Phone: 941-266-5629 Fax: 888-498-4926
OUR STAFF
Our staff is committed to providing your family with great medical care and respecting your personal choices in the care your child receives. Each staff member is trained to provide care with honestly, integrity, compassion and deep understanding for family's choices and preferences.
Melissa Mentzer
Melissa brings over 20 years of nursing experience in both outpatient and inpatient settings. She has a master’s degree in Nursing Leadership and has worked in nursing education, including teaching in a nursing school setting. She also has experience as a clinical coordinator in the hospital setting, and prior to that, she led an office in Port Charlotte. She is extremely passionate about working with kiddos and making sure every family feels seen, heard, and their care is a priority to us.
Some of her job responsibilities are summarized below:
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Oversee daily operations of the pediatric medical office.
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Supervise front office, back office, clinical, and administrative staff.
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Support scheduling, patient flow, phone systems, check-in/check-out, referrals, forms, faxes, and follow-up workflows.
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Help ensure patients and families receive timely, compassionate, and professional service.
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Monitor staff performance, attendance, productivity, and accountability.
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Assist with hiring, onboarding, training, coaching, and ongoing staff development.
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Create and maintain office policies, workflows, and standard operating procedures.
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Help resolve patient concerns, parent complaints, staff issues, and workflow problems.
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Coordinate communication between providers, nurses, medical assistants, care coordinators, billing, and administration.
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Ensure lab results, imaging, referrals, vaccine records, forms, and patient care gaps are appropriately followed through.
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Maintain compliance with HIPAA, OSHA, infection control, vaccine storage, documentation, and office safety standards.
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Monitor inventory, medical supplies, vaccines, equipment, and office needs.
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Work with billing and front office staff to support insurance verification, collections, claims issues, and patient balances.
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Review office metrics, including patient volume, no-shows, scheduling access, overdue care gaps, and operational efficiency.
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Help implement process improvements to improve patient care, staff performance, and office organization.
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Support provider schedules and help optimize workflow for well visits, sick visits, procedures, and follow-up appointments.
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Serve as a professional leader and point of contact for staff questions, concerns, and day-to-day decisions.
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Promote a positive team culture built on accountability, communication, respect, and patient-centered care.
Rinae Arthur
Rinae is our front desk manager! She is a mom of a lovely little baby girl, and a big lover of animals. Her favorite hobby is watching the annual rodeo in Arcadia with her family!
Some of her job responsibilities are summarized below:
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Supervises the daily operation of the office, including helping staff establish deadlines for work assignment and completion, and monitoring work status and progress. Re-allocates staff resources as appropriate based on daily physician schedules, time-off, and capacity. Fosters teamwork between staff and physicians.
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Actively participates in the daily operation of the offices.
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Provides assistance to office staff members in order to ensure the office runs orderly for the physicians and patients.
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Responsible for managing personnel related activities including, scheduling hours, accurate timekeeping, attendance, time off requests, leave of absences, employee relations issues, performance evaluations and overtime management.
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Manages office level billing procedures, patient registration, diagnosis coding, applicable collection of co-payment and outstanding balances from patients while ensuring full compliance with established cash control policies and procedures.
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Calling patients for follow-up appointments, insurance eligibility, and of course, being a positive role model to each child she greets!
Victoria Trefil
Victoria is a wonderful front desk, mom, and health enthusiast. She also speaks Russian. She is a proud mom and bonus mom!
Some of her job responsibilities are summarized below:
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Supervises the daily operation of the office, including helping staff establish deadlines for work assignment and completion, and monitoring work status and progress. Re-allocates staff resources as appropriate based on daily physician schedules, time-off, and capacity. Fosters teamwork between staff and physicians.
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Actively participates in the daily operation of the offices.
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Provides assistance to office staff members in order to ensure the office runs orderly for the physicians and patients.
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Responsible for managing personnel related activities including, scheduling hours, accurate timekeeping, attendance, time off requests, leave of absences, employee relations issues, performance evaluations and overtime management.
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Manages office level billing procedures, patient registration, diagnosis coding, applicable collection of co-payment and outstanding balances from patients while ensuring full compliance with established cash control policies and procedures.
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Calling patients for follow-up appointments, insurance eligibility, and of course, being a positive role model to each child she greets!
Melanie Garguilo
Melanie is our amazing scribe, patient advocate, and chart review go-to person. You may get a phone call from her about your refills, lab results, etc. She works remotely from Connecticut! She is a wonderful mom and wife, and adores her family, God, and working in pediatrics! Her email is scribe@goldstarped.com.
Some of her job responsibilities are summarized below:
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Accurately document patient encounters and clinical information in real time with Dr. Patel and NPs
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Maintain complete and compliant medical records within the EMR
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Apply correct ICD-10, CPT, and HCPCS codes for visits and procedures
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Support providers with chart preparation, clarification, and follow-up documentation
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Review, organize, and track incoming lab and diagnostic results
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Communicate results to providers and patients following established protocols
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Identify and escalate abnormal or urgent findings
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Ensure accuracy, timeliness, and confidentiality in all documentation and workflows
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Assist in improving chart quality and coding accuracy
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Work collaboratively in a fast-paced healthcare environment
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Call patients about their follow up and lab results
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Ensure all the Telephone Encounters get directed to the correct provider.
Care Team:
Ashley
Ashey is one of our Care Coordinators. She has two doggies at home and a baby on the way! Her and her husband are super excited! Her direct email is carecoordinator@goldstarped.com
Some of her job responsibilities are summarized below:
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Follow up on lab results, imaging results, referrals, specialist consult notes, hospital records, and outstanding orders.
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Track pending tests, referrals, and follow-up appointments to ensure they are completed in a timely manner.
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Communicate with parents and guardians regarding pending results, needed appointments, referrals, or next steps as directed by the provider.
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Help close patient care gaps, including overdue well visits, vaccines, screenings, follow-up visits, and chronic care needs.
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Coordinate with specialists, hospitals, imaging centers, labs, schools, therapists, and other outside offices as needed.
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Obtain records from outside facilities and ensure they are reviewed and filed appropriately in the patient chart.
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Assist providers and clinical staff with patient follow-up plans and care coordination tasks.
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Help monitor patients who require ongoing follow-up, including abnormal labs, imaging findings, developmental concerns, behavioral health needs, chronic conditions, or specialty referrals.
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Document all communication, follow-up attempts, and completed tasks clearly in the electronic medical record.
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Notify the provider of urgent, abnormal, incomplete, or unresolved patient care issues.
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Support quality improvement efforts by identifying and helping close gaps in care.
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Assist with prior authorizations, forms, referral paperwork, and medical necessity documentation when needed.
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Maintain patient confidentiality and follow HIPAA guidelines at all times.
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Provide compassionate, professional communication with families and team members.
Hanna
Hanna is a medial assistant with a unique background in childhood development. She is a CNA, CCMA, and is enrolled into pre-medical track at a local college. Her goal is to pursue medicine and work with children as a provider in the future. She is also a "dog mom" and loves animals!
Some of her job responsibilities are summarized below:
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Support pediatric providers during patient exams and procedures
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Obtain and document vital signs, growth measurements, and patient history
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Prepare exam rooms and ensure a clean, safe, child-friendly environment
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Assist with vaccinations, lab draws, and point-of-care testing
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Provide comfort, reassurance, and positive care for children and their families
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Communicate clearly with parents regarding instructions and follow-up care
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Manage patient flow and appointment efficiency
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Maintain accurate, timely documentation in the EMR
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Assist with lab result coordination and provider follow-up
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Ensure compliance with safety, infection control, and HIPAA standards
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Support a collaborative, compassionate pediatric care team
Abbigail
Abbigail is an experienced medical assistant who is also an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), graduating from Charlotte Technical College. She is a North Port local, and has years of experience working in the medical field. She loves spending time with her family.
Some of her job responsibilities are summarized below:
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Support pediatric providers during patient exams and procedures
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Obtain and document vital signs, growth measurements, and patient history
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Prepare exam rooms and ensure a clean, safe, child-friendly environment
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Assist with vaccinations, lab draws, and point-of-care testing
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Provide comfort, reassurance, and positive care for children and their families
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Communicate clearly with parents regarding instructions and follow-up care
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Manage patient flow and appointment efficiency
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Maintain accurate, timely documentation in the EMR
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Assist with lab result coordination and provider follow-up
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Ensure compliance with safety, infection control, and HIPAA standards
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Support a collaborative, compassionate pediatric care team
Amanda Ryan
Amanda has been with Gold Star for many years now and she is a highly experienced medical assistant. She is a loving mom and loves spending time with her family.
Some of her job responsibilities are summarized below:
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Support pediatric providers during patient exams and procedures
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Obtain and document vital signs, growth measurements, and patient history
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Prepare exam rooms and ensure a clean, safe, child-friendly environment
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Assist with vaccinations, lab draws, and point-of-care testing
-
Provide comfort, reassurance, and positive care for children and their families
-
Communicate clearly with parents regarding instructions and follow-up care
-
Manage patient flow and appointment efficiency
-
Maintain accurate, timely documentation in the EMR
-
Assist with lab result coordination and provider follow-up
-
Ensure compliance with safety, infection control, and HIPAA standards
-
Support a collaborative, compassionate pediatric care team