Gretchen Hull, MD, FAAP
Gretchen Hull was born in California, but grew up in Tucson. She graduated from Brown University in 1993 and attended medical school at the University of Arizona, College of Medicine, graduating in 1999. She completed her pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in 2002 and has been working at Tucson Central Pediatrics in general pediatrics since. She has been on the board of the Arizona Chapter of the AAP intermittently since 2005, serving one term as secretary and is currently the vice president. She volunteers in Baja California with Flying Samaritans and has been on many international medical trips to countries such as Guatemala, India and Ghana. Her hobbies include photography, hiking, travel and studying foreign languages.
Jason Vargas, MD, FAAP
I love being a private practice pediatrician. I have had the privilege to care for children and families and watch them grow at my practice, Cactus Children’s Clinic in Glendale, Arizona since 2004 and I hope to do it for many years to come. I have been able to cultivate my interests in child advocacy, child safety, and caring for children with special needs including Down Syndrome. I have been able to be a part of training pediatric residents, nurse practitioners and physician assistants in my office. I have been able to work with community hospitals and as a board member for Phoenix Children’s Care Network working to integrate the private practice pediatrician’s role in providing quality pediatric care for years to come. I hope my interests and experience can help in some way support our mission to improve health care for children.
I graduated from San Jose State University and Stanford University before my residency at the University of Washington- Seattle Children’s Hospital. I was born and raised in California but moved to Arizona in 2004 with my wife after her residency in Anesthesiology. We have 2 children and a dog. We love traveling with our children, running, and spending time with family and friends.
Jodi Carter, MD, FAAP
Dr. Jodi P. Carter is the Chief Medical Officer of the Phoenix Children’s Care Network, Arizona’s only pediatric clinically integrated network. Dr. Carter is also a hospitalist in the Pediatric Hospitalist Division at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. After growing up in Phoenix, Arizona, Dr. Carter earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in Washington D. C. She returned to Arizona for medical school and earned her medical degree from the University of Arizona. She then completed a pediatric internship and residency at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire in 2003. Dr. Carter joined the Pediatric Hospitalist Division at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in 2007 and is currently an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, Phoenix. From 2010 - 2016, Dr. Carter served as the Medical Director for Utilization Review at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. In January 2017, Dr. Carter joined the Phoenix Children’s Care Network as the network’s Medical Director. In July 2017, Dr. Carter became the Chief Medical Officer of the Phoenix Children’s Care Network. Dr. Carter has been a member of the Arizona Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) since moving back to Arizona in 2003. Dr. Carter looks forward to working with the Arizona Chapter of the AAP to continue its mission to improve the health of all Arizona children while supporting the pediatric professionals who care for these children.
John Phillips, BSc, CPA
John Phillips (JP) is a Certified Public Accountant specializing in technical accounting, financial reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley, and financial analysis. Currently, he is a Financial Reporting Manager at Microchip Technology in Chandler, Arizona. Previously, JP worked in PricewaterhouseCoopers' assurance practice in San Jose, CA and Phoenix, AZ. Prior to starting his career, he attended Arizona State University where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Accountancy and minored in Mandarin Chinese. JP's hobbies include: investing, running, hiking, reading, traveling, and spending time with his wife their four kids.
John Pope, MD, FAAP
Dr. Pope has served on the AzAAP Board of Directors for the past 6 years as well as been involved on several committees and task forces. He is the Chief Medical Officer for the HonorHealth Scottsdale Shea Medical Center. Prior to that, he was the Physician Director for the pediatric service line for the Scottsdale Healthcare Hospital System. Before his administrative work he was a member of the pediatric hospitalist division at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and served as a hospitalist and the Medical Director of pediatric inpatient and hospitalist services for the Scottsdale Healthcare Hospital System for 10 years.
He has a special interest in hospital care for adults and children in the community setting and focuses on relationships with community healthcare providers, hospital patient experience, safety, and quality. He was a pediatrician in private practice for seven years prior to his hospital based work.
He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and a member of the Section on Hospital Medicine. He is a founding editor of the section’s Hospital Pediatrics Journal (AAP) and has written about hospital medicine for the AAP News. He has been a speaker at national conferences focusing on pediatric hospital care. Dr. Pope has been recognized as a “top doctor” by Phoenix Magazine and is a volunteer physician for Camp Incredible at the Southwest Center for HIV and AIDS. He is certified to teach HeartMath.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Carnegie-Mellon and a Medical Doctorate from Dartmouth Medical School. He completed a pediatric internship and residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and received a Master’s in Public Health (Health Administration and Policy) from the University of Arizona.
Rebecca Egbert, MD, FAAP
Rebecca M. Egbert, MD, FAAP, is the pediatric medical director of TMC Hospice. She is a board-certified pediatrician who cares for children who are suffering from terminal conditions in Tucson and surrounding areas. She also serves as a pediatric hospitalist with Tucson Pediatric Hospitalists as well as pediatrician in private practice. Dr. Egbert completed her bachelor’s degree at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She graduated from The University of Arizona Medical School and completed pediatric residency at the University of Arizona Affiliated Hospitals in Tucson, Arizona. Besides her clinical work, Dr. Egbert serves as the president of Pima County Pediatric Society and also serves on the board of the AzAAP.
Sean Elliott, MD, FAAP
Dr. Elliott earned his MD from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1993, followed by a Pediatric Residency at Children’s Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University School of Medicine, and a fellowship in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine. He was recruited to the University of Arizona College of Medicine in 1999 and now is a Professor of Pediatrics and the Associate Chair for the Department of Pediatrics, serving as the Pediatrics Residency Program Director from 2011 to the end of 2017. He now has been appointed the interim Associate Dean of Curricular Affairs for the University of Arizona College of Medicine, a role which puts him directly in contact with the future physicians of Arizona and their education. Outside of work, he loves music, carpentry, anything outdoors, and his family, and commonly is seen with a guitar in hand making noise that he considers to be music.
Prabodh (PB) Hemmady, MD, FAAP
I was born in India in 1966 and moved to the USA in 1970. My father came to the USA in 1969 as a graduate student at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. When it became clear that he would be allowed immigration to the USA, my mother and I came the following year.
My family moved from Illinois to Connecticut when I was in middle school, and I finished my secondary education there. In high school, I graduated with the highest GPA (1 out of approx. 300), and I was accepted to medical school while in high school as long as I satisfactorily completed the undergraduate program at Boston University. I graduated with a combined BA/MD in 1992 from BU with a "magna cum laude" designation.
During medical school, I thought I wanted to be an ophthalmologist, but after doing some research in this field and observing the ophthalmologists at work, I changed my mind. At the end of my 3'd year of medical school, I decided on Pediatrics.
My wife and I moved to Phoenix from Boston in 1992 when I started residency In the PCH/MMC residency program. After completing my chief resident year in 1995, I was offered a job at Maricopa Integrated Health System. I was fortunate to be mentored by Kipp Charlton, Mary Rimsza, Mahesh Kotwal and Kote Chundu as well as several other outstanding pediatricians. I was offered other positions upon completing residency, but the chance to work with these physicians and to care for the population we serve at MIHS was something that I coveted.
I have held many positions since joining the faculty/ medical staff at MIHS as you can see in my CV. My passion is to help the underserved and uninsured. This may be because when my family first came to the USA, we did not have many resources, and I relate to the population I serve. I see the young boys and girls I care for and hope that they can be offered the same opportunities that l was given.
In the past several years, I have been very involved at "system level" change as the CMIO for MIHS from 2008-2013 and as Chair of Pediatrics from 2013-present day. I have become very involved in quality improvement and patient safety. In terms of serving on the AzAAP Board, I think these may be areas where l could be useful and productive.
Tim Jacks, DO, FAAP
Originally from Illinois, Dr. Jacks has lived in the greater Phoenix Arizona area for the past 30 years. He completed undergraduate studies at Arizona State University, attended medical school at Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ, and finished pediatric training at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, AZ in 2011. Dr. Jacks has enjoyed practicing at Gilbert Pediatrics for the past 5 years.
Dr. Jacks is married with three children - ages 6, 4, and almost 2. When not working, Dr. Jacks enjoys spending time with his family, running, playing with computers, reading about financial topics, exploring the Arizona outdoors, and being involved at his local church.
Merlin Channing (Chan) Lowe, Jr., MD, FAAP
Dr. Lowe graduated medical school from The University of Arizona in Tucson and subsequently completed his pediatric training there as well. In 2006, he joined the faculty at the University of Arizona as a pediatric hospitalist and is the chief of pediatric hospital medicine at Banner-Diamond Children’s Medical Center. Shortly after becoming an attending, he developed an interest in child abuse and helped lead the creation of Banner-University Medical Center’s child protection team, focused on improving the care of this vulnerable population. He currently serves as Chief of Staff at Banner-University Medical Center Tucson. He serves as chair of the AzAAP CME committee and Vice-chair of the AzAAP Hospitalist committee.
Steve Moul, MD, FAAP
I was born in a small community in south central Nebraska. Even though I completed my pediatric residency in a large urban children’s hospital, I knew I would continue my pediatric career in a rural setting. I have worked in Tuba City for nearly 29 years, first as an employee of the Indian Health Service, and most recently as a federal employee of a tribal corporation. I have witnessed the challenges faced by a community that is geographically isolated with many socio-economic burdens. I feel that it is important that such communities continue to have their interests represented at the chapter level. I also feel that I can provide insights from my experience providing healthcare to Native American children in a state that has one of the highest percentages of Native Americans per capita.
I am excited by the changes that I have seen within the chapter as a board member over the last 3-4 years. The current leadership has helped to guide the priorities and transparency of the organization. I look forward to being given the opportunity to serve another term on the board.
Sara Park, MD, FAAP
Dr. Park received her B.A. from the University of Chicago, and her M.D. from the University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine. She completed her residency at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital & Maricopa Medical Center Pediatric Residency Program in 1995.
She practiced pediatrics in the private practice as well as in the academic setting in Arizona. She taught clinical pediatrics to students from the University of Arizona as well as Residents at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital/Maricopa Medical Center Pediatric Residency Program at Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS). Her special interests include underserved and vulnerable populations and she helped implement the Pediatric Refugee Program at MIHS. Dr. Park is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona, Department of Child Health.
Dr. Park joined the Comprehensive Medical and Dental Program (CMDP) in October of 2015. CMDP is the Medicaid Health Plan for children in out-of-home care in Arizona, it is also part of the Department of Child Safety (DCS). Her current position as Chief Medical Officer at CMDP allows her to remain in the patient care realm with evaluation of services provided to the members, but also affords her the opportunity to advocate for children on a system level. She has taken up this cause with enthusiasm, by taking the opportunity to address the care of children in out-of-home care internally with DCS, and externally with the Behavioral Health System, the Juvenile Justice System, the Division of Developmental Disabilities and the medical community. Her position at CMDP is right up her alley, as she has been able to continue her dedication to serving vulnerable populations, by working for the children in out-of-home care.
Sarah Wiersma, MD, FAAP
Dr. Sarah Wiersma did her medical school and pediatric residency training at the University of Arizona in Tucson. She is an ambulatory pediatrician who practices at North Scottsdale Pediatrics. She is interested in child advocacy and received a CATCH grant for an oral health promotion project and has participated in the Pediatricians Day at the Arizona Capitol through the chapter. During residency she served for two years on the national AAP board for the trainee section. She plans to bring an early career physician voice to the AzAAP Board of Directors.
Kristina Wilson, MD, MPH, FAAP
Kristina M. Wilson, MD, MPH is a Pediatric Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician. She specializes in non-operative treatment of musculoskeletal injuries, overuse injuries, sport specific rehabilitation, and has a special interest in injury prevention and concussion treatment and management. She received her medical degree from the University of Nevada School Of Medicine in Reno, NV. She then completed her residency in Pediatrics at Phoenix Children's Hospital. Subsequently she completed subspecialty training in Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine at Vanderbilt University.
Dr. Wilson has actively cared for athletes across the spectrum from youth leagues to professional teams. While in Nashville for her fellowship, Dr. Wilson served as the head team physician for multiple NCAA Division I teams at Belmont University as well as local high schools, and was an integral part of the sports medicine team at Vanderbilt University. She was also an active part of the medical team for the Nashville Sounds. Dr. Wilson currently serves as the Medical Director of sport medicine and the Co-Director of the pediatric Brain Injury and Concussion program at Barrow Neurologic Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital. She is actively involved in the community as a consultant for the Barrow Concussion Network and a member of the AIA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee as well as serving as the head team physician for ASU Preparatory High School, Metro Tech High School, and North Pointe Preparatory High School. She enjoys teaching and frequently has medical students and resident physicians working with her in clinic. She is a nationally recognized speaker on a variety of sports medicine topics to various audiences including athletes, parents, and other providers.
Anne M. Stafford, MA
Anne Stafford has been the Executive Director of AzAAP since July of 2015. As a nonprofit executive who has dedicated her personal and professional career to improving the health, education, and well-being of children and families, Anne has helped lead the chapter to several successes including the being named the Outstanding Chapter of the Year. With a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication and a master’s in Administration, Anne is committed to supporting pediatric professionals across the state to improve the care of Arizona children, addressing critical issues including poverty and child health, early brain and child development, and quality of care and child safety.
Kristi Samaddar, MD
Kristi Samaddar, MD, FAAP is a general pediatrician at Phoenix Children’s Hospital (PCH) and works in the outpatient division. She graduated from Indiana University School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at the University of Michigan. She has been involved with AzAAP was a part of the continuing medical education and the obesity and food insecurity committees. She is currently an associate program director for the pediatric residency program at PCH with a special interest in quality improvement, safety, and advocacy. Within her group’s practice, she has led several projects to improve care for patients with asthma, increased body mass index, and to pilot screening for adverse childhood experiences. For the pediatric residents, she teaches the quality improvement curriculum and is director of the advocacy track. She collaborates with a local elementary school as a frequent speaker for a parent group. She is fluent in Spanish. When not working, she enjoys running, hiking and traveling. She is grateful for the support of family including her husband, three children, and canine running partner.
Sara Salek, MD
Sara Salek, MD has been the Chief Medical Officer for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) since June 2014. In her current role, Dr. Salek oversees all clinical operations for the AHCCCS Division of Health Care Management and the Division of Fee for Service Management, including quality management, medical management, dental and pharmacy services. Specific initiatives aimed at improvement of service delivery include addressing controlled prescription drug prescribing, improving services to children with autism spectrum disorder, and improving service delivery to children and families involved with Department of Child Safety.
Dr. Salek grew up in Tucson, AZ and graduated from the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She completed the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Residency Training Program at Boston Children’s Hospital through Harvard Medical School. Dr. Salek is board certified in both Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.