Program Graduates

Daniel Smith, DO

• Current Place of Employment: Samaritan’s Purse/World Medical Mission - Angola, Africa
• Fellowship in Global Surgery at Loma Linda University
• Focus of Practice: International/Global General Surgery

“My training at HFAH was wonderful in preparing me for a broad spectrum of general surgery and associated disciplines. The mix of minimally invasive/robotic, open cases and endoscopy did a great job of preparing me for real life. The broad spectrum of cases along with the community setting gave me a wonderful foundation in general surgery.”

Matthew Torgeson, DO 

• Current Place of Employment: Minnesota Health Fairview Lakes Medical Center
• Focus of Practice: General Surgery, including endoscopy

“Henry Ford Jackson Hospital prepared me for the full scope of general practice. I graduated with the skills necessary to perform endoscopy to complex laparoscopic cases without the need for fellowship training.”

 

Elaina Graham, DO

• Current Place of Employment: Breast Cancer Oncology at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Roanoke, VA
• Previous Employment: Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship at Atrium Health CMC, Levine Cancer Institute
• Focus of Practice: Breast Surgeryy

“Training at HFAH is a preceptor type model, broad exposure to variety of diseases, statewide campus participation”

Mark Bieszka, DO

• Current Place of Employment: Muskegon Surgical Associates: multi-specialty private surgical group with general vascular and plastic surgery, located in Muskegon, MI serving the greater Lakeshore.
• Focus of Practice: Bread and butter general surgery including extensive use of the DaVinci robot for hernia, colon cancer, and foregut surgeries. Thyroid and parathyroid surgery. As well as a busy endoscopic lineup. We also cover the acute care surgical service as well as trauma surgery at a level two trauma center

“Henry Ford Jackson Hospital provided a great location to train to handle a wide breadth of pathologies cared for by a general surgeon. It is a place to be a part of the community you're serving.”

Amber Koon, DO

• Current Place of Employment: Methodist Health/Deaconess, Henderson, KY
• Focus of Practice: Bread and butter general surgery with a special interest in robotic and breast surgery

“Being able to train at HFAH allowed me to have exposure to a wide variety of pathology and patient populations. It prepared me to be able to practice on my own without the need for further fellowship training. Residents are encouraged to "own their patients" from day one which develops a sense of responsibility not seen at other programs.”

Christina Regelsberger-Alvarez, DO

• Current Place of Employment: Clinical Assistant Professor, Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina university, Greenville, NC
• Previous Employment: Surgery Critical Care, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
• Focus of Practice: Surgical Critical Care

Darren Nisly, DO

• Current Place of Employment: General Surgeons of Western Colorado

Andrew Nackashi, D.O.

• Current Place of Employment: Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton, GA
• Focus of Practice: General Surgery

"The comradery and teamwork at HFAH is second to none. It's a great place to grow and learn."

Meghan Beer, D.O.

• Current Place of Employment: Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, IN
• Focus of Practice: Breast Fellowship

"Deciding to do my residency at Henry Ford Jackson Hospital was a life-changing decision, and one that I will never regret. I have felt like family since my interview, and the comradery pervades throughout the years. Additionally, the educational experience is robust and the benefits of exposure to a wide variety of pathologies is evident, especially when rotating at outside facilities. Residency is hard, regardless of the institution, but it is certainly a lot more tolerable when you're surrounded by an incredible group of people in a place you can now call "home."

Sasha Spencley, D.O.

• Current place of employment: Owosso Memorial Healthcare Hospital
• Focus of Practice: robotic surgery, endocrine, foregut, breast surgery, endoscopy

"HFAH is a great training program with a plethora of operating room experience and pathology. It was a privilege to train under such dedicated, supportive, experienced attendings and in an environment that fosters learning and is focused on resident education. I feel prepared to be on my own and know if I ever have a question, I know I have many mentors that will answer anytime of the day."

Bryan Bennett, D.O.

• Current Place of Employment: AMITA Health - St. Alexius Medical Center, Hoffman Estates, Illinois
• Focus of Practice: Vascular Surgery Fellowship

"Henry Ford Jackson Hospital has provided me with a well-rounded education that consisted of didactic lectures, operative experience, and clinical skills. The wide breadth of pathology and surgical subspecialties offers the ability to match various fellowship programs and pursue any surgical interest of the resident."

Becky Innes, D.O.

• Current Place of Employment: Northwest Medical Center, Tucson, Arizona
• Focus of Practice: General Surgery

Chase Stauffer, D.O.

• Current Place of Employment: Mercy Hospital, Fort Smith, Arkansas
• Focus of Practice: Robotic assisted partial colectomies, hiatal hernia's, thoracic surgery, trauma surgery

"Henry Ford Jackson Hospital is an excellent program with dedicated surgeons that want to see you succeed. They are activity participating in your education and working to help you improve in areas of weakness. I am grateful for my training here and the education I received. I feel confident in my abilities to care for those I see and I owe this to the dedicated attendings and staff at this institution."

Alex C. Bauer, D.O.

• Current Place of Employment: McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center, Summit Surgical Specialists
• Focus of Practice: General & Robotic Surgery with an emphasis on endocrine and foregut

"Training at Henry Ford Allegiance was truly an honor. The faculty prioritize operative experience and partner with the residents in their surgical education. The operative volume and wide variety of pathology prepare trainees well for after graduation. Comparing my residency experience to colleagues and other recent graduates, I am extremely grateful for how thorough my training was. The mentorship and resources built during those five years will last the length of my career."

Roopa Patel, D.O.

• Current Place of Employment: Allina Health Abbott Northwestern Hospital
• Focus of Practice: Vascular Surgery Fellowship

"Henry Ford Jackson was great place to train, residents were given opportunities for not only graduated autonomy but also earned mutual respect from the attendings. One of the best parts of this program is the lifelong mentorship. The attendings here are invested in your training, want you to succeed, and serve as a crucial resource to you long after you complete your residency. I was not only given the tools to excel in my fellowship, but also the confidence to provide quality care to my patients."

Danielle Strawn, D.O.

• Current Place of Employment: Franciscan Alliance
• Focus of Practice: General and Robotic Surgery

"Henry Ford Allegiance was a very obvious choice to me. As a medical student, I saw confident and competent surgeons in training here and as someone who knew they wanted to go directly into practice this is what I was looking for. As a graduate, I can confirm that what my younger self saw was correct. After 5 years of training, I felt ready to enter practice. I had seen a breadth of pathology but also had my share of bread and butter surgery. I was training on the robot from day 1 of intern year, which led me to a practice now centered around robotics. I saw the human side of medicine and attendings who truly cared for the patients they operated on. Surgery residency is hard no matter where you go, but I would choose HFHJ again and again for the friendships, mentors, and experience gained that allow me to be the surgeon I am today."