Core Faculty

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

CLERKSHIP PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Medical School: University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, LA, CA

Residency: Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT–Emergency Medicine

Fellowship: Yale New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT–Medical Education Leadership

I founded the transitional year residency Program at St. Joseph's Medical Center. I also currently serve as the Clerkship Director for all rotations at our medical center where 40+ third year students complete their core rotations and fourth year students explore various electives. Outside of work, I enjoy gardening, paddle boarding, hiking, and spending time with my wife, family and dog.

ASSOCIATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Medical School: SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY

Residency: Upstate University Hospital, Syracuse, NY

Fellowship: Upstate University Hospital, Syracuse, NY–Medical Toxicology

I oversee the toxicology rotation and toxicology consult service. I grew up in the Teton Valley of the Rockies in South East Idaho and love the outdoors. I started working here at St. Joe's right out of training in 2018 at the same time our first residents started training here. Joe's is an incredible place to work. I love all the amazing opportunities it presents and the incredible things to do in the surrounding area.

In my free time, I enjoy being with my wife and 4 daughters. I love being outside whether it's working on my garden, landscaping my yard, hiking many of the amazing trails in the area, exploring new locations, or getting on as many bodies of water as possible with my stand up paddle board. I dabble with cooking in the kitchen and especially enjoy experimenting with home made ice cream. I'm very active with my church, a very amateur rock climber, and an aspiring backyard astrologer.

ASSISTANT PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Medical School: Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA

Residency: Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY

After working clinically in Brooklyn for a few years, my wife and I decided it was time for a break, got on our motorcycles and took the long way to California's Lake Tahoe, making a detour for the summer in Ketchikan Alaska. I've been working in St Joes since February 2017. My interests in emergency medicine include resident education and wellness, and emergency cardiology.

I have 3 kids under four, so most of my free time is spent picking up toys off the floor and changing diapers. When I have some free time, I enjoy olympic weightlifting, skiing, and playing some blues on guitar.

ASSISTANT PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Hometown: Garden Grove, CA

Undergraduate: University of California, Los Angeles

Medical School: Western University of Health Science, COMP

On an average day, you’ll find me snuggled up in bed with Amazon Prime/borrowed Netflix and wine. If I’m feeling adventurous, you can find me hiking, dipping my toes in any pool, lake or beach, losing badly at board games, playing beach volleyball and football, creating IG-able charcuterie boards, and probably planning the next elaborate party. Two of my favorite hike thus far is hiking the coast line in Colombia and Lake Twentytwo in Washington.. I love to travel and am hoping to increase the number of “traveled countries” to 15 by 2025!

My interests in Emergency Medicine include global health & POCUS

DESIGNATED INSTITUTIONAL OFFICIAL

Medical School: SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY

Residency: Beth Israel Deaconess /Harvard Affiliated, Boston, MA

Fellowship: Emory University & CDC/ATSDR, Atlanta, GA–Medical Toxicology

Founding Program Director (2017-23)

New York native but am deeply nomadic. California transplant since 2016. Mother of human children and rescue dogs. Founding program director for the EM program and original paper sorter, box checker, and pencil pusher in GME. Spends free time on the sidelines of a soccer pitch; hanging out with family; cooking/baking, knitting, or trying to reach inner peace and not hurt myself in Agnistambhasana.

EMERGENCY MEDICINE DEPARTMENT CHAIR

Medical School: University of California San Francisco

Residency: Highland Hospital, Oakland, CA–Emergency Medicine

Our intrepid Medical Director and EM Chair-at-large; the person behind the curtain for our marvelous department. Ben is the one who sparked the idea for GME at the very beginning of this adventure at St Joe’s and has been a continual support and driving force behind the program. He is an idea man and our wellness guru.

When he isn’t working, or in a meeting, he is biking, climbing a mountain, or in some exotic locale, most of the time with his wife and kids.

ASSISTANT FACILITY MEDICAL DIRECTOR

Medical School: Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA

Residency: Kings County Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY

Hi, my name is Denise Ammon and I'm the AMD for Joes! I go by Dr Ammon, DAMMON, Denise, DNyce, Queen of the Night Shift, BB (story for another time). Born and raised in the Bay Area but did Medical School in N'awlins (Tulane) and Residency in Brooklyn at Kings County. My main interests in Emergency Medicine besides providing the best care to my patients include critical care, operations, wellness, and women in medicine. My motto is ABD... always be discharging but that's sometimes hard at Joes because our patients are SICK. My other motto is work hard, but play harder!

Outside interests when I'm not working include dogs (RIP Nola), traveling, wine, good eats, more wine, outdoors, some more wine, reality TV, winning social media contests and SLEEP.

DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL PROJECTS AND INNOVATION

Medical School: Duke University School of Medicine

Residency: Highland Hospital, Oakland, CA

Hi, I am Dr. Anaebere, the Director of Special Projects and Innovation for the Emergency Medicine residency program. In this role, I research and develop novel curriculum for physician learners using my background in curriculum development and experiential learning to develop an integrative curriculum that includes education in physician advocacy, community and population health, interprofessional education, and professional and financial education for resident physicians. I originally studied anthropology at Stanford University before receiving my medical degree from Duke University, and was a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. I trained in Emergency Medicine at Highland Hospital in Oakland, California.

In my off time, I enjoy sports, spending time with friends and family, good food, travel, and the great outdoors.

EM SIMULATION DIRECTOR

SIM FELLOWSHIP DIRECTOR

Medical School: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, State College, PA

Residency: Highland Hospital, Oakland, CA

Fellowship: University of California Davis–Medical Simulation

A California native, I spent most of my schooling years on the East Coast, attending college in Vermont and earning a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. I returned to the West Coast and completed a residency in emergency medicine at Highland Hospital in Oakland, followed by a medical simulation fellowship at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.

I have been a member of the St Joseph's medical staff since 2014, and was instrumental in the creation of the residency’s simulation curriculum and the development of the GME simulation center. I currently serve as Director of Simulation for GME in addition to my clinical responsibilities. Academic interests include utilizing simulation as a tool to improve patient safety, quality assurance, and physician well-being.

In my free time, I enjoy sailing on the San Francisco Bay and its surrounding waters, rock climbing, skiing, playing the banjo, and spending time with my family.

DIRECTOR OF ULTRASOUND

Medical School: Harvard Medical School

Residency: University of California, Irvine, CA

Fellowship: University of California, Irvine, CA–Ultrasound

I grew up in East LA in the 1980s and attended UCI on a swim scholarship competing in both water polo and swimming. I attended Harvard Medical School while training to compete on the US Water Polo team in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, graduating from HMS in 2004. Although I completed my intern year at HMS, I returned to UCI for the remainder of my residency in Emergency Medicine and an Ultrasound Fellowship immediately following due to my father becoming ill. I worked in community EDs for a significant period of time before coming to Joe’s as part of Team Health’s envoy program. I loved it and have been here ever since. In 2019, I became the Director of the Ultrasound Program and enjoy teaching new learners the amazing things we can do with new imaging at the bedside.

ULTRASOUND CORE FACULTY

ULTRASOUND FELLOWSHIP DIRECTOR

Medical School: Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Residency: Yale New Haven Hospital; Emergency Medicine Residency

Fellowship: Stanford University - Ultrasound

I grew up in Singapore and came to the United States for college at UNC Chapel Hill (go Tarheels!). I moved to the Midwest for medical school at Saint Louis University and then to residency at Yale New Haven Hospital where I discovered my love for ultrasound and my interests in innovation and technology development. After completing my ultrasound fellowship at Stanford, I joined St Joe's as part of the ultrasound faculty.

When I'm not at work, I'm typically hanging out with friends and loved ones. I love traveling and finding new places to eat, especially anything hole in the wall. I've also recently taken up whittling, which is surprisingly meditative, and hope to learn more woodworking in the future.

WILDERNESS MEDICINE AND GLOBAL HEALTH

Medical School: Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY

Residency: Kings County Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY

Fellowship: Stanford University Medical Center–Wilderness Medicine

Hi! I’m known as Dr. Zina. I have spent my career working internationally and domestically in remote, rural environments, combining my passion for healthcare, travel, and the environment. I even deployed following disasters to Haiti and Nepal, taught emergency medicine in Bhutan through Health Volunteers Overseas, worked extensively in aeromedical retrieval throughout East and Sub-Saharan Africa with the AMREF Flying Doctors, provided medical support in Jordan with Racing The Planet, and volunteered with surgical missions in Sierra Leone and Ghana with the International Surgical Health Initiative. I am a Fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM), an Advanced Wilderness Life Support (AWLS) instructor, and a member of the International Society of Travel Medicine. Along with a friend of mine, we co-founded the Sierra Nevada Conservation and Wilderness Medicine Conference. I am an associate director of the Sugar Bowl Doctor Patrol, and run the Wilderness Medicine mini-fellowship and International Medicine electives at Joe's.

In my free time, I am a mom to two growly dogs and three rowdy kids, as well as an aspirational urban farmer, currently trying to convince her family that adding several chickens and pygmy goats to their flock is the best idea ever.

EMS MEDICAL DIRECTOR

Medical School: Tufts University School of Medicine

Residency: Yale-New Haven Hospital

Dr Shafer is the EMS Medical Director for San Joaquin County and heads up our EMS rotation for the residency program

When not at St Joe’s she is usually out in her camper with her husband and dogs at the beach or somewhere in the woods

EM CLERKSHIP DIRECTOR

Medical School: University of Queensland - Ochsner Clinical School, Brisbane, Queensland Australia and New Orleans, LA

Residency: St. Joseph’s Medical Center, Stockton, CA

My role at St. Joe’s involves both residents and medical students. My interests in emergency medicine revolve around resuscitation and airway, as well as patient experience and department flow.

I am a Southern California native but love, and plan to stay in the Northern California region. I am married with a dog. My interests include hiking/camping, wildlife viewing, scuba diving, and recently nutrition.

On any given day, you can find me gardening, watching documentaries, listening to podcasts, walking my dog, or exercising. One fun fact about me is that I have a degree in WIldlife, Fish and Conservation Biology.

TRANSITIONAL YEAR PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Medical School: Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, OR

Residency: University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

My interests in emergency medicine include medical resuscitations, orthopedic injuries, and COVID....and then more COVID, after that COVID. And sometimes influenza, then COVID. Sometimes I also enjoy procalcitonin and lactic acid.

Outside of the hospital I enjoy breakfast foods, college football, video games, warm weather, and freedom. My dislikes include water chestnuts, taxes, cold weather, and drivers who don't use their blinkers.

I am indifferent on cilantro, as I don't suffer from this single-nucleotide polymorphism. I am also indifferent to people with poor spelling, as I do suffer from this affliction.

MEDICAL TOXICOLOGY CORE FACULTY

Medical School: Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI

Residency: Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY

Fellowship: Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Medical Toxicology Fellowship, Newark, NJ

I grew up in the Midwest, trained on the East Coast, and am now working on the West Coast. West Coast weather is definitely the best for my myriad of plant-growing endeavors. I also enjoy backpacking, canoeing, snorkeling, skiing – downhill and cross-country (hello Midwest), and the arts. Despite my penchant for the outdoors, I’d say I’m a big city guy at heart. My hobbies include aquascaping (think aquarium meets garden), drawing, and fragrance collecting. I’d like to learn how to play the violin. I’m generally at least a year behind on most popular TV series. My professional interests revolve around medical toxicology and all levels of medical education

ULTRASOUND CORE FACULTY

Medical School: University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY

Residency: New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital

Fellowship: New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital–EM Ultrasound

Hi! I currently live in the Bay Area and absolutely love it! I have lived in many different places, but my top 2 places to live are definitely CA and Brooklyn, NY. I recently started working at Joe’s and think it’s an amazing place to work and train. One of my most favorite things here has been to teach bedside ultrasound.

When I’m not nerding out about POCUS, I really enjoy trying out new restaurants, breweries, and wineries. Currently, most of my free time involves doing things with my 1-year-old bernedoodle, Barli. On my off weekends you will usually find me going on hikes with him. Recently, my husband and I rented a camper van and took him out to Tahoe. One of the best things about living out here has definitely been the fact that you can always find somewhere new to explore.

ULTRASOUND CORE FACULTY

Medical School: Medical school: American University of Antigua

Residency: St. Joseph’s Medical Center

Fellowship: Ultrasound at Northshore University/Long Island Jewish

East coast born, West coast trained. I enjoy the California fresh produce and the lack of humidity, but you will not find me eating a West coast pizza or bagel.

If I’m not in the emergency department, I am probably running a half marathon/marathon, at a music festival, hanging out with my cat-dog Koda and fiance Jordan, or napping while watching Netflix/Hulu.

My professional interests include ocular and lung ultrasounds, QA, and also trying ot get better at VexUS.

GME RESEARCH DIRECTOR

PhD: University of Arizona in Tucson

I have been at Dignity Health for a long time as it is a great place to work. I started my career here at St. Joseph's and transferred for 8 years to a Nevada location to live in the mountains but then came back where I started!! My role is to work with the residents and faculty on research projects and other scholarly activities which has been so rewarding.

In my spare time, when we aren't spending time with our 5 grandkids, my husband and labrador love to return to the mountains to hike and find places to paddleboard. One of my biggest joys and ways I relax daily is in my vegetable garden which is my happy place where I go to find peace and quiet.