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SALUTE TO PHYSICIANS

MEMORIAL HOSPITAL WEST MEMORIAL PRIMARY CARE

William Alexis, MD, MPH Leon Gedeon, MD

Dr. William Alexis is chief of both cardiology and internal Dr. Leon Stephane Gedeon is a board-certified family
medicine at Memorial Hospital West. Board certified in practitioner that takes a holistic approach to providing care
interventional cardiology and cardiovascular disease, he that focuses on preventing, rather than primarily treating,
most often works with high-risk patients and focuses on the illnesses. “Often, patients don’t feel sick until they’re very
prevention of cardiac events. sick, as is the case with diabetes and high blood pressure.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death Among my roles as a primary care physician are to help
among African-American and Caribbean populations and patients understand the benefits of preventive medicine,
Dr. Alexis has made it a priority to educate these groups. teach them about their illnesses, and together develop a plan
“It’s important that I share my knowledge with communi- to manage their problems before they worsen or develop
ties that might not otherwise have access to accurate infor- other issues.” Dr. Gedeon is tri-lingual (English, French,
mation. I’m often seen as a credible source among cultures Haitian Creole) and provides patients a medical home
that don’t always trust doctors or medications and I’m sen- where they can take ownership of their care and avoid using
sitive to differences in diet, body image, gender roles, and the emergency room for non-emergent medical problems. He does this by establishing
the stigma of mental health.” trust, often with the entire family, and providing patients with care plans they can imple-
Dr. Alexis’ education includes a master’s degree in public health and he uses much of ment. After earning a medical degree from the Ross University School of Medicine in
what he learned at that time to help patients modify behavior that can lead to heart attack Dominica, Dr. Gedeon completed his Family Medicine residency at Cleveland Clinic
and stroke. This includes changes to lifestyle, exercise habits, and strategies to manage Akron General in Akron, OH.
stress.
MOFFITT MALIGNANT HEMATOLOGY Matthew Waldron, MD

AND CELLULAR THERAPY Dr. Matthew Waldron is fellowship-trained (obstetrics
and gynecology) physician that always expected to ‘deliver
AT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL WEST babies and watch them grow up’ in the rural Southern
Indiana community where he practiced. That all changed
Hugo Fernandez, MD four years ago when he transitioned to family medicine as a
primary care physician with Memorial Healthcare System in
South Florida. His goal now is to provide a full spectrum of
A partnership between the Tampa-based Moffitt Cancer long-term care for patients as well as disease management
Center & Research Institute and Memorial Healthcare for those living with chronic conditions. “I most appreciate
System has brought to Broward County significant expert- the relational aspect of the care we deliver and the trust that
ise and novel therapies in the battle against blood-based develops between patient and doctor,” said Waldron. “My
cancers. personality meshes with Memorial’s approach to family
“CAR T-cell therapy allows us to engineer a patient’s medicine and I believe primary care is the foundation of any healthcare system. We man-
immune cells to best fight against their specific disease, age health issues to minimize complications and preserve our patient’s quality of life.”
whether it be myeloma, lymphoma, or leukemia,” said Dr.
Hugo Fernandez, chair and medical director of Moffitt
Malignant Hematology and Cellular Therapy at Memorial MEMORIAL REGIONAL HOSPITAL
Hospital West. “It is a more targeted approach that enables
us to avoid traditional chemotherapy that would affect the Ralph Levy, MD
entire body.”
Dr. Fernandez also points to bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTE) as another targeted ther-
apy that works by boosting a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. This type Dr. Ralph Levy is chief of adult medical cardiology servic-
of treatment is especially critical in cases where the cancer is more aggressive and chemo- es at Memorial Regional Hospital and director of the
resistant. “We’re seeing 30-40% longtime survival rates with some of these newer thera- Structural Heart Disease and Cardiac Oncology programs.
pies among patients that would have had little chance of survival without them.” He cares for patients with a variety of heart conditions,
including valve disease and those that have had cardiac con-
Yehuda Deutsch, MD sequences due to cancer therapies.
After nearly 30 years of practice, its that last group that
has most recently been the focus of Dr. Levy’s attention.
Cancer within his own family is what set then University Cancer survivors have a lifelong risk of developing heart
of Miami medical school student Yehuda Deutsch on what disease from radiation and chemotherapy treatments, which
would become his ‘life’s mission.’ “South Florida is my com- can result in cardiac muscle, valve, coronary, blood pressure,
munity and I’m committed to helping patients with blood- and rhythm abnormalities.
related cancers. I value the bonds and relationships formed “We have a strong interaction with and connection to other specialties,” said Levy, who
with my patients and their families.” received fellowship training in cardiovascular diseases. “The complications from cancer
Dr. Deutsch, a board-certified hematologist-oncologist, is treatments can be severe and it’s exciting that sometimes our therapies and medications
part of the Moffitt Malignant Hematology and Cellular can reverse those consequences.”
Therapy team within Memorial Hospital West. The two
organizations partnered in 2017, share common values, and Scott Raffa, MD, MBA
combine clinical expertise and research to deliver great out-
comes for patients.
“The treatment of leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma has advanced more in the last Dr. Scott Raffa is a fellowship-trained neurosurgeon at
few years than it did in the previous 40,” said Deutsch. “Chemotherapy, immunotherapy Memorial Neuroscience Institute. He treats neurologic dis-
and targeted therapies, in particular, are much more personalized for each patient and orders of the brain and spine, with a focus on complex
have improved tolerability and survival.” spinal pathologies. Surgical specialties include lateral
retroperitoneal and endoscopic approaches to the spinal col-
umn. “Neurosurgery is unique field and with that comes a
unique and tailored opportunity to care for patients,” said
Raffa. “With that uniqueness comes a tailored and personal-
ized care plan for patients and families.” Dr. Raffa has
expertise treating neck and back pain, sciatica/pinched
nerves, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, degenerative disc
disease, spine trauma, and spinal deformity. He delivers
patients treatment plans that combine updated techniques and traditional surgical
approaches. After completing medical school, an internship, and residency at the
University of South Florida, Dr. Raffa received additional post-graduate, fellowship train-
ing in minimally-invasive and complex spine surgery at the University of Miami.

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