College of Medicine

December 2015

College of Medicine alumna Irmanie Eliacin and clerkship faculty member Dennis Saver were honored for their medical outreach this month at the annual meeting of the Florida Academy of Family Physicians.

Eliacin (M.D., ’09) spent her third and fourth years of medical school in Fort Pierce, where Saver, M.D., has practiced for more than 25 years. He just received the Art of Medicine Award, the latest of many FAFP and American Academy of Family Physicians honors. And Eliacin received the Young Leader Award, which Saver himself received more than 20 years ago.

Here is the text on Eliacin that appeared in the program for the Dec. 12 event:

“Dr. Eliacin has exemplified the spirit of this award since choosing Family Medicine as a specialty in 2009.

“Dr. Eliacin served as Chief Resident during the last year of her residency at Halifax Health Medical Center. After completing her residency, Dr. Eliacin worked as a Family Medicine physician in Apopka, Florida. Her career focus is providing quality health care to underserved populations, and enhancing services through medical education and interprofessional teamwork to improve health outcomes. She is one of five physicians providing comprehensive health care services on the Green Family Foundation NeighborhoodHELP Mobile Health Care Center (MHC), and was instrumental in expanding MHC services to northeast Miami-Dade County. Dr. Eliacin created the MHC’s clinical care approach to patients with hypertension and diabetes. She joined Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine in January 2013…. She is honored to teach, serve and practice medicine, which has in turn catapulted her into different leadership roles. She has a deep commitment to serve with integrity, focus, drive, dedication and passion to honor the essence of being a Family Physician, educator, administrator and, most of all, an honorable human being.”

This is what the program stated about Saver:

“Dr. Dennis Saver has been practicing medicine for more than 35 years, [including] 25 years’ private practice in Vero Beach. He has advocated for care for the underserved, first as a National Health Service Corps physician, and the last 25 years through the We Care Indigent Clinic Program of the Indian River County Medical Society. His involvement in the FAFP began as one of the three inaugural resident representatives to the FAFP Board of Directors in 1978. Through his experiences as an FAFP Past President, Officer … and Delegate to the AAFP’s Congress of Delegates alone, Dr. Saver understands the value of working collaboratively within a nonprofit governance structure to accomplish organizational goals and objectives….

“His current FAFP appointments include the Quality Practice Management Committee and Government Relations Committee. He is also a past recipient of … the Family Physician of the Year award (2000). He chaired the Ethics Committee at Indian River Medical Center since 1999, holds faculty appointments at UF and FSU, and was elected to the Gold Humanism Honor Society by the FSU College of Medicine. Dr. Saver was the National AAFP Physician of the Year in 2001.

“Dr. Saver has driven himself to excellence as a family physician, elevated those around him to perform at a higher level, and done so in a fashion that leaves the patient as the center of the attention, not the disease. Dr. Saver embodies the Art of Medicine!”

Florida State continues to be well represented in the leadership of the FAFP. Next year, once again, all five officers of the Board of Directors will have an FSU connection. Luckey Dunn, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine’s Daytona Beach Regional Campus, will serve as board president. Diana Twiggs, M.D., preceptor at the Daytona Beach campus, will be president-elect. Ajoy Kumar, M.D., clerkship faculty member at the Sarasota Regional Campus, will be vice president. Michelle Brandhorst, M.D., clerkship faculty member at the Daytona Beach campus, will be secretary/treasurer. And Jennifer Tickal Keehbauch, M.D., clerkship faculty member at the Orlando Regional Campus, will be board chair.

Also serving on the board will be Christie Alexander, M.D., main campus; Christina Cavanagh, M.D., FSU family medicine residency program at Lee Memorial Health System; Eddie Needham, M.D., Orlando campus; Sally-Ann Pantin, M.D., Daytona Beach campus; and Carrie Vey, M.D., Daytona Beach campus.

George Bernardo, M.D., Daytona Beach campus, will be the new presidential appointee. Alma Littles, M.D., main campus, will be an AAFP delegate, along with Robert Raspa, M.D., Daytona Beach campus. Gary Goforth, M.D., residency program at Lee Memorial, will be the Residency Director Committee chairman. Dennis Mayeaux, M.D., Pensacola Regional Campus, will be the Nominating Committee at-large member.

On the FAFP Foundation Board of Directors, Brandhorst will be secretary/treasurer, and board members will include Daniel Van Durme, M.D., main campus, along with Dunn, Kumar, Keehbauch and Twiggs.