Patti O'Brien is the Administrator of Orthopaedic Services at St. Vincent Medical Center and oversees the administrative operations of the Joint Replacement Institute. She is a licensed Physical Therapist and has practiced in the physical therapy field since 1983. She received her B.S. in Health Science/Physical Therapy at California State University, Northridge in 1996. Her clinical background includes orthopaedics, joint replacement, trauma, neurological impairments, wound care, cardio-thoracic surgical patients, pulmonary rehab, work hardening and chronic pain management. Patti managed the Arthritis and Spine Institutes at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center for two years prior to joining the JRI at St. Vincent Medical Center in March, 2007.
She enjoys camping, hiking, and dirt bike riding with her husband, family and friends.
PattiO'Brien@dochs.org
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Carol Aldana has worked in healthcare since 1987. She first joined the Joint Replacement Institute in 1996 as Patient Relations Coordinator. During the transition to St. Vincent Medical Center, she assumed the duty of Administrative Assistant. She is responsible for the daily administrative operations for Dr. Schmalzried's practice and coordinates his surgery scheduling.
Carol was born and raised in Los Angeles, obtained her A.A. degree in Liberal Arts, and is currently working towards her B.A. in Health Care Administration. She has two girls whom she loves deeply. When not at JRI, she can either be found on the soccer field watching her daughter play or singing karaoke with her husband, Jimmy.
CarolAldana@dochs.org
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Jovita Ortega is a native of the Philippines. She graduated from California State University, Los Angeles in 1990 with a B.S. degree in Health Science and from National University, Los Angeles in 1998 with an M.B.A. in Health Care Administration.
As an Administrative Assistant, Jovita is responsible for the daily administrative operations for Dr. Amstutz's practice, organizing his outside clinics, coordinating the fellowship program (both clinical and research), and monitoring the JRI website e-mails.
When not busing her 3 children, Andrew, Brandon, and Sidney, around town to baseball and softball practices/games, hula, and piano, Jovita spends her spare time salsa dancing.
JovitaOrtega@dochs.org
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Laura Acuna first joined the Joint Replacement Institute in 2002 as Patient Relations Coordinator. During our transition to St. Vincent Medical Center, Laura assumed the duties of Front Office Coordinator. She is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the JRI front office. She ensures that the front office personnel strive to meet the patients' needs and provide excellent service. In addition, she coordinates surgery scheduling for Dr. Amstutz.
Laura was born and raised in Los Angeles and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1994 with a B.S. degree in Psychobiology. She enjoys spending her spare time with her husband and family.
LauraAcuna@dochs.org
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Anna Kim joined the Joint Replacement Institute as a Medical Receptionist. Her main responsibilities include answering phone calls, scheduling appointments and greeting JRI patients as they arrive. Anna speaks fluent Korean and has been very helpful to our patients, physicians and JRI staff interpreting and assisting Korean-speaking patients with necessary forms.
Anna has completed two years at California State University, Los Angeles working toward a degree in Business Administration and is taking some time off to consider switching majors in order to pursue a career in Medicine. She enjoys trying new cuisine and loves relaxing at home with her parents and her dog, Tobee.
AnnaKim@dochs.org
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Lisa Price is our Health Information Management Technician (Medical Records). She is in charge of maintaining all medical records for the Joint Replacement Institute. She has been in the Medical Records industry for over 15 years and has found it to be her passion.
Lisa's hobbies are family outings such as watching her son play football at Purdue University and her nephew play semi-pro football with the Long Beach Lions. She likes listening to jazz, watching old karate movies and NASCAR racing.
LisaPrice@dochs.org
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LaVonda Hodge has worked as a Medical Assistant since 1998. She joined the Joint Replacement Institute in 2004 after working in Podiatry for three years. She currently works primarily with Dr. Schmalzried, but she assists all JRI surgeons in the clinic. She is responsible for assisting in clinic, submitting authorization requests for surgery and assisting the Surgery Coordinator with paperwork for surgical patients.
LaVonda enjoys working with the JRI, because she feels she is a part of a large family. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her daughter, family and friends.
LaVondaHodge@dochs.org
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Candy Escalante has 15 years of experience in the medical field and spent seven of those working as a Medical Assistant in orthopaedics prior to joining JRI. After obtaining her certification as a Medical Assistant, she went back to school and graduated as a Surgical Technologist, trained for a year and decided assisting the physician in the clinic is what she enjoyed best.
Candy always has a smile, enjoys working with the JRI team and is always available to give a helping hand to patients and co-workers. In her spare time, she enjoys family activities with her husband, Eduardo, and children, Peter and Tori, as well as being an active member of her parish.
CandyEscalante@dochs.org
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Blanca Rivas joined the Joint Replacement Institute as a Surgical Coordinator in April, 2007. She is responsible for coordinating the surgical process for Dr. Mynatt's patients as well as tracking the JRI surgeries for our surgeons and Administrator.
Prior to joining the JRI, Blanca was the Surgical Coordinator at the Arthritis and Spine Institutes at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. She has been in the medical field for nearly 10 years. Blanca is a Certified Programmer Analyst and Technical Computer Operator. She obtained her certification in El Salvador, Central America. She has completed 1 year towards a Psychology major at Fullerton College and 1 year of Medical Assistant education.
Her hobbies include outdoor activities with her husband and their 3 children.
BlancaRivas@dochs.org
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Neal Cook, Radiology Technician, is the "Bone Photographer" at the Joint Replacement Institute and has worked with the surgeons for many years perfecting the x-ray views that help them evaluate their patients.
After his honor graduate completion of the U.S. Air Force radiology program, Neal worked at Orthopaedic Hospital to help the doctors diagnose and treat the many children and adults with bone disorders.
An avid bicycle rider, he enjoys cooking, camping and hiking in the mountains, and spending time with family and friends.
NealCook@dochs.org
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