Gifford’s ‘Hospitalist’ Team Expands to Three Providers

Gifford Medical Center’s innovative hospitalist practice has grown to three providers.

Physician assistants Sue Burgos and Fred Staples have joined Dr. Martin Johns as Gifford hospitalists. Burgos has worked at Gifford since 1988, first as a nurse in Gifford’s inpatient unit and then as a physician assistant in the medical center’s Randolph and Rochester outpatient primary care practices. Staples is new to Gifford, bringing up-to-date training from recent clinical rotations at hospitals in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

Staples, previously an IBM engineer, began pursuing a long-standing interest in medicine in 2002.

"Medicine, to me, requires an extensive knowledge base and you could study it for your whole life," Staples says.

He completed the post baccalaureate pre-medical program at the University of Vermont in Burlington, received his master’s in health science from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., and went on to train as a physician assistant in six different Connecticut hospitals and the Northampton VA Medical Center in Leeds, Mass.

"I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity to work in this kind of inpatient area," says Staples of his new job at Gifford. "This opportunity when it presented was just too good to pass up."

He’s excited to work with acutely ill patients and enjoys Gifford’s small size and positive work environment. "There’s not a lot of hospitals of this size that have a hospitalist model, so we’re kind of on the leading edge," Staples notes.

Burgos received her bachelor of science in nursing from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, and in 1999 went on to pursue her physician assistant certification, completing the program at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Grand Forks.

"I loved taking care of sicker people as a nurse, so I’m looking forward to taking care of sicker people as a physician assistant," says Burgos of joining Gifford’s hospitalist program.

Both Burgos and Staples are certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Gifford started a hospitalist program in May 2006. Hospitalists, who care solely for inpatients, are a growing trend nationally, but unique for a community hospital like Gifford. The addition of Burgos and Staples means Gifford can now provide inpatients more weekend care. The hospital is currently seeking a second hospitalist physician so it may move toward a 24-hour hospitalist model.

"It’s exciting that we’ve hired two allied health or mid-level providers to expand the program," notes Dr. Johns. "Most small hospitals don’t even have a hospitalist program; using allied health providers is forward-thinking."

Additional hospitalist staff also provides even more continuity of care for patients.

Staples is married and has two children, ages 10 and 12. His hobbies are playing sports and home construction.

Burgos is married, has a 14-year-old son, and enjoys long distance running, hiking and skiing.

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