
They also save lives. Our community is filled with HEALTHCARE HEROES. They all help us to live healthier lives. Whether it’s the EMT who responds to 911 calls, a nurse at the hospital, the oncologist treating cancer, your family dentist, or your local eye doctor. These heroes treat what ails us and help us live better quality lives. We’ve included a selection of some of the heroes from our community who are making an impact, enjoy!
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Michele Lapayowker, DO, FACOOG
GYNECOLOGIST Lovely Lady Gynecology
Dr. Lapayowker is a Board Certified Gynecologist who has been caring for women in Broward and the surrounding counties since 1995. Dr. Lapayowker cares for each patient individually and has a gentle approach to women of all ages. As a female gynecologist, she takes pride in truly understanding from both personal and professional experiences a woman’s health concerns.
A passion for supporting women’s health and understanding the unique medical issues that women face is what sets Dr. Lapayowker apart. She has a tremendous rapport with teens, adults, and mature women going through their transition and menopausal years, and is able to relate to each stage of the life cycle to give every patient individualized care. Her practice incorporates women’s health maintenance, and she teaches her patients the importance of disease prevention and personal health management.
Dr. Lapayowker is a tremendously thoughtful physician who listens to her patients in order to help them get the best medical care possible. Her ability to communicate openly and set her patients at ease makes her uniquely qualified.
■ To make an appointment with
Dr.Lapayowker or learn more about
Lovely Lady GYN, call 954-472-2201 or visit www.LovelyLadyGYN.com.
Anand Vakharia, MD
Dr. Anand Vakharia is a board- certified primary care physician with extensive experience in both inpatient hospitalist medicine, as well as outpatient family practice. He has practiced medicine in Wisconsin, North Carolina, and New York. Most recently, he served as Medical Director at Mount St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston NY, where he was also named Regional Medical Director of the Year for all of Western NY.
Dr. Vakharia had always dreamed of returning home to serve the community he grew up in, while working alongside his father. Dr. Vijay Vakharia, a board-certified physician in both internal medicine and cardiology, has practiced medicine in Broward County for over thirty years. Taking care of patients and helping people live their healthiest lives is a family affair. Together their practice strives to provide comprehensive and compassionate care to the local community.
Dr. Anand Vakharia was drawn to primary care at an early age. He shadowed his father often, and witnessed first-hand the trust and respect that his patients gave him, and the quality of care that was expected. He also had the privilege of attending several medical missions which further reinforced the impact of empathetic health care on not the patient but their entire family. “These experiences were enriching and humbling, and I returned from each with a broader perspective in treating patients at home.”
Today, Dr. Vakharia practices Primary Care at Broward Community Medical Center in Plantation.
■ To make an appointment with
Dr. Anand Vakahria call 954-747-7373 or visit www.bcmcfl.com
Andrea Bretal, MD
OWNER & MEDICAL DIRECTOR Weston Medical Health & Wellness
Dr. Andrea Bretal opened Weston Medical Health & Wellness with one goal in mind: to help people live healthier and more fulfilling lives. It only made sense to locate the holistic clinic, which focuses on obesity medicine in Weston.
Dr. Bretal’s practice combines nutritional counseling with integrative medicine to help men and women of all ages achieve success with lasting weight loss. She understands the role hormones play in weight loss and specializes in balancing hormones, from thyroid and adrenal to estrogen and testosterone, to set your body up for weight loss.
Patients with chronic health conditions like diabetes can find management techniques and even achieve disease regression at Weston Medical Health & Wellness. By helping you lose weight and keep it off, Dr. Bretal believes you’ll live a healthier, happier life.
While the practice is known for weight loss, they offer much more. “Our services include Mental Wellness through Epigenetic and Nutritional imbalances, Hormone therapy for Men and Women,” said Dr. Bretal, “I am dedicated to educating and enhancing the lives of my patients.”
■ Dr. Andrea Bretal practices at Weston
Medical Health & Wellness 1605 Town
Center Blvd • Suite D • Weston, FL 33326. To make an appointment please call 954-389-1800 or visit www.WestonDiet.com for more info.
Diana Torres, DDS
DESIGNER FAMILY DENTIST Family Dentistry
Dr. Diana Torres is passionate about giving patients the very best care possible at her practice, Family Dentistry. She treats all members of the family, from young children to grandparents. What drives her is the impact she can have on people.
Dr. Torres’ specialty is Lite Dentistry. It is a package that might include invisalign, whitening, gum contouring, and composite veneers. Lite Dentistry is a noninvasive, high-impact, beautifully tailored approach to a healthy, life-changing smile.
The benefits of attaining a bright smile aren’t just cosmetic. Her patients feel better about themselves and are more confident. It can impact all aspects of their lives.
“What I enjoy the most about my profession is the ability to give patients back the confidence they desire by using a conservative smile design approach,” commented Dr. Torres.
She gets these results by combining extensive academic training with the latest, cutting-edge technology in dentistry. For example, Family Dentistry utilizes the iTero digital scanning device to take highly-detailed images and scans of patients’ teeth. This machine creates digital impressions to provide a more detailed image of a person’s teeth and the surrounding soft tissues. These impressions are often more advanced and precise when compared to traditional options.
Dr. Torres grew up in Colombia before moving to Florida in 2000. She has been married for 17 years and has two children, Mateo (4) and Milan (3).
Jose Valerio, MD, MBA
NEUROSURGERY ONCOLOGY & COMPLEX SPINE SURGERY
It is hard to imagine a more frightening moment in a person’s life than receiving a brain or spinal cancer diagnosis. Hearing those words would cause anxiety and fear in virtually any patient. Luckily there are new innovative treatments for these types of diseases. Dr. Jose Valerio is one of those pioneering surgeons treating these diagnoses. His offices are right here in South Florida.
Dr. Valerio is a board-certified neurosurgeon. He has completed a post-doc fellowship in cerebrovascular neurosurgery at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (affiliated with Case Western Reserve University) and a clinical fellowship in neurosurgical oncology and spine at the Cleveland Clinic Ohio.
He trained and worked as a staff neurosurgeon at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Florida for eight years until 2013. After that, Dr. Valerio joined the Miami Neuroscience Center. His primary focus is on complex spine pathology and spine tumors. He has received multiple awards for treating brain tumors, including the American Brain Tumor Association Young Investigator Award, the Musella Foundation Award, and the Cleveland Clinic Clinical Research Award.
Dr. Valerio opened the first Radiosurgery Suite in Florida. This state-of-the-art facility uses real-time tumor tracking technology and motion management capabilities to ensure precision that is not attainable in almost any other way.
Dr. Valerio is an expert in treating brain metastasis. Any cancer can lead to brain metastasis when cancer from other parts of the body spreads to your brain. Therefore, surgery to remove the brain tumor may be part of your treatment for metastatic brain cancer.
At his practices in South Miami, Hialeah, and Weston, Dr. Valerio performs many surgical treatments for brain metastasis. He also treats meningioma, the most common type of primary brain tumor, and glioblastoma, an aggressive type of cancer that affects the brain and spinal cord.
Dr. Jose Valerio is a unique type of neurosurgeon. He combines a proper patient-centered approach to care with his extensive skill and training to help his patients achieve the desired outcomes. His practice accepts most health insurance plans.
Faiza Khalid, MD
MEDICAL DIRECTOR Radiance Medspa
Dr. Faiza Khalid has been at the forefront of minimally invasive aesthetic procedures for over ten years and was trained by some of the best pioneers in the aesthetic industry. She offers patients a decade of experience with injectables, neuromodulators, and lasers.
Dr. Khalid’s initial training in Family Medicine gives her a holistic approach to beauty. The practice has evolved beyond the traditional use of Botox and fillers where the focus was to “chase lines“ to full facial sculpting which creates results, previously possible only with a scalpel.
Aesthetic medicine is a fascinating mix of science and artistry. Dr. Khalid’s inherent artistic eye combined with her training as a physician made ‘medical aesthetics’ a natural career choice. When I started medical aesthetics 10 years ago, it was purely a leap of faith fuelled by my passion. She is known for creating natural results and accentuating the power of one’s own natural beauty.
“Watching my patients’ eyes light up when they see their transformation in the mirror, is truly the most rewarding part of my profession,” comments Dr. Khalid, “And this transformation is not just skin deep, it encompasses their psychological and social well-being as well. I regularly hear patients in my clinic describe their psychological motivations for seeking treatment—for example, loss of self-confidence and social avoidance. As their aesthetic provider, being able to play a vital role in restoring a patient’s confidence, and self-esteem, and improving quality of life is the most fulfilling part of my job.”
Radiance Medspa has been serving the greater Weston community since 2006. Dr. Khalid’s long history, combined with her continued client support is a testament to the quality of the practice. They have been voted Best Medspa in Weston for six consecutive years in Our City’s Best of Weston.
■ To learn more about Dr. Faiza Khalid and
Radiance Medspa or to make a consultation appointment call 954-659-0199 or visit www.radianceweston.com.
Paula-Ann Francis, MD
BOARD CERTIFIED PSYCHIATRIST/ MENTAL HEALTH PROVIDER Refresh TMS
Dr. Paula-Ann Francis is a boardcertified psychiatrist with over 20 years of experience. Her role as a community psychiatrist is to provide comprehensive evaluations and treatment for individuals in the community and at large.
She incorporates a holistic treatment protocol for mental health patients and provides mentorship and training for resident psychiatrists to reinvigorate the community we reside in. Dr. Francis is proud to be at the forefront of facilitating patients on their journey to mental well-being.
In her early teens, Dr. Francis had excellent mentors who encouraged her to give back to the community. Initially, she did this in the form of community service by providing care for and service to incarcerated individuals, people in mental health institutions, and underserved populations. Eventually, she aspired to achieve serving the underserved on a larger scale.
“I like being able to understand individuals at their core. Helping them to gain insight into, and overcome whatever obstacles are impeding them from reaching their full potential,” said Dr. Francis.
Dr. Francis currently manages her practice in Weston and is at the forefront of Psychiatry. Her practice provides state-of-the-art mental health care in the form of medication management and transcranial magnetic stimulation--a non-invasive, FDA-approved method of treating depression, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Helping people is what Dr. Francis has dedicated her life to, and it really shows.
■ Dr. Paula-Ann Francis practices at 17110
Royal Palm Blvd • Suite 1 • Weston, FL.
To make an appointment please call 754-216-0840.
Dr. Jane Therrien
OPTOMETRIC PHYSICIAN Weston Family Eyecare
Dr. Jane Therrien grew up in Holland and immigrated to South Florida in 1986. In 1990, after graduating from South
Plantation High School, her family moved to Weston. Dr. Therrien is the owner and Optometrist at Weston Family Eyecare. She and her staff have been caring for members of the Weston Community since she opened her optometry practice, Weston Family Eyecare, in 2005.
Dr. Therrien specializes in serving her patients with the latest technology in vision correction techniques, lens treatments, contact lenses, and ophthalmic equipment. She was the first provider in Florida to offer the Neurolens, which provides relief of eye strain from digital devices, and has extensive experience with orthokeratology (Orthok). Orthok is the science of reshaping the cornea of the eye without surgery to improve vision and virtually eliminate the need for daytime contact lenses and glasses.
“One of my favorite parts about being in a medical profession like optometry is that I get to help improve people’s quality of life by improving their vision and eye health,” said Dr. Therrien, “Optometry is also a very social profession and I love being able to interact with and learn about so many different people every day.”
Dr. Therrien’s practice offers patients exceptional eyecare. She is dedicated to providing the highest level of service so her patients can have the vision they deserve. She recommends scheduling a comprehensive eye exam once every year to ensure your eyes remain healthy.
Compassion and professionalism are extremely important to Dr. Therrien, and patients can expect to be treated as a member of her own family.
■ To make an appointment with Dr. Jane
Therrien or learn more about Weston Family
Carlo A. Messina, DPM
FOOT AND ANKLE SURGEON South Florida Institute of Sports Medicine
Carlo A. Messina is a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon practicing podiatry in West Broward since 2009. He specializes in treating foot, ankle and leg injuries in infants, children, teenagers, and adults.
He graduated from the Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine and completed his residency at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. He also completed a fellowship with the German Foot and Ankle Society in 2009.
His interests include treatment of complex deformities and trauma of the foot and ankle in children and adults. He lives in Weston with his wife, Victoria, their son, Sam, their daughter, Victoria, and their French Bulldogs, Mapache and Nya. He is a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons and is Board Certified by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. Dr. Messina continues to be active in the local communities.
■ To make an appointment with Dr.
