While online information can be super helpful in choosing a family doctor or healthcare provider, patients are often left with only that option.
La Porte Hospital and La Porte Physician Network aimed to change that Tuesday night by offering a community meet & greet event with some of their newest physician recruits.
Doctors Maribonn Tiangson, Tia Dorn, Enoch Kassa, Blake Hood, and Nurse Practitioner Maureen Panares were available to answer questions, and share conversation and food with community members at Bistro on the Green in La Porte.
Katie Sarver, Manager of Wellness Outreach with La Porte Hospital, knows the importance of feeling comfortable with the physician or nurse practitioner who will be taking care of you and your family. For La Porte Hospital and La Porte Physician Network, it’s all about providing the community a path to wellness.
“There was simply a need in the community for certain specialties, so we strategically recruited physicians and providers to give community members access to the care they need, and an outlet for a healthier lifestyle,” Sarver said. “Most of the time, people want to know who they’re going to see and events like this allow them to ask questions and find the right doctor.”
Blake Hood, DO, moved from Detroit with his wife to offer general surgery care in La Porte and surrounding communities. Hood said growing up, science and medicine were always his passion because he wanted to know how things worked.
“I always wanted to be around and help people. I wanted to work hands-on and see the results,” Hood said. “I wanted to be back in a smaller community where you feel connected, and it’s been a good experience being here.”
Maureen Panares, DNP, at La Porte Physician Network’s Purdue University Northwest Westville campus, helped bring family medicine back to the Westville community. After being a nurse for 14 years, Panares went back to school to receive her doctorate degree as a nurse practitioner. She and her husband moved to La Porte from the Hammond area, and the job at the Purdue University Northwest Westville campus happened to be exactly what she was looking for.
“I really enjoy that it’s a very diverse community both economically and socially,” Panares said. “It’s sort of a nice way to practice medicine where you don’t necessarily know who’s going to come in and what problem they might have because it looks different on everyone.”
Enoch Kassa, MD, is a new ophthalmologist with La Porte Physician Network and just moved here after spending the past eight years in Indianapolis. His office is in Michigan City.
“It’s a very life-changing specialty. It’s very difficult when you have poor vision because it’s difficult to get around, drive, read… Being able to give patients back the ability to do those things is very rewarding,” Kassa said. “I was looking for a career in Indiana, and I love the Northwest area because of the water.”
Tia Dorn, MD, is the newest addition to the family practice at La Porte Physician Network’s Lifeworks Campus in Michigan City. Moving here from Chicago, she has been practicing medicine for three years and was looking for a new place to call home.
“I love working with all ages, and family medicine allows me to see a lot of variety during my day,” Dorn said. “Everyone just has an interesting story and a lot of my patients are characters, so it’s just really fun getting to know them.”
La Porte Physician Network’s newest internal medicine physician, Maribonn Tiangson, MD, is also at the Lifeworks location in Michigan City. She and her husband moved to the Midwest about a month ago.
“I love internal medicine because it’s one of those specialties where you really have to think,” Tiangson said. “I love talking to patients, and I believe that a large percent of the diagnosis comes from the family history, so to be able to arrive at a diagnosis, you should be able to listen well.”
The newer providers are part of a concerted effort on the part of professional recruiters at La Porte Hospital to bring much-needed medical specialists to the community. The hospital has recruited 13 new providers in 2019 alone, and all of them welcome new patients.
For more information, including how to book same-day appointments online with many providers, visit La Porte Physician Network at https://www.laportephysiciannetwork.com/.
