Our Team
Our Medical Advisory Board
Bret Alvis, MD, is Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is a published researcher and expert in Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols and opioid-sparing pain management approaches. Dr. Alvis earned his medical degree from the University of Iowa. He completed his anesthesiology residency and fellowship in critical care medicine at Vanderbilt.
Bulent Cetindag, MD, FACS, is a board-certified and nationally-recognized surgeon and Vice Chair of Surgery at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Dr. Cetindag is a member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) Hernia Task Force National Committee. He earned his medical degree from the Ege University School of Medicine in Izmir, Turkey, and completed his surgical residency at the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Illinois.
Vinod Dasa, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon and Associate Professor of Clinical Orthopaedics, Director of Research, at LSU Health in New Orleans. In his tenure at LSU, he has developed surgical techniques to allow outpatient total knee replacement and pioneered the use of cutting edge technologies such as iovera. Dr. Dasa has presented and published his research internationally in some of the world’s leading publications and meetings. He serves in leadership roles both regionally and nationally and was most recently involved in national expert panels to help CMS redesign the delivery of total joint replacements and establish national guidelines on the management of knee arthritis.
Dr. Dasa completed his undergraduate and medical school in the 7 year combined degree program at Union College and Albany Medical College in New York. After completing medical school, Dr. Dasa trained in the State University at New York (SUNY) at Buffalo orthopaedic surgery residency program. In 2006 he furthered his training at the Insall Scott Kelly Institute, Manhattan, New York, in Sports Medicine and Joint Replacement Surgery. This fellowship is internationally recognized as one of the pioneers in total knee replacement surgery.
Karen Emery, RN, is a Certified Case Manager with over 30 years of experience with surgical patients. She works extensively in the field of program development with Enhanced Recovery and Perioperative Surgical Home Initiatives.
Karen Gagnon, RN, is a Certified Case Manager with over 30 years experience in developing and implementing care management programs in payer, provider, and vendor settings, integrating predictive analytics to optimize clinical and qualitative outcomes. She is a recipient of the CMSA Case Manager of the Year Award and contributed to the initial case management Standards of Practice.
Andrea Powers, RN, has over 30 years of experience in direct patient care nursing, patient engagement programs, patient shared decision making, and patient reported outcomes measures. She has served in senior roles at Silverlink Communication, Lumeris and Health Dialog.