SARASOTA, Fla. – (Oct. 26, 2017) – Sarasota Memorial Health Care System recently welcomed a new pediatrician to its First Physicians Group (FPG) network and community: Dr. Jose Tavarez.
Jose Tavarez, MD, began accepting new patients at FPG Pediatrics at Lakewood Ranch on Monday. He joins pediatricians Katherine Keeley, MD; Wendy Hurwitz, MD; Charlotta Langley, MD; and Rene Sueiro, MD. Tavarez succeeds longtime pediatrician Robert Shamsey, MD, who retired from the practice last month after more than 42 years of taking care of children in the community.
Board certified in Pediatrics, Dr. Tavarez has worked as a pediatrician since 2013, providing medical and preventive care to infants, children and adolescents in outpatient and inpatient settings in Amory, Miss., and has served as chair of the Pediatrics Department at Merit Health Gilmore Memorial Hospital in Amory for the past year.
He earned his medical degree in 2006 from the Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, where he also completed a year-long training program to become certified as an assistant professor in biochemistry, physiology and pharmacology. In 2013, Dr. Tavarez completed a pediatrics residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Bronx, N.Y. From 2004 to 2010, he served as assistant professor and professor in biochemistry, molecular biology and physiology at Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. Bilingual in English and Spanish, Dr. Tavarez is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Medical Association.
Located at 8430 Enterprise Circle, Ste. 130, Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202, the FPG Pediatrics at Lakewood Ranch practice and Dr. Tavarez can be reached at (941) 366-3000.
About Sarasota Memorial’s First Physicians Group
First Physicians Group is a network of more than 165 primary and specialty care physicians and advanced care practitioners employed by Sarasota Memorial Health Care System to help fill the gaps caused by a shortage of physicians in the region. Specialties include: Bariatric Surgery; Cardiovascular/Thoracic, Orthopedic Trauma and General Surgery; Internal Medicine and Family Practice; Pediatrics; Obstetrics/Gynecology; Perinatology (Maternal-Fetal Medicine); Gynecological Oncology; Gastrointestinal Oncology; Dermatology; Palliative Care; Pain Management and Physiatry.